I think the answer is obvious.. time to close it down.

£25million spend over 2 years for this station??!! thats tax payers money which can certainly be used elsewhere!

The fact that they spent alot of money on marketing the station at various events last year and the year before and still failed to get the listership just shows it time to call it a night on this one..

I definately think that the BBC Asian Network should stay standing and carry on broadcasting. Yes, it must rethink its strategy to maintain and increase its listenership but there is no reason why is should be taken off completely.

It provides a good amount of Asian listeners an avenue for them to get involved and interactive with the Asian Media industry nationwide.

The recent 'Audience with Shah Rukh Khan' event which the BBC Radio Theatre hosted for the Asian Network was a BIG success and proved that the station can only go from strength to strength given the right opportunities to get its listeners more actively involved.

I think that widening the AM frequency to nationwide availability would only give the station a bigger possibility of growing.

Haroon, the Asian Network has been proved unprofessional and damn right boring time and time again by the ethnic press.
As Gordon Ramsey would say 'shut it down, shut it down'.

Hey Bharat.

You say it's 'boring' but you have no suggestions for how it could be improved or how it could gain listenership?

What do you want from them if they were to stay open?

Let's face it the music promoted on Asian Network has no crossover appeal. If you look at 1Xtra all the tunes are in English and they have a lot of crossover success with grime and RnB music.

Asian Network talkshows are lame too. Who wants to listen to some old uncle complaining about mixed race marriages? Get with the programme this is UK 2010!

What is the point of all these changes? They just seem to be targeting the station for younger audiences and seem to forget the elderly listeners and those who are middle aged (apart from giving them a 2 hour evening language show!).
When they first made changes back in 2006 I have since not liked listening in, they axed a popular afternoon show with Navinder Bhogal which was a BIG hit with listeners of all ages. This poor presenter was in tears on her last show and so were many of her listeners including my 55 year old aunt, now they have a lifestyle show with nothing in common for all the audiences!

Its about time they realised all these changes will not help, and 25 million in 2 years for what rubbish?!

So yes maybe its about time it was shut down....

I say Keep the radio station going! There is hardly an alternative, yes there's Sunrise, Buzz Asia etc, but the quality of both stations are terrible and full of adverts! - Time check sponsored by XYZ oh for God sakes, what rubbish!

Anyway, back to BBC Asian network... The music selection is good, they do play a reasonable variety of songs, the DJs are fun and interactive and I genuinely enjoy listening to the station. I think the station does need to expand on the AM frequency, or maybe get on FM for the clarity? I know the station is on DAB radio, which is fine, but FM/AM still has a further reach

Love the fact that people are suggesting thhe asian network should be given more frequencies! what a joke! they should manage with what they got...and more frequencies means more money spent! And the other stations mentioned are COMMERCIAL stations hence the advertising... funny how no-one moans about the ads on asian tv channels... everything is sponsored!

Please remember those areas where no asian radio is operating 24/7 - there is BBC Asian Network....on DAB; some shows I enjoy is the Sat am Bollywood show (Raj&Pablo) and Gagan Evening show, ok I understand all those not wanting it as it costs £25M of Tax payers money, BBC AN needs a new marketing strategy and the mix needs to be for all not just for under 25year old's, they need to work more slicker, if BBC AN goes we will be stuck with Litt Corp's Adverts Express.. the DAB platform is the best specially when your driving across the UK...

If the Asian Network were so gud then how comes they lost over 60,000 listerners a few months ago. They seem to declining since last year. They really cannot connect with the majority of the Asian audience because its run by the wrong people who dnt know wot the audience want. Yeh Sunrise has alot of adverts but they still seem to be on top with connecting to the audience....their presenters are not trying to be gora like the Asian Network. The AN have forgotten their roots...that's their downfall.

bbc asian network should definately close down or have a management shake up

its common knowledge they mostly play tracks of their friends and business associates in recent times it has become a biased platform only for those who have deep pockets

I think asians have got too used to boring (and not very articulate)asian language presenters on various comercial radio stations..... for too long.... Asian Network is BBC - WE DO PAY A LICENCE FEE FOR IT, SO WE SHOULD JOLLY WELL MAKE USE OF IT!

I think BBC Asian Network has tried hard to sustain its listeners and they do have a few good presenters, but overall it's time to switch and focus more on regional radio stations. There are so many good presenters on smaller radio stations i.e Sabras Radio I dont know if anybody knows of it but they have a great girl on in the mornings who does breakfast she can give anyone of those so called 'Big' radio presenters a run for their money. A great voice and a huge sense of music she's the next 'Big' thing!

It's a vicious circle, we lose AN then we are stuck with the Litt Corp.

The management at AN need to be fired as they are clueless.

Asian media is at it's lowest point, radio and tv need a good shake up

If BBC Asian Network closed down, who would miss it, apart from its overpaid presenters?
Enough said.

Please if there is any sanity left in the world the Asian Network will get axed.

What a huge waste of money.

Rubbish presenters, rubbish shows, rubbish talent.
The though of my license fee paying the wages of Nihal, Bobby Friction, Nikki Bedi, and dozens of other sniveling poor excuses for talent, gives me a chill down my spine.

Shut it down, waste of money.

Replace with no DJ (save on salaries), themed time zones music.

Eg, 6-7pm- 60s, 7-8pm 70s, etc.

Have daily time zones for different languages. Make it a music only station without the over the top debating. Put on music at peak times for people who understand music, and put the crap on after midnight!

Keep the costs down, simple.

Those at the station will ride the gravy train until it crashes and burns.... The senior management consists of non-Asians, an old lady and a coconut - Most of the presenters and producers know very little about Asian culture.

There is corruption, but the very big bosses can't acknowledge it for one simple reason - IF ONE GOES DOWN THEN THEY WILL TAKE THE REST DOWN WITH THEM. So what you write here doesn't matter.

As long as they are getting paid fat salaries it doesn't matter to them how the station does. They are indirectly sticking up two fingers at the licence payers (all of you).

I agree with the comments made by Angel, fair do's FAT SALARIES is what sums up THE ASIAN NETWORK shut it down!

Nish you made a good point - to focus on smaller stations. I've heard of Sabras Radio and I do listen to the girl you're talking about her name is Alpa she is a breath of fresh air. Good presenter well in tune with what's going on in the World and her taste in music sets her aside from the rest a good blend of all. She doesnt sound BIG HEADED like the rest of these presenters/DJ's we hear on the Asian Network. I think she use to be a part of the Asian Network when it was just going 24hrs she soon left, wise girl!

It is pretty amusing reading some comments on here. Some of us seem to think the programmes on the AN are 'boring' and feature 'lame' shows. What i dont understand is if we really want to listen in to rnb, garage, hip hop, and other genres of music, then why not change channel to hundreds of other channels playing exactly that. Asian channels are in a minority, so let them get on with what most people like which is shows in languages from Asian subcontinent. Mainly Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Gujarati and Bengali.

However i still think too much is being spent on the station and the presenters do not deserve the extortionate wages they are paid by the station.

Although the Asian Network needs some improvements I do like it and can't see myself listening to other commercial Asian stations throwing out double glazing adverts every 10 mins. You hear people say it isn't Asian enough, yet the AN champions British Asian talent and offers something alternative.

They should increase there presence nationwide with AM/FM.

THE HORRIBLE TRUTH
-----------------
1. The bosses have a very limited knowledge of Asian culture. They rely too heavily on one auntie-jee who is horribly out of touch with popular culture
2. They get paid ridiculous fees. Some are on £100,000 plus a year
3. Past and present Muslims within the station have gone on record to say they felt victimised
4. The integrity of the head of music has repeatedly been questioned and compelling evidence to suggest the same has appeared in the press
5. Those presenting regional language shows are treated as second class citizens
6. Employees with genuine grievances are afraid they will be fired if they speak up
7. Money is wasted on some useless live events to generate extra income for employees
8. A number of presenters have used the platform to plug artists they manage, their own music and live events. Some producers and presenters have gone further by plugging clients they do PR for
9. Most record labels are disillusioned with the station
10. Despite having some of the biggest singers in the world, Pakistanis are ignored until they do Bollywood films

Last but not least...

They don't give a sh*t what you think!!!!!

the only problem i have is that £25 million spending spree. not justified for low listening numbers.

as for the question no it shouldn't be axed. it's not like the bbc gives asians much of a voice on any of their other radio stations. branch out to fm radio not just confine it to dab, it's ridiculous.

What ever the differences, for the Asian community , we must keep the station, for now, that should be our goal. Then we can look at improving the service offered. The Asian network has a very difficult role in regards to having to cater for young, old, modern, traditional for a wide cross section of the Asian community, where several languages are spoken and religions followed. STOP critisising and show some community spirit by trying to save this station, our station.

i think it should because it is not asian network but indian network how many programs they broadcast from other south asian countries

I say absolutely NOOooooo for the idea of closing Asian Network !!! I enjoy that station, if I could i would listen whole night and whole day, day and night !!

The problem with the AN has been that which plagues much of the BBC; the desire to capture the 'youth' audience. I worked for the AN for several years and despaired at the way the traditional audience (and station workers) were marginalised.
The final straw came in the last couple of years when much of the senior management is now the same as that running R1 etc. They have no idea of Asian culture.
So I actually think a return to a more focused AN based on local regional audience actually makes more sense.

I say Asian network is doing very good job. Adil Ray's show is very funny and keep the listeners going. ASianet is the only international station and keeps people from Indian subcontinent on one plateform. I feel some Asain people do not how to promote their culture. If people wannts to listen to Rnb or ohter English music, listen to other channels. Dabates on tochy subjects such as forced marriages, domestic violence or homosexuality create awareness in the Asian Community.It is a big plateform for new talent as well- Jay Sean, Jaya
FEW changes can be made to reach all the listeners but We need the service. Why always Minorities services are targets for cuts. WE pay licence fee as well.

In my opinion BBC Asian Network should be closed and some of the money saved should be sent over to my favorite radio station!!.. I Miss my Club Asia so so much and my life just isnt the same in Oldham without Club Asia you know. Club Asia was my favorite and best radio station in my life and I would do anything..ANYTHING to get my Club Asia back on SKY 0145 ok! Please can someone tell me what I have to do to get my CLub Asia back; because without this radio station, their is a massive void in my life and I needs to be filled. I feel so empty without Club Asia. I'm longing for it to cum back in my life and please me just like before..
Princess Zainab Zara Noon