Global Radio axes all regional/local breakfast shows

Boosting the Rajar of a brand is a classic commercial radio trick. Bauer also do it with Hits Radio, when they merge the combined figures from Hits Radio + FM local heritage stations, Greatest Hits Radio + local branded AM stations in Scotland and Country Hits Radio despite serving different demographics.

However for advertisers, they see for example 6.5m listen to a specific brand and will buy airtime accordingly.

As UK radio becomes more nationalised, those national figures will become more important than ever for the big brands.

Thing is that Evans isn't a great fit for X - he's not laddy. His Radio 2 show was very mainstream and family orientated and a lot of that has carried over to Virgin. Whereas Moyles is still a modern lad sort of persona


I disagree with your analysis of the three stations, they are different music policies - Absolute plays a lot more older rock and Virgin isn't really a rock station at all, the music has apparently got a lot more poppy since Evans arrived



Yes, the same with XFM for me. I always thought I should have liked it but whenever I listened I just didn't last long. The music selection on Radio X is much more my sort of thing, although still not something I would want to listen to all day. Absolute's music selection is a bit too rocky for me

I heard a bit of Evans's first show on Virgin and was amazed by how technicality awful it was. Not just the fader w*nking but it was all over the place, wrong records playing etc.

I know part of that will be unfamiliarity with the playout system but I expected him to be a lot slicker.

See, that's the issue I have with him on Virgin. I've tried listening and bailed out back to Radio X or LBC within the quarter of an hour. Evans should know how to work a radio studio - he's been around the dial working in enough.

Concept is the same, technology is different.
With modern playout systems, it's very difficult to play the wrong tracks. That can only happen if you double hit the 'next item' button either on the touchscreen, or the button console.
Jingles and other 'audio furniture ' yes, with presenter operated cart walls and slippy fingers, carnage can quickly arrive on air. But, something as simple as a live assisted track playlist?

He seemed to master the DiraVCS system over at the BBC ok.

Of course, despite our complaints, he’s doing pretty well ratings wise. Though I agree with all the technical complaints, the actual content of the show just doesn’t entertain me.

In fairness Moyles has his moments with Genysis at RadioX. And the split ads and jingles mean it's not a direct comparison with VCS at a BBC network

I see that Bauer are doing the opposite of Global, and keeping breakfast local (ish) and networking drive time from 2nd September.
https://radiotoday.co.uk/2019/08/bauer-to-network-drivetime-across-11-licences-in-north-and-midlands/

1 local show a day hardly seems worthwhile. Why not just go for the inevitable rebrand to Hits Radio and be done with it?

There is a minimum requirement currently. I suspect in a few years time that will go and then almost everything will be networked.

Give it time - that's the path OFCOM have opened up.

In most places now there is a Hits Radio and local station on the same multiplex putting out the same playlist and simulcasting mostly the same shows outside of those commitments. I can see all these getting merged eventually.

Free Radio's breakfast show (the one on 96.4, 97.2 and 103.1) is already called Hits at Breakfast.

I’m not sure what else Ofcom could do though. As the shift to digital delivery of radio continues, imposing strict format requirements to FM licences will become increasingly ineffective and pointless.

Assuming the future lies in IP delivery where anyone can start a radio station doing whatever they want, I can’t see any way of regulating radio to ensure levels of localness, etc. in the future.

Even with DAB in the interim, it’s regulated and licenced at a multiplex level rather than at a station level. And you can’t then say that some stations on a mux must provide local programming whilst others don’t have to.

It’s a sad situation for commercial local radio, but, rather like the consolidation of ITV in some ways, it seems sadly inevitable.