Radio News

[TV Boy]

With Sky and Virgin Media having they own pages on the Internet I think it about time that the Radio part of the Media have they own web page.

Virgin Radio owners SMG have cut its shortlist of bidders for Virgin Radio to TWO.

Bidders on the list are:

-UTV Media who own TalkSPORT
-Absolute Radio who own Jack FM and 107.9FM in Oxford.

Info from The Mail on Sunday.


TheJazz looks set to closed this Friday. Planet Radio was also set to closed but will not it will now stay open until the end of April due to GCap having being in talks with Global Radio.

If Global Radio do takeover GCap they will keep Planet Radio open.

Info from the Radiotoday web site.

[TV Boy]

I have got an update on both storys:

GCap/Global Radio update:

GCAP Media is on Wednesday expected to be taken over in an agreed £371m deal by Charles Allen’s Global Radio, creating a dominant commercial radio group to challenge the BBC.

The owner of Classic FM and Capital Radio in London is finalising details of the deal after holding a board meeting to discuss it on Thursday.

Fru Hazlitt, GCap’s chief executive, is expected to leave once the takeover is complete. After only three months in the job, she can walk away with close to £1m. That sum is made up of a year’s salary and bonus in lieu of notice and gains on the purchase of GCap shares, which have risen 60% since her appointment and the subsequent approach in December.

Global, which already owns the Heart and Galaxy stations, is expected to sell off stations in London and the Midlands to appease competition concerns. A combination of the two companies will give it a 47% share of radio advertising that is likely to attract the attention of the Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission.


GCap’s management team is said to be deeply disappointed not to have been given the chance to lead its own turnround. It was created in 2005 with the merger of Capital Radio and GWR.

Virgin Radio update:

Virgin Radio is also about to change hands. Parent company SMG hopes to raise close to £70m, with UTV the favourite to win the auction.

Full story here: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle3602101.ece

Info from Timesonline.

---------- Post added at 17:57 ---------- Previous post was at 17:39 ----------

GCap has also told Ofcom that TheJazz will closed on the 31st of March:

1.3 The national DAB service provided by The Jazz (operated by GCap Media) is due to close on 31 March 2008. This service had proved popular attracting 364,000 listeners a week. Upon the closure of the Jazz, Classic FM (also owned by GCap Media) has stated that it will provide jazz programming between midnight and 2am each day, although it has no obligation to do so in its licence and could drop this at any time. No other jazz programming is available on commercial radio either on FM or DAB in the UK.
1.4 Ofcom would welcome the provision of a 24 hour a day jazz service on DAB in London, the North-west and elsewhere in the UK, either by GMG Radio or any other operator, as this is a clear gap in the market (and one not provided for specifically by the BBC).

Info from Ofcom.

Here is the link for that story: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/cond...ormat/summary/[/quote]

[TV Boy]

TheJazz will closed on Monday night at midnight.

---------- Post added at 13:25 ---------- Previous post was at 13:24 ----------

Global Radio have got until Monday at 5pm to do an Takeover deal with GCap.

[TV Boy]

Originally Posted by TV Boy

With Sky and Virgin Media having they own pages on the Internet I think it about time that the Radio part of the Media have they own web page.

Virgin Radio owners SMG have cut its shortlist of bidders for Virgin Radio to TWO.

Bidders on the list are:

-UTV Media who own TalkSPORT
-Absolute Radio who own Jack FM and 107.9FM in Oxford.

Info from The Mail on Sunday.


TheJazz looks set to closed this Friday. Planet Radio was also set to closed but will not it will now stay open until the end of April due to GCap having being in talks with Global Radio.

If Global Radio do takeover GCap they will keep Planet Radio open.

Info from the Radiotoday web site.

Absolute Radio may have to rename the Virgin Radio channels if they beat UTV Radio - due to Absolute Radio getting some of the money for the bid from Bennett, Coleman & Co. [ who own The Times of India. ]

And Sir Richard Branson - who SMG pay for the 'Virgin' name - runs Virgin Radio in that part of the world with HT Media an rival of the Times of India.

Info from The Mail on Sunday.

[TV Boy]

theJazz, Capital Life & BFBS Radio will all closed on DAB Digital Radio at 23.59 tonight.

In a statement on its website, theJazz thanked listeners for all their good wishes and the warm, kind words in support of the station. The website added “We all very touched that you have enjoyed what you have heard and that the station has made a difference to your lives.”

The Chief Executive of the national digital radio company Digital One, Quentin Howard, commented “Capital Life had a loyal audience attracted by the mix of music which made it distinct from other stations. Although we are sad to see any station close down, the future of DAB digital radio is very healthy indeed, with a great choice of digital stations available to listeners. DAB remains the most popular digital radio platform by far and is used in around a quarter of all UK households."

BFBS Radio's Controller, Charles Foster commented "We're sad that the trial has ended and are disappointed that we have not been able to secure funding to continue. However, the project has been valuable. We know from all the emails and texts we've received that the UK audience values the link with people serving overseas. We've also gained insights from the market research we commissioned. There's strong evidence in favour of making BFBS Radio a permanent part of the DAB digital radio landscape and we'll continue discussions to try to achieve that. We're hoping that some of our DAB digital radio listeners will continue to listen via satellite television and the internet."

The Chief Executive of the national digital radio company Digital One, Quentin Howard, commented, "The trial delivered very positive evidence that BFBS Radio was highly valued both by people serving in the Forces, and also their families and friends. The wider civilian population also seems to have enjoyed and appreciated the station, forging a helpful link between ordinary citizens and Her Majesty's Armed Forces. We enjoyed working with the team at BFBS Radio and hope that in the not too distant future that the station will become a permanent feature of DAB digital radio."

Full Storys here: http://www.ukdigitalradio.com/news/

And Smash Hits Radio is soon to closed on DAB Digital Radio.

Info from UK Digital Radio.

[TV Boy]

TheJazz closed on DAB Radio last night but is still broadcasing on Sky, Virgin Media and online.

[TV Boy]

Virgin Radio update:

Absolute Radio has been accepted as the preferred bidder to acquire Virgin Radio from television company SMG.

According to a story in today's Telegraph.

[TV Boy]

Various newspaper reports this week suggest the deal to sell SMG's London FM and nationwide AM service, currently broadcasting Virgin Radio, could soon be complete.

It is understood the terms of the deal means Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group would keep control of the brand name, leaving buyers Absolute Radio to launch an alternative brand.

According to the FT today, any plans Absolute had to use the JACK brand have been abandoned.

Absolute Radio is backed by Irish investors and Bennett Coleman, owner of the Times of India group. And because Virgin has a joint venture in India with the Hindustan Times group, they said the prospective backers of Absolute’s bid would be in competition if they had internet rights to the brand.

The deal is thought to be completed soon for around £50m.

Story from FT.com and Radio today.