The BBC Trust has rejected plans to shut down the 6 Music radio station.
In March, director general Mark Thompson announced plans to close two radio stations - 6 Music and the Asian Network - as part of a strategic review that would also see the corporation's budget for imported overseas programming cut by 20 per cent and its online output reduced by up to 50 per cent.
However, despite the review stating that 6 Music brings "relatively few unique listeners to BBC radio", the corporation's governing body - BBC Trust - has concluded that "the case has not been made for the closure of 6 Music".
Whilst approving of the BBC's "underlying ambition to do fewer things better and thereby focus the BBC more effectively on its core mission", the Trust added that it "does not agree that there is a consistent strategic rationale for closure on grounds either of promoting digital development or market impact".
Following the director general's March proposal, a high-profile campaign was set up to "Save 6 Music". With the support of big-name artists - including David Bowie and Coldplay - the campaign has drawn over 60,000 petition signatures, and the number of 6 Music listeners has risen from 600,000 to one million a week.
Although the "significant show of public support" may have influenced the BBC Trust's decision, similar campaigns to save the Asian Network have not been successful.
In its review, the Trust stated that it "would consider a formal proposal for the closure of the Asian Network", before adding that the proposal "must include a proposition for meeting the needs of the station's audience in different ways".
