Editing BBC Radio 3 (section)

== History ==
{{For timeline}}
{{section too long|date=March 2022}}

Radio 3 is the successor station to the [[BBC Third Programme|Third Programme]] which began broadcasting on 29 September 1946.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/thirdprogramme/ |title=BBC Radio 3 – Sixty Years On |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation}}</ref> The name Radio 3 was adopted on 30 September 1967 when the BBC launched its first pop music station, [[BBC Radio 1|Radio 1]]<ref name="Envy1996">{{cite book|author=Humphrey Carpenter|title=The Envy of the World: Fifty Years of the BBC Third Programme and Radio 3, 1946-1996|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bei4GwAACAAJ|year=1996|publisher=Weidenfeld & Nicolson|isbn=978-0-297-81830-4}}</ref>{{rp|247}} and rebranded its national radio channels as Radio 1, [[BBC Radio 2|Radio 2]] (formerly the [[BBC Light Programme|Light Programme]]), Radio 3, and [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]] (formerly the [[BBC Home Service|Home Service]]).

Radio 3 was the overall label applied to the collection of services which had until then gone under the umbrella title of the Third Network, namely:
*the Third Programme proper (as launched in 1946, an evenings-only offering of demanding cultural fare, both musical and spoken)
*the Music Programme (a daytime service of classical music)
*sports coverage (chiefly on Saturday afternoons) and adult educational programming in the early part of weekday evenings (known as Network Three).
All these strands, including the Third Programme, kept their separate identities within Radio 3 until 4 April 1970, when there was a further reorganisation following the introduction of the structural changes which had been outlined the previous year in the BBC document ''Broadcasting in the Seventies''.

=== ''Broadcasting in the Seventies'' ===
On 10 July 1969 the BBC published its plans for radio and television in a policy document entitled ''Broadcasting in the Seventies''. Later described in 2002 by [[Jenny Abramsky]], Head of Radio and Music, as "the most controversial document ever produced by radio",<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/speeches/stories/abramsky_oxford1.shtml |title=Sound Matters – Soundtrack for the UK – How did we get here?|access-date=26 September 2008 |publisher=Text of a lecture given by Jenny Abramsky, News International Visiting Professor of Broadcast Media 2002 at Green College, Oxford University}}</ref> the document outlined each station's target audience and what content should be broadcast on each channel. This concept went against the earlier methods laid out by the BBC's first Director General [[John Reith, 1st Baron Reith|John Reith]] and caused controversy at the time, despite laying out the radio structure that is recognisable today.<ref>{{cite news|title=Gerard Mansell – Obituary|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/8227237/Gerard-Mansell.html# |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231190911/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/8227237/Gerard-Mansell.html |archive-date=2010-12-31 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=7 July 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=27 December 2010}}</ref>

At the time of the review, Radio 3 faced several problems. An early option to cut costs, required under the proposals, was to reduce the number of networks from four to three, so that Radio 3 would not broadcast during the day and would use the frequencies of either Radio 1 or 2 as the two stations would merge content. However "Day-time serious music would be the casualty" of these proposals and caused some controversy.<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|249}} A further rumour was expressed that Radio 3 could be closed altogether as a strong statistical case existed against the station according to ''[[The Guardian]]''.<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|251}} However, the Director-General, [[Charles Curran (broadcaster)|Charles Curran]], publicly denied this as "quite contradictory to the aim of the BBC, which is to provide a comprehensive radio service".<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|251}} Curran had earlier dismissed any suggestion that Radio 3's small audience was a consideration: "What is decisive is whether there is a worthwhile audience, and I mean by worthwhile an audience which will get an enormous satisfaction out of it."<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|251}}

As a result of ''Broadcasting in the Seventies'', factual content, including documentaries and current affairs, were moved to [[BBC Radio 4]] and the separate titled strands were abolished. The document stated that Radio 3 was to have "a larger output of standard classical music" but with "some element in the evening of cultural speech programmes – poetry, plays".<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|253}} Equally, questions were being asked by the poet [[Peter Porter (poet)|Peter Porter]] about whether other spoken content, for example poetry, would remain on the station. These concerns also led to the composer [[Peter Maxwell Davies]] and the music critic [[Edward Greenfield]] to fear that "people would lose the mix of cultural experiences which expanded intellectual horizons".<ref name="RT4-4-70">''Radio Times'', 4–10 April 1970, BBC Magazines</ref> However, Radio 3 controller [[P. H. Newby|Howard Newby]] reassured these concerns by replying that only the coverage of political and economic affairs would be passed to Radio 4, and Radio 3 would keep drama, poetry, and talks by scientists, philosophers and historians.<ref name="RT4-4-70" />

The ''Broadcasting in the Seventies'' report also proposed a large cutback in the number and size of the BBC's orchestras. In September 1969, a distinguished campaign group entitled the Campaign for Better Broadcasting was formed to protest, with the backing of Sir [[Adrian Boult]], [[Jonathan Miller]], [[Henry Moore]] and [[George Melly]].<ref>Briggs (1985), p. 353</ref> The campaign objected to "the dismantling of the Third Programme by cutting down its spoken word content from fourteen hours a week to six" and "segregating programmes into classes".<ref>Briggs (1985), p. 355</ref> Mention of the campaign even reached debate in the House of Commons.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Stonehouse|title=British Broadcasting Corporation|journal=Hansard|date=16 October 1969|volume=788|pages=575–577|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1969/oct/16/british-broadcasting-corporation|access-date=7 July 2012}}</ref>

=== The "arts" controllers ===
[[File:Royal Albert Hall, BBC Proms 2017.jpg|thumb|Radio 3 broadcasts the [[BBC Proms]] live every year from the [[Royal Albert Hall]] and other venues]]
From the launch until 1987, the controllers of Radio 3 showed preferences towards speech and arts programming as opposed to focus on classical music and the Proms. The first controller, Newby, made little contribution to the station, focusing on the transition from the Third programme to Radio 3 and as a result of the ''Broadcasting in the Seventies'' report.

The second controller, [[Stephen Hearst]] who assumed the role in 1972, was different. As Hearst had previously been head of television arts features<ref>{{cite news|last=Purser|first=Philip|title=Stephen Hearst obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/mar/30/stephen-hearst-obituary|access-date=7 July 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=30 March 2010}}</ref> his appointment was seen with scepticism among the staff who viewed him as a populariser.<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|269}} According to Hearst when interviewed for [[Humphrey Carpenter]]'s book, the main rival candidate for controller [[Martin Esslin]], head of Radio Drama, had said to the interviewing panel that audience figures should play no part in the decision making process over programming.<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|268}} Hearst said he responded to the same question about this issue by commenting that as the station was financed by public money it needed to consider the size of its audience – there was a minimum viable figure but this could be increased with "a lively style of broadcasting".<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|268}}

Hearst attempted to make the content of the channel more accessible to a wider audience, but his efforts, which included the evening drivetime programme ''Homeward Bound'' and Sunday phone-in request programme ''Your Concert Choice'' (the former an uninterrupted sequence of musical items identified only at the end of the programme; the latter a resurrection from the old [[BBC Home Service|Home Service]]), were criticised.<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|289, 296}} However, during this time the long running arts discussion programme ''Critics' Forum'' was launched<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|290}} as well as themed evenings and programmes of miscellaneous music including ''Sounds Interesting''.<ref>''Radio Times'', Saturday 1 April 1978, BBC Magazines.</ref>

In 1978, [[Ian McIntyre]] took over as controller of Radio 3 but quickly faced uncomfortable relationships between departments. At approximately the same time [[Aubrey Singer]] became managing director of Radio and began to make programming on the station more populist in a drive to retain listeners in face of possible competition from competitors using a "streamed format".<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|304}} An example of this is the replacement of ''Homeward Bound'' in 1980 with an extended, presenter-driven programme called ''Mainly for Pleasure''. The same year an internal paper recommended the disbandment of several of the BBC's orchestras and of the Music Division, resulting in low morale and [[Strike action|industrial action]] by musicians that delayed the start of the Proms.<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|306–307}} Senior management was also getting dissatisfied with listening figures leading to the Director-General [[Alasdair Milne]] to suggest that presentation style was "too stodgy and old-fashioned".<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|313}}

=== The "music" controllers ===

In 1987 the positions of Controller of Music and Controller of Radio 3 were merged, and with it the operation of the Proms, under the former Music Controller [[John Drummond (arts administrator)|John Drummond]]. Drummond, like Hearst, believed that the music programmes' presentation was too stiff and formal<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|326}}<ref>Drummond (2001), p. 354.</ref> and he therefore encouraged announcers to be more natural and enthusiastic. Repeats of classic drama performances by the likes of [[John Gielgud]] and [[Paul Scofield]] were also included because, in his view, newer drama was "gloomy and pretentious".<ref>Drummond (2001), pp. 370–371.</ref> He also introduced features and celebrations of the anniversaries of famous figures including [[William Glock]], [[Michael Tippett]] and [[Isaiah Berlin]]. Drummond also introduced the show ''[[Mixing It]]'' which targeted the music genres that fell between Radios 1 and 3, often seen as a precursor to the programme ''[[Late Junction]]''.

During Drummond's time, Radio 3 also began to experiment with outside broadcasts, including an ambitious Berlin Weekend to mark the [[German Reunification|reunification of Germany]] in 1990, and a much praised weekend of programming that was broadcast from London and [[Minneapolis-St Paul]] – creating broadcasting history by being the first time a whole weekend had been transmitted "live from another continent".<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|331}} However, Drummond complained about the former that "not one single senior person in the BBC had listened to any part of it",<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|331}} reflecting his general feeling that the BBC senior management paid little attention stating: "I can't remember ever having a serious conversation with anyone above me in the BBC about Radio 3 ... I would much rather have had the feeling that they thought it mattered what Radio 3 did."<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|328–329}}

[[File:Henry Purcell Closterman.jpg|thumb|The tercentenary of Henry Purcell's death was marked in 1995 by the award-winning Radio 3 series ''Fairest Isle'']]
Drummond's successor was [[Nicholas Kenyon]], previously chief music critic of ''[[The Observer]]'', who took over in February 1992 and was immediately faced with the looming launch date for commercial competitor [[Classic FM (UK)|Classic FM]] who were, and still remain, Radio 3's biggest rivals. Kenyon, similar to [[Aubrey Singer|Singer]] a decade earlier, believed that Radio 3 had to make changes to its presentation before the new station began broadcasting rather than react later.<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|304, 339}} As a result, three senior producers were sent to study classical music stations in the United States<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|339}} and the station hired advertising agents [[Saatchi & Saatchi]] to help improve public perception. Kenyon's tenure was to meet with much controversy: in attempts to update the station's presentation, popular announcers Malcolm Ruthven, Peter Barker and Tony Scotland were axed as well as drama being cut by a quarter, resulting in a letter of protest to ''[[The Times]]'' signed by [[Harold Pinter]], [[Tom Stoppard]] and [[Fay Weldon]] among others;<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|342}} new weekday programmes for breakfast time and drive time, entitled ''[[Breakfast (BBC Radio 3 programme)|On Air]]'' and ''[[In Tune (radio programme)|In Tune]]'' respectfully, were launched,<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|341}} as was a new three-hour programme of popular classics on Sunday mornings fronted by [[Brian Kay]].<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|342}}

These moves were defended by Kenyon who argued that the changes were not "some ghastly descent into populism" but were instead to create "access points" for new listeners.<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|341}} However, there was still "widespread disbelief"<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|357}} when it was announced in the summer that a new morning programme would take the 9{{nbsp}}am spot from the revered ''[[Composer of the Week]]'' and would be presented by a signing from Classic FM – the disc jockey [[Paul Gambaccini]]. The criticism, especially once the programme went on air a few weeks later, was so unrelenting that Gambaccini announced the following spring that he would not be renewing his contract with Radio 3.<ref name="Envy1996"/>{{rp|357}}

However, Kenyon's controllership was marked by several highly distinguished programming successes. ''Fairest Isle'' was an ambitious project from 1995 which marked the 300th anniversary of the death of [[Henry Purcell]] with a year-long celebration of British music and the programme ''Sounding the Century'', which ran for two years from 1997, presented a retrospective of 20th-century music. Both won awards.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7162929.stm |title=Knighthood for ex-Proms supremo |work=BBC News|access-date=8 October 2008 | date=29 December 2007}}</ref>
He also introduced a number of well received specialist programmes including children's programme ''The Music Machine'', early music programme ''Spirit of the Age'', jazz showcase ''Impressions'', vocal music programme ''Voices'' and the arts programme ''[[Night Waves]]''.

BBC Radio 3 began nighttime transmissions in May 1996 with the introduction of ''[[Euroclassic Notturno|Through the Night]]'',<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/d02a4269530045bf80869e2cc1942c74|title=Through the Night|journal=The Radio Times|date=2 May 1996|issue=3771|pages=104|via=BBC Genome}}</ref> consisting of radio recordings from members of the [[European Broadcasting Union]] and distributed to some of these other stations under the title ''Euroclassic Notturno'' since 1998.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/euroclassicnotturno/ |title=Euroclassic Notturno |publisher=BBC |access-date=8 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080718102126/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/euroclassicnotturno/ |archive-date=18 July 2008 }}</ref> The introduction of 24-hour broadcasting resulted in the introduction of a fixed programming point at 22:00 so that if live programme overran, later programming could be cancelled to allow ''Through the Night'' to begin promptly.

[[File:Max Reinhardt, radio broadcaster.jpg|thumb|[[Max Reinhardt (radio presenter)|Max Reinhardt]], former presenter of ''[[Late Junction]]'']]
In 1998, [[Roger Wright (music administrator)|Roger Wright]] took over as controller of the station. Soon after his appointment some changes were made to showcase a wider variety of music; a new, relaxed, late-night music programme ''[[Late Junction]]'' featured a wide variety of genres; programmes focusing on jazz and world music were given a higher profile as were programmes presented by [[Brian Kay]], focusing on light music, and [[Andy Kershaw]], whose show was previously dropped by Radio 1. In these changes, Wright believed that, in the case of the former, he was addressing "this feeling people had that they didn't want to put Radio 3 on unless they were going to listen carefully"<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2002/jun/23/features.review37
| title=Into bed with Fiona and Verity |newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=19 October 2008 | location=London | first=Vanessa | last=Thorpe | date=23 June 2002}}</ref> and in the latter cases that he was "not [[dumbing down]] but smarting up" the programmes.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/speeches/stories/wrightmusicians.shtml
| title=Roger Wright, ''The Necessity of Re-invention'' |publisher=Speech given at the Musicians' Benevolent Fund annual luncheon, 21 November 2001, BBC press release| year=2001|access-date=19 October 2008}}</ref>

[[File:BBC Radio 3.png|220px|right| thumb| The BBC Radio 3 logo, 2001–2007]]
By 2004, Radio 3's programming and services were being recognised by the Corporation at large, as seen in the 2003/4 Charter renewal application and the Annual report for the year which reported that Radio 3 had "achieved a record [audience] reach in the first quarter of 2004",<ref name=AR34>BBC Annual Report 2003/04, p. 34.</ref> and by the government: the [[Secretary of State (United Kingdom)|Secretary of State's]] foreword to the government's [[Green Paper]] in 2005 made special mention of "the sort of commitment to new talent that has made Radio 3 the largest commissioner of new music in the world" as a model for what the BBC should be about.<ref>Review of the BBC's Royal Charter: ''A strong BBC, independent of government'', Department for Culture, Media and Sport, March 2005, p. 3.</ref>

By 2008, however, the station faced pressures to increase its audience by making programmes more accessible while loyal listeners began to complain about the tone of these new changes. Presentation was described as "gruesome in tone and level"<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/arts/12742/part_3/update-on-three.thtml |title=Update on Three |magazine=The Spectator |year=2004 |access-date=24 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090110200529/http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/arts/12742/part_3/update-on-three.thtml |archive-date=10 January 2009 }}</ref> and global music output was mocked as "street-smart fusions" and "global pop".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/michael-church-the-bbcs-growing-debasement-of-world-music-485175.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081201084754/http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/michael-church-the-bbcs-growing-debasement-of-world-music-485175.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=1 December 2008|newspaper=The Independent on Sunday|title=The BBC's growing debasement of world music|access-date=24 September 2008 | location=London | date=28 February 2005}}</ref> At the same time [[RAJAR]] began to record lower listening figures and decisions on policy were being changed resulting in the children's programme ''Making Tracks'', experimental music programme ''[[Mixing It]]'', theatre and film programme ''Stage and Screen'' and ''Brian Kay's Light Programme'' all being dropped, a reduction in the number of concerts<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/11/05/do0504.xml
 |title=A bullet through the heart of Radio 3 |newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=24 September 2008 | location=London | first=David | last=Self | date=5 November 2006}}</ref> and format changes to several other programmes. In spite of the changes, figures still continued to fall.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/aug/16/radio1 |title=Radio 3 hits all-time low |newspaper=The Guardian | access-date=24 September 2008 | location=London | first=John | last=Plunkett | date=16 August 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080908133151/http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/aug/16/radio1| archive-date= 8 September 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref>

The mid- to late 2000s did, however, offer new projects undertaken on the station: ''The [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] Experience'' in June 2005 saw the broadcast of his works broadcast non-stop for six days.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/beethoven/index.shtml |title=The Beethoven Experience |publisher=BBC website |access-date=16 December 2008| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081230213618/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/beethoven/index.shtml| archive-date= 30 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> A similar project occurred six months later when ''A [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]] Christmas'' was run for ten days in the lead to Christmas<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/bach/ |title=A Bach Christmas |publisher=BBC website |access-date=16 December 2008}}</ref> and in February 2007 when a week was similarly given over to the works of [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky|Tchaikovsky]] & [[Igor Stravinsky|Stravinsky]], and [[Schubert]] in March 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/tchaikovsky/radio_highlights.shtml |title=Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky on Radio 3 |publisher=BBC website |access-date=16 December 2008}}</ref> As part of the original Beethoven Experience, the BBC trialled its first music downloads over the internet by offering free music downloads of all nine symphonies as played by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra under [[Gianandrea Noseda]]. The stated aim was "to gauge audiences' appetite for music downloads and their preferred content, and will inform the development of the BBC strategy for audio downloads and on demand content".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2005/05_may/27/beethoven.shtml | publisher=BBC, 27 May 2005 |title=''BBC to offer Beethoven downloads'' |access-date=3 December 2008}}</ref> The experiment was wildly successful, attracting 1.4 million downloads but was met with anger from the major classical record labels who considered it unfair competition and "devaluing the perceived value of music".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/downloading-trouble-at-the-bbc-498238.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517145611/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/downloading-trouble-at-the-bbc-498238.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=17 May 2008 |publisher=Independent on Sunday, 10 July 2005 |title=Anthony Barnes, ''Downloading trouble at the BBC'' |access-date=3 December 2008 | location=London | date=10 July 2005}}</ref> As a result, no further free downloads have been offered, including as part of the [[BBC iPlayer]] service, and the BBC Trust has ruled out any classical music podcasts with extracts longer than one minute.

[[File:BBC Radio 3.svg|220px|right| thumb|BBC Radio 3 logo, 2007–2022]]
In 2007, Radio 3 also began to experiment with a visual broadcast as well as the audio transmissions. In October 2007, Radio 3 collaborated with the [[English National Opera]] in presenting a live video stream of a performance of ''[[Carmen]]'', "the first time a UK opera house has offered a complete production online"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/10_october/26/carmen.shtml |publisher=BBC, 26 October 2007 |title=''Radio 3 and ENO offer first UK videostreaming of opera online'' | access-date=3 December 2008}}</ref> and in September 2008, Radio 3 launched a filmed series of concerts that was available to watch live and on demand for seven days "in high quality vision".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/09_september/12/radio3.shtml |publisher=BBC, 12 September 2008 |title=''Radio 3 to film live concerts for online broadcast'' |access-date=3 December 2008}}</ref> This strategy was also introduced to some of the BBC Proms concerts.

[[File:BBC Radio 3 live 2016.jpg|thumb|right|BBC Radio 3 broadcasting live from the [[Southbank Centre]] in 2016]]
By the latter years of the 2000s, Radio 3's prospects were improving. The year 2008/9 saw the introduction of more concerts<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/09_september/01/radio3.shtml
 |title=Even more live music in new schedule for Radio 3 |publisher=BBC press release=2008|access-date=24 September 2008}}</ref> and other innovations had introduced Radio 3's largest event to a wider audience. The introduction of family orientated concerts to the [[The Proms|BBC Proms]], which are broadcast live on Radio 3, helped the station to introduce itself to a younger audience. Innovations of this type began in 2008 with the introduction of a concert celebrating the music from the television programme ''[[Doctor Who]]'' as composed by [[Murray Gold]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Prom 13|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/archive/search/2000s/2008/july-27/13249|work=The Proms 2008|publisher=BBC|access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref> and was later followed by a further ''Doctor Who'' prom in 2010,<ref name="DrWho2010 prom R3Blog">{{cite web|last=Trelawney|first=Petroc|title=Doctor Who's in the queue ...|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/radio3/2010/07/im-sitting-writing-this-in.shtml|work=Radio 3 Blog|publisher=BBC|access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Prom 10|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/archive/search/2010s/2010/july-24/13995|work=The Proms 2010|publisher=BBC|access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref> a free family prom in 2009,<ref>{{cite web|title=Whats On – Sunday 26 July|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2009/whatson/2607.shtml|work=The Proms 2009|publisher=BBC|access-date=8 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090417071532/http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/2009/whatson/2607.shtml|archive-date=17 April 2009}}</ref> another free ''[[Horrible Histories (2009 TV series)|Horrible Histories]]'' prom in 2011<ref>{{cite web|title=Prom 20: Horrible Histories – Free Family Prom|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whats-on/2011/july-30/23|work=The Proms 2011|publisher=BBC|access-date=8 July 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110624171912/http://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whats-on/2011/july-30/23|archive-date=24 June 2011}}</ref> and a ''[[Wallace and Gromit]]'' prom in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|title=Prom 20: The Wallace & Gromit Prom: Musical Marvels!|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/proms/whats-on/2012/july-29/14312|work=The Proms 2012|publisher=BBC|access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref> These particular concerts were introduced by Wright, who became Proms Director in addition to his duties at Radio 3 in October 2007,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2007/apr/19/bbc.radio |title=Radio 3's Wright to head BBC Proms |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=16 December 2008 | location=London | first=Ben | last=Dowell | date=19 April 2007}}</ref> and many were also televised for broadcast at a later date. The mix in these proms of classical music to combine with music of a classical nature from the programmes was hoped to introduce a much younger audience to the genres catered for by Radio 3.<ref name="DrWho2010 prom R3Blog"/>

{{As of|2014}} Radio 3 was having to undergo further changes as a result of recent findings from the [[BBC Trust]]. In the station's latest service review, carried out in 2010, the Trust recommended the station become more accessible to new audiences, easier to navigate through the different genres and to review the output of the BBC's orchestras and singers.<ref>{{cite web|title=BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 7 – BBC Trust Service Review Summary|url=http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/regulatory_framework/service_licences/service_reviews/radio_347/radio_347_summary.pdf|publisher=BBC Trust|access-date=8 July 2012}}</ref> Soon after this verdict, the license fee was capped and the BBC given more services to pay for with the same level of income. As a result, the corporation had to reduce its costs. In the proposal entitled ''Delivering Quality First'', the BBC proposed that Radio 3 contribute by broadcasting 25% fewer live or specially recorded lunchtime concerts and reducing the number of specially recorded evening concerts.<ref name="DQF">{{cite web|title=Final Conclusions|url=http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/review_report_research/dqf/final_conclusions.pdf|work=Delivering Quality First|publisher=BBC Trust|access-date=8 July 2012|page=17}}</ref> The Trust did recognise, however, that "Radio 3 plays a vital role in the cultural and creative life of the UK"<ref name="DQF"/> and as a result, the report did agree to reinvest in the Proms,<ref name="DQF"/> to retain the long dramas found on the station<ref name="DQF"/> and to continue to broadcast a new concert live each evening.<ref name="DQF"/>

The current controller of Radio 3 is Sam Jackson, who replaced [[Alan Davey (civil servant)|Alan Davey]] in April 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/2023/sam-jackson-new-bbc-radio3-controller|title=Sam Jackson announced as new Controller of BBC Radio 3|publisher=BBC Media Centre|date=13 January 2023|accessdate=6 June 2023}}</ref>