GBC Announces Wide-Ranging Changes
GBC has announced wide-ranging changes across radio, television and online. They will come into effect on Monday and are part of a drive by GBC to "adapt to changing trends and a fast-paced media landscape."
Changes include:
News Summaries on Radio Gibraltar
There will be a 60 second news summary every hour on Radio Gibraltar on weekdays between 7am and 6pm. The service is also being extended into the weekends between 9am and 2pm. It will mean more than 70 news summaries across the week in addition to bulletins at 7.30am, 8.30am, 12.30pm and 1.30pm.
Gibraltar Today
Lunchtime Live is being replaced with Gibraltar Today, a new current affairs show fronted by Jonathan Scott. He will help make sense of the day’s news agenda and bring audiences closer to the news that matter to them. It will air Monday to Friday between 1 and 2pm and will be visualised for GBC TV.
TV Schedule
A stronger focus on LOCAL underpins the new TV Schedule. There will be new programmes and fewer repeats.
TV Archives
GBC is opening up its archive for the community to enjoy. Flashback on Tuesdays will feature snippets from past programmes, some of which date back to the glorious days of black & white TV. GBC Rewind on Fridays will feature full programmes from days gone by.
Viewpoint
Ros Astengo will take over Viewpoint. The flagship debate and discussion series will get a fresh new look later in the year.
GBC Podcasts
The station will be launching GBC Podcasts giving audiences more ways to access GBC. It will start with a special edition of Inside GBC hosted by CEO James Neish who explains the changes.
James Neish said: “It is a huge privilege to lead the hard-working team at GBC through this period of change. We are changing so that in turn we can better deliver for our listeners and viewers. The plans follow on from our Public Survey in October with respondents and staff helping shape the change with their feedback. When I took over as CEO I gave a commitment that audiences would be at the heart of everything we do and I hope that next week they will all feel we honouring that promise.”
Survey Results:
Audience Consultation Survey 2022: Observations
· 4 out of 5 rate GBC as highly important to the community and two thirds say having Llanito content included on TV and radio is important.
· Almost 80% of those surveyed said they still prefer to watch GBC on their TV set, with 60% watching regularly, and half saying they watch the 8.30 News. More than 50% rate overall presenter professionalism as ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’, and 1 in 2 are regular Radio Gibraltar listeners.
· Accessing GBC via the internet is popular, with 40% now logging on via the website and on their mobiles and tablets.
· There’s a big appetite to keep updated with what’s happening locally and most access GBC News stories daily. 9 out of 10 surveyed told us they go online and 60% view our posts on social media.
· 70% who completed the survey are positive about the way we cover sports
The survey results have helped shape the plans for change at GBC. Below are some comments from the feedback and our action plan as a result.
“Would appreciate far more local music playing during peak times”
“Would like more music variety on radio, lots of repetition”
We’ve already made some adjustments to our music policy on Radio Gibraltar, to bring you more of your favourites and a wider variety of songs.
“No need to have repeats, we have catch up so can get it when we want it. Repeat time could be used better”
“Llanito content important, so don't lose it!”
“More use of the archives would be nice”
On GBC television, we are reducing the number of repeated episodes and created more opportunities in the schedule for locally produced series and ‘Rewind’ and ‘Flashback’ programmes with golden moments of local TV history.
“GBC is essential for the community.”
“Local news should be much more instant through social media & radio especially”
“Miss news at the weekends - should be Saturday and Sunday too please”
Local news summaries will be on the hour, every hour from 7am – 6pm on Radio Gibraltar and, at the weekends hourly from 9am – 2pm.
Gibraltar Today with Jonathan Scott will be live on Radio Gibraltar and GBC television from 1 -2pm on weekdays, bringing you a more in depth look at the local news stories that matter to audiences.
GBC Podcasts add to our news, stories and promos on social media and online, giving you more ways to access GBC.
NOTES:
615 participants took part in the Audience Consultation Survey 2022
Mix of face to face surveys and online
57% Male and 43% Female
Majority of respondents are between 51 – 65 years and 40% are aged 26 – 50
