Tag: Radio

Audience Up

After a shaky start to the summer, which saw big names Danny Baker and Jon Gaunt depart, the station turned its fortunes around, with a new lineup including JoAnne Good taking the Breakfast show chair and Jono Coleman’s return to the BBC London 94.9FM airwaves.

According to the press, ‘BBC London 94.9FM has recorded its second-highest audience figures ever, with 561,000 tuning in every week, according to the latest RAJAR figures covering July to September’.As I have mentioned several times, I love BBC London right now. It was sad when Danny Baker left – his was one of the most innovative morning shows – but JoAnne Good and the team have been excellent. I am very worried about Jono Coleman, as I am not very keen on him as a broadcaster, but I guess we’ll just have to see what the rest of the year brings.

[source]

Danny Baker Shuts Up His Tree House

Danny Baker is taking what the station described as “an extended summer holiday” after three years on his BBC London breakfast show, during which he will work on a film script for Channel Five.

So, I get back from my vacation and try to settle into my regular routine. Firstly, it’s disrupted by a strike by BBC journalists, although I was amused that somebody quipped you could hardly tell, and thus proving they’re over-staffed anyway.

I digress. What I came back to was the news that Danny Baker won a Sony Radio Award and promptly went on to quit his breakfast show:

The ebullient presenter is taking what the station described as “an extended summer holiday” after three years on the show, during which he will work on a film script for Channel Five.

He told listeners: “We will reform and come back in another shape one day. People thought we were crying wolf … we were just crying. We’ve been saying it for a while now. We’ve been doing it for three years. We’re packing up the tree house at the end of the month.”

[The Independent]

Now that’s going to mess up my morning routine something rotten – there’s nobody else on air, anything like Danny Baker. It’s not just the fact that he is the only speech-driven presenter that’s not news-based, it’s because he is bloody entertaining. Ahhh. I think a paragraph from another article in The Independent says it all,

Such confidence that radio requires unique skills will always make Sony award-winning breakfast presenters highly sought after. But they have to be carefully looked after when they arrive. Getting up in the middle of the night to sound fresh at the microphone can become gruelling for even the most dynamic broadcasters. BBC London’s breakfast ace, Danny Baker, proved it with his response to Sony Awards triumph. Named DJ of the year, beating O’Connell, Baker announced his departure from the airwaves within the day. He is going to write a film script for Five. Radio executives searching the market for proven breakfast talent are hoping it flops

[The Independent]

Less Clutter On The Air

Somebody in the commercial radio business has noted that one of the biggest reasons to turn off isn’t poor music policy, crap jokes or bad station identity – it’s annoying and repetitive radio commercials.

At last, somebody in the commercial radio business has noted that one of the biggest reasons to turn off isn’t poor music policy, crap jokes or bad station identity – it’s annoying and repetitive radio commercials. Somebody in the UK should take on board the Clear Channel approach of trying to make better radio ads and broadcast fewer of them:

Radio is the most difficult medium because there are fewer senses to work with. For the most part, radio ads are a yawn [source].

With online catching up to radio in terms of advertising spend (Britain’s Online advertising market will surpass the £500-million mark this year – Independent Online), radio’s revenues may be in for a rocky time. In the UK, the online industry may well surpass radio during the next 12 months, so it’s important that the industry wakes up and does something to ensure that the recent history of growth and development can be sustained.

Digital Radio Lust

You will be aware of my love of radio and my delight at Pure’s other products: the Evoke-1 and the Tempus-1. I want a Pure Digital Bug radio. I can’y jsutify it. Is it the look or the features?

Digital Radio Lust

Adot’s Notblog discussed the concept of Tivo for radio a few Fridays ago. This reminded me that only last weekend I had picked up a leaflet for Pure Digital’s Bug in a store. You will be aware of my love of radio and my delight at Pure’s other products: the Evoke-1 and the Tempus-1 (actually, I never mentioned that I also have a Tempus-1). The Bug looks cool (it’s designed by Wayne Hemingway) and has a host of features (including some recording capabilities and radio rewind). I am not sure if I’ll actually invest in it (given I am running out of rooms to put digital radios in), but I will be keeping an eye out for the products that Pure comes up with. I think Pure (or Imagination Technologies, as they are also known) have some really imaginative products of high quality. They only lack one thing in their range: I wish they’d come up with a small, nicely priced portable radio that included FM for times when you can’t get DAB reception.

Elsewhere: Here’s my comment on notblog:

I know it’s not for the car, and it’s not available in the US, but Pure Digital’s ‘The Bug’ has those features for the UK digital radio market. It’s designed by Wayne Hemingway (of the Red or Dead fashion label). Personally, I can’t wait to get my hands on one of these (or – at least – one of the other Pure models with the same feature) for exactly the reasons you point out. http://www.thebug.com

Posted by:Jonon May 28, 2004 08:04 AM

archived here

Worthy of Comment

The Radio Authority rules that Midland News Association ARE not be allowed to buy Telford FM

Media Guardian carried a story about Telford FM today:

The authority today ruled that the Midland News Association, the owner of the Shropshire Star and several other papers in the area, would not be allowed to buy Telford FM on public interest grounds [Source]

Sadly, no time to comment.

Summer Listening

I invested in a Pure Evoke 1 earlier this year and it has shaped my radio listening this summer.

This has certainly been a long, hot summer. I have thoroughly enjoyed the ability to sit outside in my garden and enjoy pleasant summer evenings and baking weekend afternoons. Despite the fact that I have been unable to keep the garden in check (and it’s looking desperately in need of a makeover), it’s been wonderful.

At the start of the summer, I invested in a Pure Evoke 1 digital radio. The sheer range of stations is fantastic, and I, for one, welcome the introduction of Digital Radio to the UK. The irony of the purchase is that I’ve spent most of the evenings listening to the relaxed sounds of Jazz FM(which is perfectly clear across London on a regular radio set). At least my second favourite (and superb on summer Sunday afternoons) is The Groove, which is only available on DAB in London and on the web.

Our Radio Rocks

The GlobalTuner InTune200 is a small portable radio that connects to a computer wirelessly, providing access to any music on the PC or to thousands of internet radio stations.

I am quite excited by this new radio. It’s a wireless one (so, what, I hear you ask). But it’s a wireless radio that you link to your computer. Internet radio around the house on a proper tranny (the radios, not the tall people in stilettoes).

The GlobalTuner InTune200 is a small portable radio that connects to a computer wirelessly, providing access to any music on the PC or to thousands of internet radio stations. [BBC News]

LBC Back On Air

The original newtalk station, LBC, is back on the air on FM in London

This morning, London’s news and talk station, LBC, came back on air. Of course, LBC is not really new, nor has it really been away. The Chrysalis Radio Group have acquired the London speech licences from London News Radio and is continuing to use the LBC name (LBC being the original London commercial news station).

Sadly, despite the name’s heritage of almost thirty years, day one seemed a bit shambolic. The most noticeable and irritating part for me is the constant paper shuffling that goes on when the presenters are on air. I suspect that, back when the news talk version was on AM, this wasn’t very audible. Now, it’s irritating. Then there are presenters whispering to each other but still clearly there. It’s as if there is no off button on the microphones. This evening, there seems to be no off button on the computers that play the commercials, as poor Clive Bull seems to be suffering because the advertisements keep starting, and he seems blissfully unaware that they are about to play.

Still, I am pleased that the rolling news format has moved to AM. Not because it’s on AM but because it means most of my portable radios (which are FM-only) have the more interesting of the two talk stations. These early teething troubles will, hopefully, be rectified and we’ll have a decent commercial talk station for London again (although, IMHO, BBC London seems to have been doing a fine job). I just wonder who is going to listen to the rolling news on AM.

UPDATE (7 January): Pleased to see I am not the only person who has noticed the technical glitches at LBC. Despite these, I have been listening quite a lot over the past couple of days as it’s been fairly entertaining. I just think it’s pretty sad that these problems arise on re-launch day with all the fanfare that goes with it. The new owners have had the station for a while and should have ironed out all this on the old format by now.

Links: Robbie Vincent’s Comment | LBC Timeline | Reborn LBC hits airwaves

End Of A Radio Era

For almost thirty years the JY Prog has been a ratings winner. Lunchtime ratings of five million should not be sniffed at. And today, as he bid the Radio 2 airwaves farewell, I had a listen.

Broadcast radio is a big passion of mine, and there is an event that happened today that can not pass without comment. Sir Jimmy Young presented his last show on BBC Radio 2 this morning – bringing to an end twenty-nine (or so) years on the air. There is much discussion as to the reasons behind his departure (here and here), but I don’t want to go into them. It doesn’t really matter that I have rarely listened to his show. I am usually in the office where we don’t listen to the radio (except today, as I am on my own) or, if I am elsewhere, there are other stations I prefer. I do, however, think there are a couple of things worth commenting on.

Firstly, for almost thirty years the JY Prog has been a ratings winner. Lunchtime ratings of five million should not be sniffed at. Jimmy Young has managed to stay at the top of his profession longer than many. In this celebrity-obsessed, five-minute fame world, Jimmy Young’s achievement should not go without recognition (his Knighthood at the start of the year a testament to his appeal). Where presenters rarely last three years, JY lasted almost three decades.

Secondly, and to me a great contribution to broadcasting, Jimmy Young’s show has always been an interactive experience. There has always been audience involvement and comment long before talk shows, shock-jocks, email and message boards were around (or even thought of). It’s something that should not be forgotten, and I believe it has been a great contribution to broadcasting.

Thirdly, his style may not be to everyone’s taste, but Jimmy Young has been able to interview some of the top politicians of the day and get them to answer questions without resorting to aggressive interview tactics. He was able to ask the questions many people would like to ask Prime Ministers directly. In an era where politicians (and politics) have been reduced to the level of a sound bite, this is also an achievement worth noting.

Finally, the way in which he has left the network has been sad. It was leaked 18 months ago that Radio 2 were talking to others about taking over the show. In itself, that is not an unreasonable thing for the network controller to do. For it to become a public affair (with questions in the House of Commons) is quite the opposite.

As BBC News has said, it’s a sad end to a remarkable career. Just don’t mention his recording career!