Friday Night is Music Night relaunched on BBC Radio 3 to boost ailing listening figures

Long-running Radio 2 show revived on sister station in schedule revamp to reverse falling audiences

Friday Night is Music Night has been relaunched on BBC Radio 3 as the station tries to boost its ailing listening figures.
After 70 years as a Radio 2 institution, BBC radio’s longest-running live music show – which became Sunday Night is Music Night in 2020 – was axed last year to the dismay of long-time listeners.
The programme showcased the BBC Concert Orchestra performing two hours of a wide variety of music at venues around the country, from pop to classical to film and TV show theme tunes.
In a move likely to raise eyebrows among Radio 3 traditionalists, it has now been given a new home at the classical music station.
The broadcaster has hailed the move as an opportunity for listeners to hear the BBC Concert Orchestra “explore repertoire ranging from the golden age of light music to the best in film and TV scores”.
Lord Berkeley, the composer and broadcaster, welcomed the show’s revival but warned that Radio 3 must not stray from its “core mission” of broadcasting “world class performances”.
“I am all for enticing a still wider audience to Radio 3, so long as we never dilute our core mission of broadcasting world class performances of a wide repertoire with a particular emphasis on the commissioning of new music,” he told the Telegraph.
‌The relaunch is part of a refreshed Radio 3 schedule announced on Monday, as the station looks to attract bigger audiences after the latest listening figures, released earlier this month, showed a decline.
Clive Myrie, the BBC newsreader and Mastermind presenter, is to host a new show, Music on the Frontline, in which he will speak to fellow journalists about the role classical music has played for them while reporting.
Jools Holland, who has spent decades presenting on Radio 2, has also been given a new Saturday lunchtime programme on the classical music station called Earlier… with Jools Holland.
BBC Radio 3 controller Sam Jackson said the station’s revised schedule would offer listeners a “diverse range of programmes unlike anything available elsewhere”.
“Distinctiveness and ambition are at the heart of the new Radio 3 schedule, as we look to delight our existing audience whilst also offering a raft of programmes that give new listeners a reason to join us.
“Today, we cement our commitment to live music, and take the opportunity to tell powerful stories through the magical medium of radio,” he said.
He added: “This new schedule, coupled with our forthcoming BBC Proms season, which is shaping up to be one of our most ambitious yet, makes this an exciting time for music at the BBC.”
Before being appointed to lead the station last year, Jackson was one of Radio 3’s sternest critics.
In his previous role as managing editor of Classic FM, he derided the corporation for “aping” his accessible classical output in an attempt to attract younger listeners.
It was suggested that Jackson would aim to reinvigorate the BBC’s home of jazz and classical music while not “betraying the purpose of the station”, after it was perceived to have succumbed to a recent BBC trend of “dumbing down” its programmes.
His predecessor, Alan Davey, was criticised for programming pitched at a young audience.
This included Tearjerker, a series presented by R&B artist Jorja Smith, which featured tracks from the likes of Justin Bieber, the pop star, and Kanye West, the rapper.
Suzy Klein, Head of BBC Arts and Classical Music TV said: “I am delighted to announce the classical music highlights for 2024.
“A record-breaking year for the Proms on television and iPlayer last year showed just how much of an appetite there is from TV audiences for classical music programmes which inspire, delight and provoke.”