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Bauer rebranding 53 stations to The Hits/Greatest Hits

The majority of its acquisitions last year (May 2020)

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AS
Ash101
BBI45 posted:

1: Will news, travel and weather remain at a local level (i.e. each current station will do their own news)?


The phrase Bauer have used is they’ll be providing news and travel at a “local multiplex level”. Which I presume will mean grouping some stations together.

(But I believe Ofcom rules state you’d still need 1 story from each ‘patch’ for this, which is why Global still provide more news than they “need” too because it keeps them to 60 seconds.)
BB
BBI45
BBI45 posted:
I've just thought of a couple of questions about the upcoming changes.

1: Will news, travel and weather remain at a local level (i.e. each current station will do their own news)?

2: What will be happening with my local station, Peak FM? It operates on two frequencies, one from the Chesterfield Transmitter which carries Yorkshire stations, and one from the Stanton Moor transmitter which carries Derbyshire stations. So will it be put in the Yorkshire & Lincolnshire region, or the Central region?


To answer number 2, Bauer have asked for their own approved regions in the South and SW of England, but haven't requested for any changes to Yorks and Lincs or the Central area so under the current rules, they'll network programming from Birmingham which already goes out on 105.2 the West Midlands and on DAB muxes surrounding the area, such as Coventry and Hereford and Worcester.

Bauer could apply to Ofcom for permission for Peak to simulcast the AM output from Sheffield arguing local affinity as part of the Sheffield City Area which would likely to be approved.

I am half expecting them to go with the South Yorkshire option, and although references to Yorkshire in Chesterfield might get by, I suspect they'd go down like a lead balloon throughout the rest of the coverage area.
JA
james-2001
I recently bought a DAB radio so I could get GHR, looks like I needn't have to now. Especially as the FM stations will be in stereo which the DAB vesion isn't in most areas.
IS
Inspector Sands
The Radio Today Podcast has an interesting interview with the Managing Director of Hits/Greatest Hits where he explains the thinking behind the changes.
https://radiotoday.co.uk/2020/05/podcast-bauers-graham-bryce-on-the-greatest-hits-radio-roll-out/
WH
Whataday Founding member
I didn't hear much of interest, just the same old lines that are spun every time something like this happens.
LH
lhx1985
What I don't get, is why they are rolling out Greatest Hits Radio and the Hits (network). They're irredeemably terrible.

The output is amateur at best and they're not exactly well-loved brands. Virtually zero brand recognition.

Meanwhile, also in Bauer's big box of brands are Kiss, Magic, Absolute, among others. If they are wanting to take the fight to Global, why the hell are they not making a network out of these well known brands?
DM
DeMarkay
What I don't get, is why they are rolling out Greatest Hits Radio and the Hits (network). They're irredeemably terrible.

The output is amateur at best and they're not exactly well-loved brands. Virtually zero brand recognition.

Meanwhile, also in Bauer's big box of brands are Kiss, Magic, Absolute, among others. If they are wanting to take the fight to Global, why the hell are they not making a network out of these well known brands?


As someone in the radio industry, I wholeheartedly agree with you. I personally think that making a network out of Kiss and Magic would be the best way to tackle Global in the market, up against Heart, Smooth and Capital.
JO
Jon
I didn't hear much of interest, just the same old lines that are spun every time something like this happens.

Yeah, I particularly liked the part when he stated COVID was part of the reasoning, then soon after stated they’d been planning it for two years. Also the claim they would have liked to have told their staff face to face, which I’m not sure would be possible in regular times anyway.
JO
Jon
As someone in the radio industry, I wholeheartedly agree with you. I personally think that making a network out of Kiss and Magic would be the best way to tackle Global in the market, up against Heart, Smooth and Capital.

But surely then you’d just be reducing choice for the listeners and going after the same set of listeners. At least with Greatest Hits they’re going for a gap in the market.
DV
dvboy
i think this was the justification for replacing Absolute with GHR in the West Midlands.
RI
Richard
Bauer’s two main stations in NI, Cool FM and Downtown Radio don’t take any “network” programming. Obviously NI is not England, but they (presumably) manage to turn a profit with no networking-related cost saving.
LL
London Lite Founding member
dvboy posted:
i think this was the justification for replacing Absolute with GHR in the West Midlands.


Yet GHR has less listeners in the West Midlands than Absolute did on FM.

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