Mr. Tim Collins:

The Chairman asked about print. One of the contrasts between print and us is that most print media are paid for. In contrast, radio as a medium is quite robust so audience levels have been largely unchanged for the past ten years. Almost 90% of people tune into radio every day so it is a very strong and intensely local and personal medium. The fundamental change that has taken place in the radio market is not an audience problem but a funding problem. The funding problem is down to structural changes that have taken place in the market. They are not temporary changes because advertising is a bit rocky this year. They are structural changes that have seen a drift in revenue to digital media. Digital has now overtaken television as a proportion of the revenue that is spent in the market. The largest media in the market by revenue, let alone audience, are Google and Facebook. Radio in 2016 will probably decline in revenue terms, whereas digital media like Google and Facebook will grow by double digit figures. They will represent well over 30% of the market by the end of the year. They are the challenges we face in funding news and current affairs programmes.