BBC Asian Network

Broadcast area	United Kingdom - national
Frequency	MW: Various (Restricted Coverage) DAB: 12B Freeview: 709 Freesat: 709 Sky (UK only): 0119 Virgin Media: 912 TalkTalk TV: 820
First air date	1976 BBC Radio Leicester show 1988 as The Asian Network - BBC Radio Leicester & BBC WM 1996 as separate channel on AM 2002 Nationally on DAB [1]
Format	Music, News & Entertainment
Audience share	0.3% (March 2011, [2])
Owner	BBC
Webcast	WMA
Website	bbc.co.uk/asiannetwork

BBC Asian Network is a British radio station serving those originating from and around the Indian subcontinent. The music and news comes out of the main urban areas where there are significant communities with these backgrounds. The station has production centres in Birmingham, Leicester and London (Television Centre & Western House). Its 'parent' station is BBC Radio 2 at Western House and it is part of the BBC Audio and Music division.

BBC Asian Network broadcasts mainly in English, but also have programmes in five south Asian languages – Hindi/Urdu, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati and the Mirpuri dialect of the Potwari language. The station's output consists largely of music and talk programmes, although there is a daily documentary series Asian Network Reports and a now-discontinued daily soap opera Silver Street.^[3] Over mid-2009, the Asian network provided coverage at melas across the UK as part of the 'Summer Of Melas'.^[4]

In March 2010 the station, which has the highest per-listener budget of all UK radio stations^{[citation needed]}, was threatened with closure, along with BBC 6 Music.^[5] A year later, following consultation the BBC Trust announced it was reconsidering its plan to close the station in favour of reducing its budget, although it stressed no final decision had been made.^[6]

History[link]

BBC Asian Network studio at The Mailbox shopping centre, Birmingham

Origins[link]

BBC television had broadcast an Asian news programme, Nai Zindagi Naya Jeevan, since 1968 from its studios in Birmingham. Whilst pioneering, this series followed a traditional news and current affairs format.

In 1977 BBC Radio Leicester, in recognition of the growth of the importance and size of the South Asian population in Leicester, introduced a daily show aimed primarily at that community in the city. At one point the audience consisted of 67 per cent of the South Asian community in Leicester.^{[citation needed]} In 1979, BBC WM, the BBC radio station for the Midlands, followed Leicester's lead and introduced a similar daily show.

By 1988, plans had been laid for shared South Asian programmes across the Midlands, on the AM frequencies of Radio Leicester and BBC WM, and on 30 October 1988 The Asian Network was launched on BBC WM and BBC Radio Leicester with a combined output of 70 hours per week.

In 1996 the station was relaunched as 'The BBC Asian Network with its own AM frequencies in the Midlands. It was led by founder member Vijay Sharma from Leicester.

In 1998, the station got its own newsroom and reporters in a project led by Mike Curtis, the news editor at BBC Radio Lincolnshire who had also worked at Radios Cornwall and Oxford and as a senior journalism trainer for local radio in London.

BBC Asian Network goes national[link]

By 2000, the station's output had shifted focus from the Midlands to the UK as a whole, and the station became a truly national network on Monday 28 October 2002 when it was relaunched for the DAB Digital Radio system.

In January 2006, the BBC announced that they were investing an extra £1m in the BBC Asian Network, and increasing the number of full-time staff by 30% in a bid to make British South Asian interests 'a mainstream part of the corporation's output' . The internal management structure of the station changed with Bob Shennan, then Controller of BBC Radio 5Live, taking over as controller, with a new Head of News, Husain Husaini (a senior editor in BBC Five Live), a Head of Music Mark Strippel Markie Mark – a music DJ and former member of Punjabi Hit Squad – and a Network Manager, Mike Curtis (previously Asian Network's News and Sports Editor).

Branding and schedule changes[link]

In April 2006 the first wave of schedule changes were introduced with further changes coming into effect on 14 May and 21 May with weekend changes occurring from 17 June.^[7] In August 2007, the Asian Network received a new logo as part of a general re-brand of all national BBC stations. In 2009, this was re-branded again to add prominence to the Asian aspect of the logo.

From 2010, another change to the schedule took place. Sonia Deol fronts the 10.00am to 12.30pm, Monday to Friday show on BBC Asian Network. Sonia, who previously presented a Friday afternoon show on the station, will move to the new weekday slot from Monday 8 February. Former weekend presenter Tommy Sandhu hosts the Breakfast show from 7am till 10am (replacing Adil Ray). Nihal, who was on afternoons from Monday to Thursday (1.00-3.00pm), added Fridays to his schedule.

As a result of the changes, morning presenters Adil Ray and Nikki Bedi left the station after nearly six years. station controller Andy Parfitt says: "I thank Nikki for her excellent contribution to the station over many years. I wish her well for the future and will be helping her develop her BBC radio career. "Jas Rao, who currently presents drivetime, will continue to work on projects for the network."

The changes came into effect on 8 February 2010.^[8]Later in 2010, Tommy Sandhu moved from drivetime to Breakfast, Noreen Khan - who had replaced Sandhu at weekend breakfast following the earlier changes - took over drivetime, and Sunny and Shay from Channel 4 programme `The Family` took over the helm of the weekend breakfast show.

Drama output[link]

One of the most significant programmes in the Asian Network lineup was an ongoing Asian soap opera Silver Street which was first broadcast in 2004. Storylines focused on the lives of a primarily British South Asian community in an English town of unspecified name and location, with themes that generally related to issues that affect the daily lives of British South Asians and their neighbours

Following a cutting of episode lengths to five minutes per day and falling listenership, on 16 November 2009 the BBC announced that they would be cancelling Silver Street.^[9] The last episode was broadcast in March 2010.

The cancellation grew out of criticisms of the Asian Network in the BBC Trust's annual report. In July 2009 it was revealed that the Asian Network had lost over 20% of its listeners in a single year and, per listener, was the most costly and expensive BBC radio station to run.^[10]

Silver Street was replaced by monthly half hour dramas and in August 2010, BBC Asian Network announced it would be launching a new drama season from 1st September 2010. According to a BBC Press Release "Titled BBC Asian Network Presents... the new drama strand is committed to providing distinctive, original and impactful content, all relevant to the target audience."^[11]

Possible closure[link]

On 26 February 2010 The Times reported that Mark Thompson, Director General of the BBC, proposed closing the station in a bid to scale back BBC operations and allow commercial rivals more room.^[12] The proposal of closure – along with BBC 6 Music – was later confirmed on 2 March.^[13] A letter was written to the BBC Trust and signed by various people – although the number of signatories also included a number signing their name at least more than once; as both a single name and as part of a collective,^[14] with many AN listeners advocating keeping their station at the expense of the more popular 6 Music,^[15] although the BBC Trust later rejected plans to close 6 Music and approved the plans to close AN.^[16] On 14 March 2011, the BBC announced it was reconsidering its plan to close the station in favour of reducing its budget in half, although it emphasised no final decision had been made.^[17]

With the departure of Andy Parfitt in the summer of 2011, the decision was taken to place the Asian Network back under Bob Shennan, who by now was Controller of Radio 2 and 6 Music. Shennan was in charge of the network when he was Controller of Five Live and knew the station and its management team well. Shennan will now oversee the possibly drastic changes to the schedule and staffing of the radio station which will follow from the wider BBC`s cuts plans.

Programmes and presenters[link]

The BBC Asian Network features a generally regular schedule of programming in English and South Asian Languages. Many programmes are named after the usual presenter. Programmes are presented in English except where noted otherwise.

Current programmes[link]

• Sonia Deol (Weekday mid-mornings / 10:00-12:30
• Ray Khan (Early Breakfast every weekday morning from 6–7am)
• Tommy Sandhu – (Breakfast / 07:00 - 10:00)
• Nihal (The afternoon phone in programme / 13:00-15:00)
• Friction (The Station 'Flagship' music show Mon-Thurs / 22:00-01:00)
• Noreen Khan (Weekday Drive / 15:00-18:00)
• Murtz (The Request Show / 14:00-17:00)
• Panjabi Hit Squad (A mix of Hip-Hop, R'n'B, House, Bhangra and Bollywood on Saturdays / 18:00 - 21:00)
• The Chart Show (It was announced on Monday 22nd February that Bobby Friction will takeover the chart and present 'The World's First Download Chart compiled by the Official Charts Company this is due to start at the new time of 15:00-18:00 on 27 March 2010 http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/02_february/22/chart.shtml )
• Love Bollywood every Saturday and Sunday with Raj & Pablo consisting of News, Entertainment & Gossip about Bollywood
• Music Programmes on the BBC Asian Network – Music in various styles and in English and in various South Asian Languages
• Regional Language Programmes on the BBC Asian Network in Mirpuri, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi and in Hindi and Urdu
• Devotional Music in various languages on weekdays and Devotional Sounds – Islam/Hindu/Sikh on weekends in various languages
• BBC Asian Network - Special News Reports
• Mic Check with Kan D Man & Limelight*- Grime, Funky House, Hip-Hop and providing a platform for fresh new Asian mc's! Every Saturday night from 11 pm – 1am
• DJ Kayper – Hip-Hop, Desi Beats and Big Guests! Every Friday night from 10–1 am
• Bhangra Mixtape with Sonny Ji - Bhangra mashed up with D&B, Dubstep, House and loads more from 9pm-1am every Saturday night

Current programme staff[link]

Management[link]

Presenters[link]

Reporters[link]

Former presenters[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• BBC Asian Network at BBC Online
• Origins of BBC Asian Network
• BBC Asian Network relaunched on DAB at bbc.co.uk

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Sonia Deol (Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu)
Sonia Deol compèring at Bhangrafest, 2006
Born	(1973-02-08) 8 February 1973 (age 39) Birmingham, England
Occupation	Radio presenter Television presenter

Sonia Deol (born 8 February 1973) is a British radio and television presenter who has presented the Sonia Deol Show on the BBC Asian Network.

Background[link]

Her media career began before she left school, when at the age of 14 she presented a one off programme to raise money for Comic Relief on the BBC Local Radio station, BBC WM.^[1] She graduated from the University of Hertfordshire in 1994 with a BA (Honours) in Humanities.^[1]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

After university she joined Sunrise Radio in 1994^[1][2][3]

In 2000, she was a presenter and newsreader for BBC London. And after went on Asian network Radio XL presenting their mid-morning show, the first ever phone in show dedicated to the Asian Community in the Midlands.^[1][2][3]

BBC Asian Network: Sonia Deol Show (October 2002- April 2006)[link]

In 2002 she returned to the BBC Asian Network, when it was relaunched from a regional Midlands based radio station, to a national, Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) station, presenting the Sonia Deol Show.^[1][4] The show was broadcast live on weekdays from 9am to 12pm featuring a phone-in and discussion on news, current affairs and matters generally interspersed with music notably Bhangra. On 26 September 2003 she interviewed Indian film director Kaizad Gustad about his 2003 Bollywood film, Boom which had been criticised in India for its raunchy sex scenes which were said to break all rules of taste and decency in Indian cinema.^[5]

On 6 October 2003 she was the co-host, with then Director-General of the BBC, Greg Dyke, of the BBC local radio's Frank Gillard Awards ceremony held at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television (now renamed the National Media Museum) in Bradford.^[6] In an interview with The Independent newspaper in May 2006, Deol would state that co-hosting the awards with Dyke was one of the proudest achievements in her working life.^[3] Her show won a bronze award in the Interactive Category of the 2003 Sony Radio Academy Awards.^[1]

In May 2004 the BBC Press Office had to deny that Deol had been sacked over an "on-air blunder" on the Sonia Deol Show. A guest on the show had said that that Guru Nanak Dev, the founder of Sikhism who is revered by Hindus and Sikhs, was Satan, resulting in a huge backlash and even a campaign to boycott the Asian Network. Although Deol had immediately informed the guest how offensive their remarks were, the BBC had to release a statement to make it clear that the views expressed by the guest were "deplorable and condemned by the programme makers and the management of the Asian Network". The national dual-language Sikh Times ran a front page article expressing its disgust at the Asian Network.^[7] In May 2005 she presented her show live from a temporary "mini radio station" at the St Paul's Way Community School in Tower Hamlets, London as part of a series of broadcasts from the school to celebrate the first visit to England of the Bangladesh national cricket team.^[8] On 2 September she presented her show live from Paris, France, one year on from the ban on wearing headscarves and religious symbols in French public schools, often known as the French headscarf ban, looking at the impact the ban had on the Asian community in France and whether the wearing of religious symbols should be banned in British schools.^[8]

BBC Asian Network: Sonia Deol on the BBC Asian Network Show (April 2006- February 2008)[link]

In January 2006 the BBC announced major programme changes for the revamp of the Asian Network which took place the following April. Deol was moved from the mid-morning slot to the breakfast slot,^[9] and from 24 April she was the presenter of Sonia Deol on the BBC Asian Network which was moved back to the 6am to 9am weekday slot replacing the Breakfast Show,^[9][10] with Anita Rani taking over the mid-morning slot, having previously filled in on the programme.^[9] Deol's new show focused on news, music and entertainment and did not have a regular phone-in.

On the BBC Asian Network her mission has been to broaden the appeal of the network and encourage listeners from backgrounds other than South Asian while maintaining a service to the core audience.^{[citation needed]} On her programme she has talked to all the main British political party leaders and many other leading figures from politics, media, films, music and other areas from around the world.^{[citation needed]}

On 18 November she was nominated in the Best UK Asian Radio Show category in the annual UK Asian Music Awards which was held at the Hammersmith Palais in London on 6 December.^[11] The award was won by BBC Radio 1 duo Bobby and Nihal for their midnight show on the station.^[12] She won the Asian Achievers Media Award for 2006.^[1]

On 24 November 2006 she conducted an exclusive interview for her show, which was later repeated on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, with long term prisoner in Pakistan, Mirza Tahir Hussain, from Leeds, who had been released from prison after his death sentence had been commuted to life imprisonment by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf after many years in which Hussain had been found innocent twice and found guilty by different courts and sentenced to death by hanging numerous times. Deol spoke with him on his return to the UK.^[6] Deol hosted a special Asian Network Report - Big Brother special debate, broadcast live from the University of East London following on from the Celebrity Big Brother racism controversy.^[13] As part of the 2007 Diwali celebrations on 9 November, Deol presented a Diwali special on her morning show, which included her talking with English R&B singer, Jay Sean in the studio about his Diwali plans. These included a visit to a KFC and taking a train from Clapham Junction to Victoria, and then back again to Clapham Junction, while talking for the entire time on a mobile telephone.^{[14][relevant? – discuss]}

Other Work (February 2008 - April 2009)[link]

On 6 February 2008 the BBC announced that by mutual agreement^[15] Deol would not be returning to the Breakfast Show which would continue with the main presenter being Jas Rao, who had been mainly covering for Sonia in her absence on holiday since Autumn 2007. The BBC announced that "Sonia and the station are exploring different opportunities with the Asian Network and we will let you know about these once they are agreed. he is also involved in other TV projects and has recently presented The Big Questions on BBC One."^[16] She is now a presenter of BBC Breakfast on BBC 1 and the BBC News Channel.

She was a roving reporter on The Heaven and Earth Show on BBC One interviewing the likes of Olivia Newton John former Labour Member of Parliament, Clare Short. In September 2007 she began as working as a co-presenter on its successor The Big Questions, a Sunday morning debate show, presented by Nicky Campbell, also on BBC One.^[2] She now appears as an occasional presenter on BBC Breakfast at the weekend. She has also presented the West Midlands regional opt-out for The Politics Show each Sunday on BBC One. ^[2] In January 2010, she presented, on BBC One, a controversial documentary about the 1984 attacks on The Golden Temple in Amritsar.

Return To Asian Network (June 2008 - Present)[link]

Sonia returned to the Asian Network on 2 June 2008 sitting in for Nihal for a number of weeks during the summer and presenting the Friday edition of the show until January 2010 when she became the presenter of the 10am - 12:30pm 'morning' show.

On Sunday 24 January 2010, Sonia presented the BBC 1 documentary, 1984: A Sikh Story where she embarked on a personal journey to unravel the events of 1984, an iconic year for the Sikhs.^[17] The documentary was controversial because of its "sweeping statements" and a perceived lack of insight into the unresolved issues raised by the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and Operation Blue Star.^[18] According to the Daily Mail, The Sikh Channel and BBC received thousands of calls complaining about the bias shown in the film.^[19]

References[link]

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