Stop of The Pops slammed

As the demise of what was once the BBC?s flagship music programme looms, a leading North West academic has voiced concerns that 'Auntie? is failing its youth audience by axing Top of the Pops, whilst Channel 4 is simultaneously strengthening its commitment to new music.

Lecturer in Media at Edge Hill University, Phil Jackson, who recently presented a paper on Eurovision at the prestigious International Communications Association Conference in Dresden, is set to embark on research to assess the impact of the demise of the programme on youth culture in the UK.

"As a public service broadcaster the BBC should be offering television music programming for all ages," said Phil. "Whilst BBC3 offers comedy and drama to youth audiences, BBC 1 and 2 offers limited programming dedicated to breaking pop music. Whilst I accept that youth audiences use many different media to access new music, television continues to offer a mass shared experience that promotes discussion among groups, working as a vital cultural bond."

The last Top of the Pops is scheduled for 30th July. After 42 years of broadcasting the BBC claims that it cannot compete with 24/7 music channels and with dwindling audiences it's time for the show to reach a natural conclusion.

"I understand that the current format wasn?t working," commented Phil, "but now that the charts are becoming more, not less relevant since the introduction of downloads, the BBC?s commitment to popular music on terrestrial television should be more strongly asserted. I think that the BBC is missing an opportunity to reflect the dynamic landscape of British popular music in the 21st Century."

Phil also has concerns that without Top of the Pops the promotion of new music may be adversely affected.

"Popular music is extremely important within popular culture and the Top of the Pops brand is one that is recognised throughout the world. It will be interesting to see which terrestrial TV programmes will fill the void left by Top of the Pops in promoting popular music to a youth audience."

Phil also claims that Top of the Pops will transform itself into a form of nostalgia for future audiences:

"Everyone thinks that the best years of Top of the Pops were broadcast around the time they were 14 or 15. I think it's a shame that future generations may not have a similar cultural icon to look back on."