What a lot of things have been happening in the radio world in the last week or so:
- The Global takeover of GCap has finally been given the all clear by the OFT, with the full text of their decision being published. Many of the programming savings have already been made, but it’s now the turn of the respective former Global and GCap sales teams to feel the pain.
- Xfm in Scotland is rebranding as Galaxy this autumn.
- GCap is shutting down some AM services in Devon and Cornwall.
- And Lisa Snowdon is going to permamently replace Denise Van Outen who decided that the Capital breakfast show with Johnny Vaughan was a gig too far.
The Global moves aren’t too surprising, but morale won’t exactly be high over at Leicester Square just now. Meanwhile I suppose that the slow death of the Xfm brand isn’t too surprising either. They’ve sold the South Wales station which was only won last year and still had significant local obligations. That now just leaves the mothership service in London and Xfm in Manchester. There already is a Galaxy service in Manchester so rebranding Xfm there isn’t an option.
But what about London? Well popular opinion suggests that Choice is more likely to fall under the Galaxy brand.
Last week Alex Zane was suspended from his own show for a week for playing a song of dubious taste. A cynic might suggest that this is either being done because news is scarce in late August days and it’s guaranteed to get coverage, or that Zane is paid more than anybody else at the station and they’re looking for ways to get rid of him. Obviously these ideas are utterly without foundation and I’m sure that it’s just diligent management doing its job. I mean – we’re all waiting for the James Whale v Talksport case.
Lisa Snowdon probably isn’t a bad sparring partner for Johnny Vaughan. We went through a phase at Virgin Radio a few years ago where we had a slot regularly filled by what some impolitely called “tarts”; you know, people more frequently seen on the front of Loaded or FHM than heard.
Now it wouldn’t fair to include Lisa Snowdon quite within that group even if a Google Image search reveals a fair amount of modelling. She actually held down her programme for a few months, and was much more natural than most of the rest.
But is that enough to make the pairing a viable long-term show to take on the rest of the capital’s breakfast shows? While I think most people were suspicious of Jamie Theakston when he started, he’s proved himself to be a radio talent over time. But the rest of London’s breakfast shows are radio DJs first and foremost.
Capital still does have the largest commercial breakfast show in London (whatever Neil Fox and Media Guardian might say) if we compare shows on the basis of their actual show hours. Fox finishes at 9am while Vaughan goes on until 10am – that makes the difference.