Year: 2025

Folded Wing’s BBC Radio 3 show Round Midnight has been named Jazz Media Award winner at the 2025 Parliamentary Jazz Awards.

Hosted by saxophonist and composer Soweto Kinch, the late-night weekday show launched last year and has become BBC Radio 3’s flagship jazz programme, blending live sessions, festival recordings and new music from the UK and beyond.
The Parliamentary Jazz Awards recognise the breadth and creativity of the British jazz scene, celebrating artists, broadcasters and producers who champion the genre.
Karen Pearson, CEO and Founder of Folded Wing, said the team were proud of the recognition. “To be nominated for Round Midnight in its first year of programming is testament to the hard work the Folded Wing team and Soweto put in each night.
Thank you to the listeners, the jazz world for embracing and supporting the show and BBC Radio 3 and Sam Jackson for believing in us.”
Sam Jackson, Controller of BBC Radio 3 and BBC Proms, added that Round Midnight had “gone from strength to strength”, calling the award “a richly deserved reflection of their hard work, creativity, and commitment to the vibrant British jazz scene”.
The show’s collaboration with BBC Introducing has helped spotlight emerging musicians, with guests such as corto.alto and Emma Rawicz later earning national recognition and award wins. Other guests this year have included Zara McFarlane, Mark Kavuma, and Rivkala, alongside international names like Theo Croker and Joe Webb.
Folded Wing, based in Southend, with team members in London, Coventry, Oxford and Newcastle, is known for producing programmes across BBC networks and beyond. The company continues to grow its reputation as one of the UK’s most active producers of jazz content.
Two Southend-connected artists also featured among this year’s nominees: saxophonist Maddy Coombs and vocalist Olivia Cuttill, who won The Martin Hummel Award, both of whom performed at last week’s Southend Jazz Festival in association with Folded Wing.

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The BBC has asked Ofcom to remove the requirement to report how many hours of live commentary are provided for each sport on BBC Radio 5 Live.

The proposal would not change the BBC’s obligation to cover at least 20 different sports every year and to publish which ones are included. That condition will remain in place to ensure transparency and maintain the station’s distinctive coverage.
The BBC says that reporting the number of commentary hours for each sport creates unnecessary administrative work and offers little additional value, as most of this information is already available through published schedules.
Ofcom agrees the data adds limited benefit and has confirmed it is minded to accept the request.
If approved, the change would reduce the amount of detailed reporting required by the BBC while keeping existing commitments to a broad and varied sports offer on Radio 5 Live.

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The BBC wants to change the hours that count towards its quota for locally made programming on BBC Local Radio.

It has asked Ofcom to allow only shared programmes broadcast outside 6am to 2pm on weekdays to count towards its annual target of 4,954 hours of original, locally made content.
The change would allow BBC Local Radio stations to focus resources on producing more local programmes during higher listening hours, especially weekday mornings, rather than maintaining local production at times of lower audience levels.
The proposal would not affect the BBC’s commitment to provide local news bulletins, which will continue to air throughout the day.
Ofcom says the request would help bring more locally made programming to larger audiences while giving the BBC flexibility in lower-listening periods. The regulator has said it is minded to approve the change.
The plan forms part of ongoing adjustments to BBC Local Radio schedules, where stations already share some programmes in the afternoons and evenings but continue to offer local news and travel updates throughout the day.

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