Annoying R3 Trailers

[Serial_Apologist]

I've noticed a steady increase in what one might call 'retrotrailers' - enthusiastic - nay, glowing - reviews of programmes broadcast in the previous 24 to 48 hours.

I missed that.

[Old Grumpy]

I missed that.

Must have been scheduled broadcasting intruding on the trails

[DracoM]

YES!!!!!!!!!!

[Nick Armstrong]

I've noticed a steady increase in what one might call 'retrotrailers' - enthusiastic - nay, glowing - reviews of programmes broadcast in the previous 24 to 48 hours.

Trailers have tipped the balance against attempting to persevere with Sunday morning breakfast following MH’s departure.

There’s now nothing I listen to on R3 between TTN and 4pm with the sole exceptions of Record Review & Private Passions from the weekend…

[french frank]

When they've seen off all the current listeners they can start building the audience for Radio Chill from the bottom.

[Frances_iom]

I understand FF no longer listens to R3 (please correct if incorrect) - I find that I listen almost solely to downloaded TTN which so far has no trailers - one of my other usual 'listen-to's the live Wigmore Hall concert has now been inserted into a presenter wrecked 3hr disc jockey show - so far 4 Mon-Thurs evening concerts still survive tho I notice they are often at the pop-end of classical music and often seem short.

[oddoneout]

When they've seen off all the current listeners they can start building the audience for Radio Chill from the bottom.

And its forum will be the Haemorrhoid Appreciation Society.
On a less facetious note - and I know it's been mentioned before - but are the listeners being lost at least being replaced by the mythical new audience at which all these changes are apparently aimed? Or are there in fact not many listeners being lost at all and what appears in these parts isn't representative?

[french frank]

are the listeners being lost at least being replaced by the mythical new audience at which all these changes are apparently aimed? Or are there in fact not many listeners being lost at all and what appears in these parts isn't representative?

There's a bit of volatility from quarter to quarter, an occasional good one then another will be just awful. My impression overall though is that the figures are trending down. Last quarter it looked like fewer listeners, but listening for a bit longer. Which is what you get when you have hour after hour of fairly undifferentiated programming. No obvious time to switch off, with background listening rather than shorter, subject-focused programmes.

[Andrew Slater]

No obvious time to switch off, with background listening rather than shorter, subject-focused programmes.

The corollary of that is that there are very few obvious times to switch on.

[french frank]

The corollary of that is that there are very few obvious times to switch on.

For them as don't want aural wallpaper. Certainly, for me, why would I switch on to listen to something I don't want to hear rather than put on a CD I do want to listen to? But as the audience has changed from the selective listener (average hours under 6 per week) to the casual/routine listener who doesn't switch off, so the average hours per listener have been going up to over 7 hours per week.

For the average listener, waking up/breakfast time is the time to switch on; so is driving home from work. Whatever the BBC broadcasts there will be an audience who will listen to it (and either enjoy it or grumble about it: the main thing is that they have it switched on and are measurable).

[Nick Armstrong]

Certainly, for me, why would I switch on to listen to something I don't want to hear rather than put on a CD I do want to listen to?

The answer of course (in theory) is: discovery. You might not know that you want to hear a new piece or performance until you do so.

Over past decades, R3 was - ahem - instrumental in opening doors for me.

Too much clutter and disappointment these days to rely on them for making many discoveries these days - happily other media exist to perform the door-opening function

[Serial_Apologist]

The answer of course (in theory) is: discovery. You might not know that you want to hear a new piece or performance until you do so.

Over past decades, R3 was - ahem - instrumental in opening doors for me.

Too much clutter and disappointment these days to rely on them for making many discoveries these days - happily other media exist to perform the door-opening function :smiley:

But - assuming you had no formal musical education beyond the William Tell overture on the school class record player or come from a musical family - would you personally know where to seek out those other media and their criteria without having had the prior authority of Radio 3 As She Was to guide you?

[LMcD]

The answer of course (in theory) is: discovery. You might not know that you want to hear a new piece or performance until you do so.

Over past decades, R3 was - ahem - instrumental in opening doors for me.

Too much clutter and disappointment these days to rely on them for making many discoveries these days - happily other media exist to perform the door-opening function

Precisely. Nowadays, Radio 3 just happens to meet my needs at certain times, and when it doesn't, there are - thankfully - lots of other options. To offer just one example - after supper this evening I watched a DVD of the Gewandhaus Quartet playing Mozart's 'Dissonance' Quartet. Tomorrow, it might be something from my CD collection, one of the recordings on the hard disc of my TV, a concert on Arte TV, one of the online radio stations which Forum members kindly recommend from time to time, YouTube....there's a really wide choice out there!
I really miss the Lunchtime Concerts, which offered the sort of musical fare that I want (and am ready for) at that time of day, and which came up with many delightful discoveries over the years. I also used to listen to CotW quite often, but it now seems to have dropped off my personal radar.
Let's hope that Through The Night, to which I listen erratically when the news on the World Service is too depressing (which is increasingly the case) is allowed to continue to open those doors!

[Nick Armstrong]

But - assuming you had no formal musical education beyond the William Tell overture on the school class record player or come from a musical family - would you personally know where to seek out those other media and their criteria without having had the prior authority of Radio 3 As She Was to guide you?

Point taken completely - she served her purpose very well.

And maybe Radio 3 As She Is serves the same purpose for new generations. Who knows how I would react if I were an 18 year old tuning in these days…

[oddoneout]

Precisely. Nowadays, Radio 3 just happens to meet my needs at certain times, and when it doesn't, there are - thankfully -

lots of other options

. To offer just one example - after supper this evening I watched a DVD of the Gewandhaus Quartet playing Mozart's 'Dissonance' Quartet. Tomorrow, it might be something from my CD collection, one of the recordings on the hard disc of my TV, a concert on Arte TV, one of the online radio stations which Forum members kindly recommend from time to time, YouTube....there's a really wide choice out there!
I really miss the Lunchtime Concerts, which offered the sort of musical fare that I want (and am ready for) at that time of day, and which came up with many delightful discoveries over the years. I also used to listen to CotW quite often, but it now seems to have dropped off my personal radar.
Let's hope that Through The Night, to which I listen erratically when the news on the World Service is too depressing (which is increasingly the case) is allowed to continue to open those doors!

If one has the necessary hardware/subscriptions. I realise that most/all forumites will already be in that position, but other radio listeners(and not just R3) may not be so placed. I know I am seriously behind in that respect, but until Afternoon Concert ceased to be(before the current changes that is) and the evening concert offering seems to have become very limited(classical doesn't feature much these days) over the last year or so, it wasn't an issue as switching my radio on provided plenty of music for the times I wanted it. It is now off most of the time once Breakfast has finished.
I share your sadness at the loss of the Lunchtime Concert. As it was a short programme I often listened all through to music I otherwise might not have stuck with, and being lunchtime it was generally easier to fit into the daytime activities - and helped to keep meals on a more even keel! CotW preceeding it also suited - the current timing means I miss it more often than not, as an odd hour in between the post Breakfast void and evening schedules I don't want to listen to most of the time.
Getting back on topic - now that my listening is so limited I find that my irritation at the advert intrusions is even greater - even more aware(and resentful) of time lost to unnecessary noise I suppose.