BBC Trust spares 6 Music from closure

The decision will be seen as a victory for the Save 6 Music campaign, a high-profile effort to save the station backed by listeners, presenters, record labels and musicians including David Bowie.

Even commercial radio boss Steve Orchard - CEO of Quidem and former group operations director of GCap - told The Drum the commercial sector would gain nothing from 6 Music's closure.

But the Trust has accepted plans to close the Asian Network, cut 25% of the BBC's online budget and close teen service Blast!

The Trust said in a statement: "The Trust concludes that, as things stand, the case has not been made for the closure of 6 Music.

"The Executive should draw up an overarching strategy for digital radio. If the director general wanted to propose a different shape for the BBC's music radio stations as part of a new strategy, the trust would consider it.

"The trust would consider a formal proposal for the closure of the Asian Network, although this must include a proposition for meeting the needs of the station's audience in different ways."

In other news, Thompson has backed plans to reveal the BBC's biggest earners after the BBC Trust said the corporation should publish the names of its top-paid stars.

Speaking on yesterday's Andrew Marr show, Thompson endorsed the idea of revealing stars' earnings in pay brackets - ranging from under £250,000 to over £5m - but said he would not support revealing individual salaries.

He said: "So strong is the public interest in those people who are paid the very larger sums of money by the BBC that we feel there is an argument for making available the names of those who are most highly paid.

"[We are] not saying how much they are individually paid but just being clear on the people who are the most highly paid people in the BBC."