Rock Talk for Manchester

So, it's "Rock Talk" for Manchester then!

It's rock... but it's also talk. Got it?

The format application offered a "speech and rock music service for 35-64 year olds", which is obviously something that Ofcom has decided was a particular hybrid which Manchester is crying out for.

First things first. Well done to GMG. The standard of applications was really high and this was the licence everyone wanted to win. The application was a good read and in a way they covered both the 'talk' and 'rock' holes in the market by just adding them together.

(It makes me think of the wonderful combinations of formats that might have existed if people had seen this as a way of winning licences in years gone by. Hybrid format suggestions welcome!) Naturally, Chrysalis are gutted, and I can kind of see why. They put in both a great 'Rock' application and a great 'Talk' application... and got beaten by it's bastard offspring! The cheek of it!!

But hang on a minute? Call me old fashioned, but isn't trying to cover 2 bases a really tricky feat to pull off. The pure rock fans won't want all that Mancunian chit chat; and what if you like local speech radio... but don't particularly care for "Classic Rock, Soft Rock, Heavy Rock and Popular Rock"? (Well they wouldn't want to play unpopular rock really now would they....!)


Well I guess you'd stay tuned to BBC Manchester then...

I'm looking forward to hearing this one when it launches... when the "bulk Harley Davidson order" is completed, according to John Myers, quoted on Radio Today. (Does this mean all the talk jocks have to be bikers too?)

Rock on Manchester... erm... and then talk for a bit.