July 11th 2006
"BPI Attempt To Save Top Of The Pops"
The UK Record Industry has asked the BBC to reverse its decision to axe iconic chart show Top of The Pops.
The BPI (British Phonographic Industry) chairman, Peter Jamieson has written personally to BBC director-general Mark Thompson to express his views on the BBC’s decision to cancel Top of the Pops.
The BBC took the decision to axe Top of the Pops after a 42-year reign, following falling audience figures. When the programme switched from BBC1 to a Sunday night slot on BBC2 it lost almost half of its viewers. Jamieson believes that despite falling audience figures, the long-standing chart show still has a future.
Reportedly the BPI has offered to take the Top of the Pops show off the BBC’s hands, buying the rights to the show and commissioning an independent production company to produce a revamped version.
The BBC has yet to publicly respond to the BPI proposal.
The last scheduled 'Top of the Pops' is set to air on 30th July 2006.

Source:
http://www.ukmusic.com/news/music-news/bpi-attempt-to-save-top-of-the-pops.html

June 21st, 2006
"Top of the Pops will continue in Dutch"
Although the BBC yesterday announced that Top of the Pops, the world’s longest-running TV music show, will end next month after 42 years on the air, the programme will continue elsewhere, including the Netherlands. Public broadcaster BNN, which began producing a Dutch version of the show in 2000 under licence from the BBC, says it’s satisfied with the popularity and quality of the programme.

BNN produces the rest of the show, featuring Dutch artists.

Source: Radio Netherlands "Media Network"
http://blogs.rnw.nl/medianetwork/index.php?paged=3

Comment:
If the BBC do continue recording international artists in the Top of the Pops studio, are they really axing the programme? Will they license it to another UK broadcaster as proposed by the BPI? The BBC could not make an official announcement that Top of the Pops was moving to, let's say, Channel 4 so the BBC could gain extra income from commercial breaks. But they could announce the end of Top of the Pops, and then let Channel 4 (for argument's sake) make an announcement sometime later that they were starting a new Top of the Pops show. BBC studios could still make the programme, like several others they already make for Channel 4.

CD:UK, was "axed" from ITV shortly before Top of the Pops. It relaunches in September on Channel 5. Will the same kind of thing happen to Top of the Pops?