[agemame]

One note (probably more for the old geeks like us than their actual current demographic) - Hallam as a station name is to be retired literally half a year shy of its 50th anniversary. Not that I expected Daryl Denham, Martin Kelner et al to take over from Sarah-Jane Crawford for a day, but its an end of an era, nevertheless.

[Spencer]

The Metro Radio and Radio City names are also both being axed just a few months short of their respective half-centuries.

[JAS84]

And Viking in the month of it's 40th - it launched on 17th April 1984.

[lookoutwales]

Would have included the BRMB name in the mix (well, the original BRMB, anyway - launched on 19th February 1974), but of course, previous owners Orion killed that off in favour of Free Radio.

General feeling seems to be Free won't be mourned and Hits will be a better fit for those four stations. Even their breakfast host, John Dalziel, isn't sad to see it go.

twitter.com 

Incidentally, has David Lloyd had anything to say about it, considering he's been frothing at the mouth regarding BBC Local Radio's changes? (he barely stayed five minutes as a head of region in Hull before being enticed back to commercial radio)

[BBI45]

Would have included the BRMB name in the mix (well, the original BRMB, anyway - launched on 19th February 1974), but of course, previous owners Orion killed that off in favour of Free Radio.

General feeling seems to be Free won't be mourned and Hits will be a better fit for those four stations. Even their breakfast host, John Dalziel, isn't sad to see it go.

twitter.com 

Incidentally, has David Lloyd had anything to say about it, considering he's been frothing at the mouth regarding BBC Local Radio's changes? (he barely stayed five minutes as a head of region in Hull before being enticed back to commercial radio)

I've not seen anything from him, but I can't be too surprised given that 5 of the impacted stations were once under his stewardship with mixed success. He successfully oversaw the transition of Gem from a member of the Heart network, to a fully local station. He was even the person on air when the handover came.

www.aircheckdownloads.com 

David Lloyd Jan 1st 2011 (6'31) - Gem 106 East Midlands | AircheckDownloads.com
David Lloyd Jan 1st 2011 (6'31) - Gem 106 East Midlands from AircheckDownlo…
  Source: www.aircheckdownloads.com

However, he was also behind the decision to rebrand BRMB, Beacon, Mercia and Wyvern as Free Radio, and as we've seen since the Hits Radio news has come out, people didn't really gel with the name. I'm sure he's got his opinions just as everyone else does, but I think he's wisely chosen not to give the people of the West Midlands the opportunity to get some free hits in on his decisions 12 years ago.

[what]

And so it begins...

Can't speak for other Hits network stations, but my local (The Wave in Swansea) just* updated their Facebook banner to emphasize they're "part of the Hits Radio family".

*when I say just, I mean it. I feel sorry for the social media person who has to be in the office at 8:30pm

[BBI45]

And so it begins...

Can't speak for other Hits network stations, but my local (The Wave in Swansea) just* updated their Facebook banner to emphasize they're "part of the Hits Radio family".

*when I say just, I mean it. I feel sorry for the social media person who has to be in the office at 8:30pm

The "Hits Radio family" line has been used on air for a while now.

drive.google.com 

Gem - 2023-11-09.wav - Google Drive
Anmelden
  Source: drive.google.com

[all new phil]

And so it begins...

Can't speak for other Hits network stations, but my local (The Wave in Swansea) just* updated their Facebook banner to emphasize they're "part of the Hits Radio family".

*when I say just, I mean it. I feel sorry for the social media person who has to be in the office at 8:30pm

I mean it’s hardly the most important aspect of this but 99% of social media activity by companies will be scheduled rather than just posted as and when.

[Ash101]

Can updating cover pictures be scheduled?

Either way, they wouldn’t be in the office. Probably laptop in front of the telly.

[Spencer]

Can updating cover pictures be scheduled?

Either way, they wouldn’t be in the office. Probably laptop in front of the telly.

I believe it’s possible to schedule banner images via some third party social media management systems.