Moyles Leave Breakfast Show

Like many I was at a bit of a loss for words initially when I heard that the iconic Chris Moyles Show was to end on BBC Radio 1 today. With audiences of seven to eight million people it has touched the lives of many over the years and woken them up with a smile, and it has been described as the programme that has saved BBC Radio 1.

It his own typical style he shocked his audience by making the announcement live on air and for a while twitter went crazy with tweets about the show. Many people were saying how much they have enjoyed the show, how it was part of their lives and how much they were going to miss it. Others commented on his replacement and how dull the morning are about to become.

The thing that got me was the reason for the change in the breakfast show at the station. It seemed clear, although Chris Moyles wasn't pushed, he was at least nudged a bit along the way, but the boss of the station is keeping quiet on the one. There is a drive at the station to attract a younger audience for the station in the age ranges 15 to 29. This is an audience area that the BBC Trust feel the station is missing out on, although the truth is they probably have little interest in radio and would rather listen to their ipods.

Personally I find this approach to programming is ageist and that something to be condemned, especially given the shows breakfast slot. Radio 1 claims to be the station of new music, this would suggest that the BBC Trust think that only people in certain age ranges appreciate new music, which clearly isn't the case, you can appreciate new music at any age. What they should be concentrating on over the network is the types of music played on the different stations and let the audience find their own home within the network. 

Personally I think the BBC are making a mistake in getting rid of Chris Moyles from the breakfast slot while the show has such a massive audience in radio terms. I just can't see a replacement show getting the same number of listeners in the short or medium term, if at all. This is just an out date ageist approach to programming and that had it day back in the later half of the last century.