GLISTENBURY AND BBC-BASHING

If you spent the weekend up a tree, bewailing the forces of water, or simply want to listen again, there's a bunch of tracks from the festival available for streaming from the BBC.

Meanwhile, the BBC's coverage of the festival is turning into a totem for the newly resurgent local radio companies in the UK. They're not happy that the BBC pays for exclusive rights:

GCap Media, which owns stations including Capital and Choice FM; Chrysalis, owner of Heart and Galaxy; and SMG, which owns Virgin Radio, all single out Radio 1, in particular, for harsh criticism.

They also question why the BBC should be allowed to buy exclusive broadcasting rights for events such as this weekend's Glastonbury music festival.

In response to the Government's review of the BBC's 10-year charter, GCap points out that, when it buys a complete package, the BBC cannot always make use of all the events included. It adds: "We are at a loss to understand how negotiating exclusive rights is necessarily a public service."

The commercial companies then go on to complain that Radio One shoves its specialist programming to the edges and is more popular during the days. What's really depressing about this is that the commercial radio comapnies haven't actually come up with anything approaching a coherent or convincing argument, but merely got hold of the whines ITV and Sky have been making about TV for the last few years and done a find and replace for "on screen".

Chrysalis adds that Radio 1 and 2 are not "by any credible definition, public service broadcasting during peak daytime listening hours". It also argues that the launch of hundreds of new digital radio stations and television channels means there is less need for the BBC to provide alternative programmes.

The sad thing is, of course, Chrysalis probably do believe that, say, EMAP's Kerranng network is in some way everything a rock fan could possibly need. It would make more sense if the commercial stations started providing some alternative programming, and then asked the BBC to stop, rather than spending their time creating hundreds of variations on Top 40 radio and try to close down anyone who offers something a little more inspired.

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