area united kingdom national slogan bbc asian network bollywood bhangra asian urban and underground . home of desi music news and documentaries frequency mw various restricted coverage dab 12b freeview 709 freesat 709 sky uk only 0119 virgin media 912 first air date 1976 bbc radio leicester show 1988 as the asian network bbc radio leicester & bbc wm 1996 as separate channel on am 2002 nationally on dab 1 format music news & entertainment audience share 0.3 % december 2012 2 owner bbc webcast web stream http progressive streams worldwide stream shoutcast 128 kbps mp3 hls streams worldwide stream 48 kbps aac worldwide stream 96 kbps aac uk only stream 128 kbps aac uk only stream 320 kbps aac hds streams worldwide stream 48 kbps aac website www.bbc.co.uk asiannetwork song list bbc asian network is a british radio station whose output is targeted to serve people of south asian descent indians pakistanis bangladeshis sri lankans or with an interest in south asian affairs . the music and news comes out of the main urban areas where there are significant communities with these backgrounds . the station has production centres in birmingham the mailbox and london broadcasting house . its parent station is bbc radio 2 at western house and it is part of the bbc audio and music division . bbc asian network broadcasts mainly in english but also have programmes in five south asian languages hindi urdu punjabi bengali gujarati and the mirpuri dialect of the potwari language and despite the name is targeted at those of south asian descent or with an interest in south asian affairs ; with the majority of asia not catered for . the station s output consists largely of music and talk programmes although there is a daily documentary series asian network reports . 3 over mid 2009 the asian network provided coverage at melas across the uk as part of the summer of melas . 4 in march 2010 the station which has the highest per listener budget of all uk radio stations 5 6 was threatened with closure along with bbc 6 music . 7 a year later following consultation the bbc trust announced it was reconsidering its plan to close the station in favour of reducing its budget . 8 it was eventually decided not to close the station and by october 2014 the station had finally exceeded the target of 600 000 9 listeners which bbc trust had set in 2011 . contents 1 history 1.1 origins 1.2 bbc asian network goes national 1.3 branding and schedule changes 1.4 drama output 1.5 possible closure and falling audiences 2 notable presenters 2.1 current presenters 2.1.1 reporters 2.2 former presenters 3 references 4 external links history edit bbc asian network studio at the mailbox shopping centre birmingham origins edit bbc television had broadcast an asian news programme nai zindagi naya jeevan since 1968 from its studios in birmingham ; this series followed a traditional news and current affairs format . in 1977 bbc radio leicester responding to the growth of the size of the south asian population in leicester introduced a daily show aimed primarily at that community in the city . at one point the audience consisted of 67 per cent of the south asian community in leicester . citation needed in 1979 bbc wm the bbc radio station for the midlands followed leicester s lead and introduced a similar daily show . on 30 october 1988 the asian network was launched on bbc wm and bbc radio leicester with a combined output of 70 hours per week and in 1996 the station was relaunched as bbc asian network . bbc asian network goes national edit on monday 28 october 2002 it was relaunched for the dab digital radio system now broadcasting nationwide . in january 2006 the bbc announced that they were investing an extra 1m in the bbc asian network and increasing the number of full time staff by 30 % in a bid to make british south asian interests a mainstream part of the corporation s output . branding and schedule changes edit in april 2006 the first wave of schedule changes were introduced with further changes coming into effect on 14 may and 21 may with weekend changes occurring from 17 june . 10 in august 2007 the asian network received a new logo as part of a general re brand of all national bbc stations . in 2009 this was re branded again to add prominence to the asian aspect of the logo . drama output edit one of the most significant programmes in the asian network lineup was an ongoing asian soap opera silver street which was first broadcast in 2004 . storylines focussed on the lives of a british south asian community in an english town of unspecified name and location with themes that generally related to issues that affect the daily lives of british south asians and their neighbours . following a cutting of episode lengths to five minutes per day and continued falling listenership on 16 november 2009 the bbc announced they would be cancelling silver street . 11 the last episode was broadcast in march 2010 . the cancellation grew out of many criticisms of the asian network in the bbc trust s annual report . in july 2009 it was revealed that the asian network had lost over 20 % of its listeners in a single year and per listener was the most costly and expensive bbc radio station to run . 12 silver street was replaced by monthly half hour dramas and in august 2010 bbc asian network announced it would be launching a new drama season from 1 september 2010 . 13 possible closure and falling audiences edit on 26 february 2010 the times reported that mark thompson director general of the bbc proposed closing the station in a bid to scale back bbc operations and allow commercial rivals more room . 14 the proposal of closure along with bbc 6 music was later confirmed on 2 march . 15 a letter was written to the bbc trust and signed by various people although the number of signatories also included a number signing their name at least more than once ; as both a single name and as part of a collective 16 with many an listeners advocating keeping their station at the expense of the more popular 6 music 17 although the bbc trust later rejected plans to close 6 music and approved the plans to close an . 18 on 14 march 2011 the bbc announced it was reconsidering its plan to close the station in favour of reducing its budget in half . 19 in 2011 the bbc ruled there would be a 46 % reduction in an s budget and a declared target of 600 000 listeners a week ; with actual audience numbers only reaching 507 000 . 20 in 2012 audience numbers fell even further ; peaking at only 453 000 . 21 even with the budget reductions in 2013 an still had the largest budget of the bbc s digital only radio stations at 13m ; despite having the lowest audience figures by far . 22 rajar s figures in 2014 showed that an had at last started to increase its ratings q2 s average weekly audience was 552 000 listeners peaking at 619 000 listeners in q4 23 finally exceeding the target set in 2011 . however the station was noted as being the bbc s only station across both television and radio whose appreciation index measurably fell in 2014 . 24 by may 2015 an had once again lost a substantial number of listeners with the rajar reporting a peak of 562 000 listeners a loss of 57 000 from the previous quarter . 25 notable presenters edit current presenters edit saima ajram nadia ali preeya kalidas bobby friction nihal panjabi hit squad rozina sini harpz kaur guz khan noreen khan ray khan suzi mann ashanti omkar alpa pandya raj and pablo tommy sandhu mim shaikh panjabi hit squad yasser reporters edit sanjiv buttoo former presenters edit aasmah mir ameet chana anita rani dj kayper nikki bedi pathaan murtz nerm sanjay sharma sonia deol waqas saeed references edit what is bbc asian network bbc listening figures quarterly listening rajar bbc asian network events bbc asian network radiocentre s response to the bbc trust s service licence review of asian network 1 stars line up to save asian network stars line up to save asian network john plunkett bbc confirms plans to axe 6 music and asian network the guardian 2 march 2010 bbc considers asian network u turn . bbc news . 14 march 2011 . http www.rajar.co.uk listening quarterly listening.php the new schedule april 2006 image dissectors changes to drama on bbc asian network bbc press release 16 november 2009 . press release 8 august 2010 bbc signals an end to era of expansion 2010 02 26 retrieved 2010 02 260 john plunkett bbc confirms plans to axe 6 music and asian network the guardian 2 march 2010 bbc asian network is a vital platform 2 the guardian 6 march 2010 bbc asian network closure bbc consultation bbc trust rejects 6 music closure plan 3 bbc news 5 july 2010 bbc considers asian network u turn . bbc news . 14 march 2011 . radiocentre s response to the bbc trust s service licence review of asian network 4 rajar bbc asian network loses 130k listeners bbc full financial statements 2012 2013 http www.rajar.co.uk listening quarterly listening.php bbc annual report and accounts 2013 14 pdf . bbc . 21 july 2014 . radio 4 extra breaks record to become uk s biggest digital only station . bbc . 21 may 2015 . external links edit bbc asian network at bbc online origins of bbc asian network bbc asian network relaunched on dab at bbc.co.uk v t e bbc asian network presenter saima ajram nadia ali anushka arora dipps bhamrah bobby friction gagan grewal preeya kalidas harpz kaur guz khan noreen khan ray khan dj limelight kan d man suzi mann nihal ashanti omkar alpa pandya panjabi hit squad raj and pablo tommy sandhu mim shaikh yasser correspondents sanjiv buttoo gurvinder aujla rahila bano audrey dias maimuna kazi catrin nye adam pasternicki deepak patel nikesh rughani divya talwar poonam taneja programmes asian network reports music programmes regional languages hindi urdu punjabi gujarati mirpuri and bengali silver street related articles nai zindagi naya jeevan bbc radio leicester bbc wm bob shennan bbc radio 5 live links to related articles v t e bbc radio bbc uk 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service category v t e radio stations in the west midlands of england longwave am stations 198 bbc radio 4 252 rt radio 1 mediumwave am stations 828 1458 bbc asian network 909 693 bbc radio 5 live 990 1152 free radio 80s 1089 1053 talksport 1215 absolute radio 1296 radio xl fm stations 88.3 bbc radio 2 89.1 big city radio 90.5 bbc radio 3 92.7 bbc radio 4 95.6 bbc wm