txeng1 <...> said:

Eric Tesug <...> said:
Well U have to admit, the C4 programme has got oodles of free PR on AN
and what's more the levels of traffic have jumped so quickly, the server
must have had a real shock :-)

That was my thoughts, after the panning they appeared to get on the
programme, this will be the real payoff. They will probably now, (maybe
temporarily) have a fair increase in people listening to the station. If
they don't grasp this chance now to make good then they will be doomed.
But for now they have a reprieve.

I was listening to Roger Day-vis last night. he was definately tight and
pacey, but too smashey and nicey for my taste. Maybe now they are under
orders to get it right! lets hope so. But for now I still prefer radio
1!!!!

I thought the Channel 4 programme was a bit of a "hatchet job", unfair and extremely biased. All in the name of entertainment eh!. However, I personally love the stations main output. It is simply the most fantastic mix of great music I have ever heard on one station. (especially Mike Read). More than that though there is real passion:- Both for the music, and also for the medium of radio. This comes across in the presentation which has sounded even more upbeat since the chanel 4 show. Possibly because of the support shown by listeners and the amazing number of emails from new listeners who discovered the BigL as a result of the Ch4 show.
 At 10pm on tuesday night immediately after the ch4 show I couldnt get the website to load (too much traffic?) and it took me 40 minutes to get through on the phone just to wish the station luck.

It comes down to this for me, using focus groups and audience research and an ever tighter playlist produces ever diminishing returns. Mainstream British radio has never sounded duller. BigL is more about "gut Feel" and a sheer love of what they are doing. That makes it very special. As to whether it can be commercially succesful...
Yes, IF it can 1) get a better AM signal and 2) a revenue stream to keep it going in the medium term. I believe there are plans in place to resolve both of these issues. The staff seem to have faith and so do I. BigL deserves to be a great success story , the content is great. When it attracts enough listeners then the advertisers will be falling over themselves. Then, and only then, the very people who criticised it will be trying to copy it. BigL's success can only be a good thing for UK radio generally so I wish them all the luck in the world.