When Alistair Anderson's show was axed on Radio Newcastle and the station editor was asked on "Feedback" if the programme which had replaced it was attracting more listeners then the answer was a hum and a har - so probably not.

The problem is often not the niche programming - but the fact that the niche programme does exactly that - attracts niche programme listeners. What a radio station wants is not people who tune into specific programmes but people who tune into the station as a whole - measurable and thus sellable. (Or in the case of the BBC, boxes to tick).

In the meantime you can listen to "Thank Goodness It's Folk" on Sheffield Live.

Dave