LBC News Discussion

Not TV related as such but pertinent with the presentation line up.

Just been announced:

https://radiotoday.co.uk/2019/10/global-to-launch-24-hour-rolling-news-radio-station/

2 familiar faces will be fronting the station lineup, Lisa Aziz (who's already a newsreader with LBC) and a certain Martin Stanford.

This explains why Chris Moyles has just announced Radio X is going DAB+ stereo.

Is this just a relaunch of (and national carriage for) the rolling news service on 1152MW in London?

It would appear so - in the same way as LBC was repositioned as a national brand a few years ago.

Whilst I am happy to see this happening, as it has been something I've been wanting for a while, I will admit that it is quite annoying for me that the station is going on the D1 multiplex. Whilst I understand that Global has no involvement, it is frustrating that I'll only be able to listen online. The joys of living in Derbyshire, I guess.

The main LBC station in London still opts out for local travel news and commercials on FM, so I'd expect some opt outs on 1152 and the London DAB multiplex the station is currently on.

Presumably you can only receive the BBC mux in your part of Derbyshire ?

I can get the BBC Mux, and the local Derbyshire Mux. However, I can't get any commercial national multiplexes. What annoys me is how some Bauer stations are broadcast on local multiplexes. As a result, I can get Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio, despite not being in an area where you could get the predecessors to these stations.

Personally the online streams from Global are of better quality than the DAB versions. I'd expect LBC News will sound metallic if it's at a low DAB+ bitrate.

I don't understand the argument re the Bauer stations. Surely more choice is good?

You have slightly misunderstood my point (although I certainly didn't make it as clear as it could have been). It is good that there is more choice, but it's the fact that Bauer opts to expand coverage of some stations via local multiplexes in areas which weren't covered previously. Whereas with Global, whilst they do have some station on the Derbyshire multiplex, they've all been on FM or AM in the area before, as opposed to providing additional services.

The annoucement is entirly co-incidental to the BBC announcing a new station editor/controller for Radio Five Live a couple of weeks ago. Global puts a new national competitor on her lawn from the word go.

Personally, I'd like Global Radio to try and increase the advertising inventory on the national DAB LBC before rebooting LBC News 1152 for a national audience.

It does nothing for the station or the audience to hear the same 30" spots in consecutive ad breaks over the hour. Repetitive ads for scam bank account investment chasers, teef inplant surgery, and bottles of wine valuers.

I can't be the only one who wants to ring up that particular advertiser, and when they ask what wine I want valued, say "Blue Nun brought from Tesco Express, Boxing Day 2017"