BBC 6 Music fans unhappy with schedule shake-up

Gideon Coe and Marc Riley to have airtime cut

Sam Moore
·2 min read
BRISTOL, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 13: BBC 6 Music presenter Marc Riley comperes on the second day of the BBC 6 Music Festival at Colston Hall on February 13, 2016 in Bristol, England. (Photo by Adam Gasson/Redferns)
BBC 6 Music presenter Marc Riley at the 2016 BBC 6 Music Festival in Bristol. (Adam Gasson/Redferns)

BBC Radio 6 Music has announced changes to its schedule and fans of the station are not happy with the shake-up.

In an announcement the BBC confirmed that Gideon Coe and Marc Riley are going to have their air-time cut by more than half.

The pair currently each have a show every weeknight and are on-air for a combined 20 hours per week but with the shake-up, that will be cut to eight hours with the pair now co-hosting a show from 10pm-midnight Monday to Thursday.

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Coe and Riley are 6 Music mainstays with Coe working for the station since its launch in 2002 and Riley joined just two years later.

"A love of music unites all of our 6 Music presenters," Samantha Moy, head of 6 Music said in a statement.

"And bringing Marc & Gid and Tom & Deb together means even more music will be found and shared with our audience, giving a new sound to 6 Music at night.

DJ Gideon Coe in the radio studio. Ash, whose NME Brat award-winning single 'Burn Baby Burn' launched 6 Music in March, dropped by the station this morning to perform live on the Mid-Morning Show with Gideon Coe. TX: BBC 6 Music Wednesday 28th August 2002 @ 11.30am (Photo by Jeff Overs/BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images)
Gideon Coe has seen his airtime cut considerably by the BBC. (Getty Images)

The BBC's scheduling change will now see a new show air from 7pm till 9pm hosted by Tom Ravenscroft and Deb Grant.

Entitled New Music Fix Daily, the show will feature the best of new releases from around the globe.

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The 9pm till 10pm slot will be filled by rotating artist in residence and be presented by a musician. Previous hosts include Phoebe Bridgers, IDLES and Father John Misty.

The new schedule will kick in from 5 June.

Fans on social media have expressed their unhappiness with the planned changes, particularly as it relates to Coe and Riley spending less time on air.

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - MAY 25: Marc Riley introduces Courtney Barnett for her performance at the BBC Biggest Weekend at Titanic Slipways on May 25, 2018 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Kieran Frost/Redferns)
Marc Riley will now co-host a show with Gideon Coe on BBC Radio 6 Music. (Redferns)

One listener tweeted: "Feels like much loved 6 Music is spiralling into the abyss. Cutting two of its best two DJ slots (Marc Riley and Gid Coe) into one is truly rubbish.

"Add in the mix the festival news earlier in the year, this is another poor BBC decision. Hard to understand."

Another posted: "Terrible news. Marc's and Gideon's shows are some of the only ones still worth listening to. I'm pretty much done with 6 Music now - it's no longer the radio station I've loved since its beginning, and the one that we listeners fought to save. Big mistake. Huge."

One listener added: "Genuinely feel 6Music has lost its way big time."

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