Marks out of 10 for Radio 2 presenters? Not on your nelly!
A proposal that DJs on Radio 2 should be given marks out of 10 for their shows prompted a revolt among some presenters.
Chris Evans: Astonishing idea
The suggestion was part of a station management drive to bring greater rigour in measuring how presenters perform, says the Guardian.
However,the proposal got nowhere – DJs "were said to have treated it with disdain," said the paper, with one station insider describing it as "astonishing it was suggested at all".
"It's reducing the whole thing to numbers," said another BBC source. "The idea that you can measure the success of a programme by a series of integers, it feels as if you are being treated like a child.
"The things that really matter aren't measurable. A presenter could hit all their numbers and still have a dull programme. Or they could miss all the targets but be making great radio."
Radio 2 DJs include top names in UK broadcasting including Chris Evans, Jeremy Vine, Steve Wright, Simon Mayo, Elaine Paige, Paul O'Grady, Liza Tarbuck and Graham Norton.
The station had its biggest ever audience of more than 15m weekly listeners on average in the final three months of last year, according to the latest figures.
Another Radio 2 source told the Guardian the idea that DJs should be marked out of 10 was never taken forward and was part of internal discussions at the station about how it could do things better.
Radio 2 has sought a younger audience in recent years with Evans replacing Sir Terry Wogan on breakfast and a line-up of DJs that also includes TV stars such as Norton and Dermot O'Leary.
A Radio 2 spokeswoman said: "It is routine good practice to discuss our programmes regularly to ensure we are offering listeners the best service possible."