Thank you for your recent letter requesting information about the costs involved in making the Stephen Nolan Show, Inside Politics, Talkback and Evening Extra available as free downloads on the BBC’s online service.

Stephen Nolan’s weekday morning programme on BBC Radio Ulster is currently the only local radio programme which is also available as a podcast or free download. Discussion excerpts or themes are selected by editorial staff as part of the programme’s routine production effort. These are encoded by a software package which allows them to be published online in a downloadable format. This service has required no additional staff resource within the programme’s production team. Distribution costs are handled centrally by the BBC and cannot be easily (or credibly) disaggregated on an individual programme basis. It is hoped that an increasing volume of local radio output will be available in downloadable form over the coming period. Such provision will facilitate audiences in being able to access BBC content in ways which reflect their listening needs, interests and availability. The scope and purpose of our commitments in this area have been approved by the BBC Trust following extensive trialling, research and a formal process of consultation.