"To Network or not To Network... that is the question"

There's been a flurry of activity in the networking world of late. Maybe it's the season for it.

First, Guardian Media Group announced that they are networking Mark Goodier's show across the majority of their 'Smooth Radio' stations. Then GCap Media trumpeted the arrival of Ryan Seacrest to the One Network with the promise of an entertainment show like no other on a Sunday morning.

For programmers, the options to "import" programming from elsewhere has always been there. I remember the exciting task of having to be the T/O for "Rick Dees Weekly Top 40" on Radio City in Liverpool on a Sunday evening... loading up the 1/4 inch tapes... and hoping I was playing them in the right order. Invariably listeners got to hear the Top 10 during the first hour and numbers 25 - 40 during the last hour, but no-one seemed to mind that much. The point was that there was "An American on the radio in Liverpool... WOW!"

Does having a big name on you radio station do anything for listeners? What do they think of these networked shows? Do they care that it's not local?

Essentially we're dealing with 2 different things here. The 'networking' of live shows, and syndicated programmes, but both have a commonality.

The debate about networking seems to have died down a little of late. The harsh economic factors and the economies of scale that networking brings seems to have won the argument... for the time being. Many GCap and EMAP stations both have networked shows across evenings and countless smaller groups send out programming from a central hub. Kiss do it across certain daytime programmes and now Smooth. I've no doubt that adding Mark Goodier to a line-up of a local station is a smart idea. His show is really starting to sound good of late, and I'm sure the listeners will appreciate having him on their 'local' station. Do they care he's not sitting in their town or city? Probably not.

And what about getting a big American star to spurt forth inconsequential entertainment froth on a Sunday morning? Will it be better than what was on there in the first place? Probably... yes.

Listeners understand a global perspective more than ever. They don't really care that their local show, broadcast 10 miles down the road, is followed by a show that was made 10,000 miles away. As long as it's relevant to them and engaging to listen to. The internet has made the world a much smaller place and their is no longer a 'Wow' factor with 'Americans on the radio' or programming that has been sourced elsewhere. People are accoustomed to media from all sorts of sources. It's part of their media-scape now.

However, with every silver lining, there is a cloud.

Evening shows in UK local radio used to be the breeding ground for lots of great talent, who were able to try out their zany style of radio to an audience of 15 year olds, who inevitably would be the morning radio consumers of tomorrow. Too much networking lessens the chance of some of these guys getting exposure.

"Yes - but there are far more stations for them to work on now" I hear you cry! Sure, but it's much harder to get a break doing the evening show on Radio Scrot in Bollockshire than it was to get a break doing the evening show on a station like Radio City in the 90's.

I hope we find a balance in the UK between enough local programming and good quality, well produced 'imported' shows. I'm confident we will.

And I look forward to tuning in to Mark Goodier's networked offering just to remind myself that "... he' the man who's got the best music... Mark Goodier... Mark Goodier... wha-ooo..." etc etc...

Smooth Radio - First Impressions...

So… they chose Barbara Streisand to re-launch Smooth FM in London. "Welcome to Smooth Radio!" Hmmm...

How Smooth is it then? Decidedly Smoother?

Well, on dipping in to the their new sound today… yes it’s all very melodic and easy going as you’d hope and expect. But it does sound rather… well… rather Magic!

As expected, there are a lot of cross over songs with Magic. Today I heard the likes of Marvin Gaye, David Gray, Odyssey and ABC. All big Magic stalwarts. The biggest shift from Smooth’s point of view must be the inclusion of traditional rock based artists.

So come on down… Coldplay and David Bowie!!

The station promises listeners music from 5 decades. Well, they certainly do deliver that every hour and the noticeable point of difference with Magic (and perhaps similarity to Radio 2) is the inclusion of 60’s music.

Yes, there are the obvious timeless 60’s hits like Martha Reeves and the Vandellas and Beach Boys, but also the very twee 60’s songs like The Cascades, Everly Brothers and even some of the early Beatles numbers. These certainly will appeal to the over 50’s as is Smooth’s stated aim.

The oddest thing about the station so far is not the music. It’s the positioning statement.

“Your Music. Your Life”

Fair enough. Looks fine on posters, logos etc… but hearing presenters deliver this line like it’s something natural they’d say just doesn’t work. How often do you use sentences consisting of 2 words… and 2 of them in a row!! The days of presenters delivering straplines on air must be numbered. And this particular line just sounds very artificial and forced.

There’s much more speech on the new service and you can see how they are trying to challenge Radio 2 with this type of stuff. Mark Goodier’s quiz this morning had a bit of a Ken Bruce / Steve Wright quiz about it, and Kevin Greening’s ‘talky bit’ with an entertainment journalist about 3D movies, was very ‘Vine-esque’ in it’s construction.

Let’s allow it a few weeks to find its feet, and revisit ‘Smooth Radio’ and see if any cracks appear or if they will be real challenger to the BBC in London.

A Smooth Transition?

The London radio market will have another 'new sound' from next week as Smooth Radio takes to the airwaves. OK - it's a rebrand / relaunch from Smooth FM, which was Jazz FM etc etc... so how as a station originally licenced for Jazz morphed into something completely different....but let's not get into all that now!

What will interesting is to see how the musical DNA of this particular Smooth station is made up. The PR puff says that...

"Music is at the heart of Smooth Radio. This is a brand that plays all of the classic popular music picked from a wider time span than most other national and local radio stations. While others may pitch their programming for a young audience mainly interested in chart or urban music, Smooth Radio is filling the gap.

Smooth offers mature listeners a relaxing experience, mixing new music with classics that will be instantly familiar. Every era of pop is represented. The playlist features artists from Buddy Holly, The Beatles, Diana Ross, The Eagles, and Smokey Robinson to Elton John, Rod Steward and Simply Red."

The real litmus test will be to see how it compares musically to BBC Radio 2, as they've stated that that's the audience they're after, particularly over 50's. One of the reasons Ofcom agreed was that GMG stated they would propose musical content that was different from that of existing stations.

One has a sneaking suspicion they wouldn't mind some of Magic's audience, and in their response to the Ofcom consultation regarding the change, EMAP were concerned and said that "...it was inevitable there will be overspill into neighbouring areas."

We shall see how much overspill there is next and week, and find out how much of a challenge to Radio 2, Smooth Radio will become.

Bet you it sounds like Magic minus Snow Patrol!!