a particular emphasis on new and live music and British Asian artists. During the day
an extensive playlist should form the backbone of the schedule, while evening and
weekend programmes should focus on more specialised areas.
Language programming should aim to appeal both to people who are fluent and to
those who wish to develop their knowledge.
BBC Asian Network should provide high quality content that encourages radio
listening via digital platforms, especially among young British Asians. The broadcast
output should be supported by a complementary online service with some use of
visual enhancements and listeners should be encouraged to interact and communicate
with each other and the station. BBC Asian Network should use new technologies to
broaden its reach and ensure its audiences have the maximum opportunity to access
programmes as and when they want.
BBC Asian Network should contribute to BBC Radio’s commitment to commission
some output from independent producers.
Part II: Contribution to public value
5. Contribution to the promotion of the BBC’s public purposes
5.1 Sustaining citizenship and civil society
BBC Asian Network should make a very important contribution to this purpose
amongst its audience, primarily through its strong focus on accurate, impartial and
independent news and current affairs presented in an accessible style for its target
audience.
Complex issues should be explained and placed into context to help the audience
develop a greater understanding of UK and international events. Listeners should be
encouraged to explore a broad range of subjects, to share their experiences, and to
be offered regular opportunities to engage in debate. BBC Asian Network should also
regularly offer discussion programmes and specially commissioned documentaries
providing in-depth analysis on issues relevant to the audience.
Conditions
BBC Asian Network should:
• Ensure that content is approximately 50% speech and 50% music each year
5.2 Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence
BBC Asian Network should make an important contribution to this purpose amongst
its audience by providing a platform for new and established British Asian talent.
In its music output, BBC Asian Network should cover a wide range of genres with an
emphasis on new music and on nurturing and developing new acts. Through its
broadcasts of live performances it should seek to support and increase the
appreciation of live music.
The station should commission radio drama relevant to its audience and encourage
new writing, directing, and performing talent.
The station should find and develop new production and presentation talent.
4 Daytime is defined as 06.00–19.00hrs, Monday-Friday and 08.00-14.00hrs, Saturday-Sunday
Conditions
BBC Asian Network should:
• Ensure that at least 40% of the music in daytime4 is from UK artists. each
year
• Contribute to BBC Radio’s commitment to commission at least 10% of
eligible hours of output from independent producers
5.3 Reflecting the UK’s nations, regions and communities
BBC Asian Network should make an important contribution to this purpose amongst
its audience by responding in its output to the diversity of the UK Asian population in
terms of geography, interests, ethnicity, and religion. It should stimulate, support and
reflect the diversity of cultural activity in the UK, within the defined scope of the
service.
As a UK-wide, rather than local, service it is aimed at the whole UK Asian population,
and it should address the needs and interests of a wide range of Asian communities in
the UK, giving a broad and fair view of them, reflecting them back to themselves and
to the wider community. Its news and current affairs should reflect the voices of the
different British Asian communities. Daily phone-ins should seek to encourage debate
and reflect opinion from around the UK. Programmes in Hindi/Urdu, Bengali,
Gujarati, Mirpuri and Punjabi, should seek to connect listeners with each other, and
with their cultural and linguistic roots.
A broad range of music should be played, encouraging listeners to appreciate music
from communities and cultures they may never have come across before. BBC Asian
Network’s coverage of religion and festivals should aim to put British Asians in touch
with each other and with their spiritual roots. The station should also play a role in
pan-BBC social action and community campaigns of significance to the BBC Asian
Network audience, bringing people together to participate in related programmes and
events.
BBC Asian Network’s online presence should facilitate and support the growth of
communities of interest, providing forums for online communities where they can
discuss the news and set their own agenda.
Conditions
BBC Asian Network should:
• Broadcast an average of three to five hours of language programming every
day
5.4 Bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK
BBC Asian Network should contribute to this purpose amongst its audience,
primarily by bringing the world to the UK. Its news and current affairs output should
regularly cover international events and issues. The station should give the audience
the opportunity to debate and share knowledge with people around the world
through phone-ins, simulcasts, live link-ups, and use of guests from other countries, as
well as through its online communities. The station should regularly use its
relationship with communities around the world, particularly in the Indian sub-
continent, to help British Asians connect with their roots.
The music played should include international artists. International sports coverage
should reflect the particular interests of British Asians.
5.5 Promoting education and learning
BBC Asian Network should play its part in contributing to this purpose amongst its
audience, primarily by providing opportunities for informal learning. Its language
programming should be aimed at listeners who may speak English as a first language. It
should aim to link British Asians with their linguistic roots in an engaging way.
BBC Asian Network should take part in pan-BBC social action and learning initiatives
when they are relevant to the station’s audience.
5.6 Emerging communications
The BBC’s sixth public purpose is defined in the Charter as "in promoting its other
purposes, helping to deliver to the public the benefit of emerging communications
technologies and services and, in addition, taking a leading role in the switchover to
digital television".
BBC Asian Network should contribute to the promotion of this purpose in a variety
of ways which are described in this Service Licence.
6. Annexes to this Licence
6.1 Annex I – Performance assessment
The performance of BBC Asian Network will be assessed by the Trust using the
framework described in Annex I. BBC Asian Network’s compliance with any
Conditions, as described in section 5, will also be measured on an annual basis and
reported in the Annual Report and Accounts.
The BBC Trust will expect BBC Asian Network to comply with the commitments
described in sections 4 and 5 of the Service Licence. The BBC Trust will monitor
compliance with these commitments retrospectively as part of its periodic service
reviews and/or on an exceptional basis if there is evidence or allegation of non-
compliance.
7. Operation of this Service Licence by the BBC Trust
For details of how the BBC Trust operates this Service Licence, please see the
Service Licence Operating Framework. This is available from www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust
or upon request from the BBC Trust Unit.
5 Charter, article 24 (c)
6 Agreement, clause 14
7 For all BBC services
8 Including repeats
Annex I: Performance measurement framework
Introduction
The BBC Trust has the function of assessing the performance of the Executive Board
in delivering the BBC’s services and activities and holding the Executive Board to
account for its performance.5 It will use the framework described below as the basis
for its assessment of BBC Asian Network.
The framework is based around the four drivers of public value: Reach, Quality,
Impact and Value for money and it includes measurement of the five content
characteristics, as described in the BBC Agreement6: high quality, challenging, original,
innovative and engaging.
The Trust can amend this framework without this constituting formal variation to this
Service Licence.
Performance measurement framework
Reach: BBC Asian Network should contribute towards the maintenance of combined
BBC weekly reach7 at over 90% by aiming to increase its own weekly reach,
particularly amongst its stated target audience.
It should contribute towards on-demand consumption of content. This will be
measured by weekly reach of non-DRM audio downloads over the internet.
Quality: audience approval of BBC Asian Network and perceptions of it as high quality
and innovative. Also, the proportion of originated programmes across all hours8
Impact: licence fee payer awareness of BBC Asian Network and audience perceptions
of BBC Asian Network as engaging and challenging.
Value for money: BBC Asian Network’s cost per listener hour.
