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(10-08-2023, 06:07 PM)London Lite Wrote: Local commercial radio was popular before more competition was added on FM, then on DAB and now online.
Some of us were around when radio choice was down to four BBC nationals and a local full service ILR and some areas had BBC LR. London was fortunate to have two ILR licences, splitting general entertainment from a news focused all speech format.
When the likes of Kiss, Choice and co were licenced as incremental stations, finally there was an alternative to what was a stogid mainstream pop skewed playlist with increased speech commitments to radio stations finally being able to offer different music formats.
And once the increased speech commitments were dropped… boy do I remember how amazing some stations sounded. It was like we finally got radio like other countries.
The ILRs in the 80s were not fit for purpose.
(This post was last modified: 10-08-2023, 07:05 PM by
Adsales.)
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(10-08-2023, 07:03 PM)Adsales Wrote: And once the increased speech commitments were dropped… boy do I remember how amazing some stations sounded. It was like we finally got radio like other countries.
The ILRs in the 80s were not fit for purpose.
Agreed, it's one of the reasons why Steve Wright brought the zoo format to the UK after he visited New York and heard how fresh those stations sounded over there.
In the 70s, most major US markets had various genre stations and tight CHR stations, but the UK was doing features like cookery and book segments between songs, plus needletime meant they couldn't play as much copyrighted music as they may have wanted which meant even if a ILR was on 24/7, they'd fill up airtime with pre-recorded speech even at 2.30am.
It was relaxed by by the late 80s when the IBA decided they wanted more choice from the stations which meant they split the FM/AM frequencies or lose them.
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(10-08-2023, 03:10 PM)Jon Wrote: I’m not sure any of that is an issue though. Surely if the more variety you appear to be offering on a service you’re charging for the better. Also if you’re picking Metro Radio over Hits Radio it’s because it’s your local station, so it doesn’t matter that it’s a duplication of content
Variety is good, but at the moment the way it's laid out on their site makes it very difficult to find anything. Yes you might be picking Metro, but you've got to find it right down in the alphabetical list past all the Absolutes, the Kisses and the Magics. With Global you just click on Capital or Heart.
(10-08-2023, 11:19 AM)gav Wrote: It exists now: hellorayo.co.uk
Only if you've an iPhone
(This post was last modified: 10-08-2023, 08:17 PM by
Stooky Bill.)
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(10-08-2023, 03:29 PM)gav Wrote: Sounds impressive until you realise a lot of what Chris and Roman talk about is the music and the artists they play. So it wouldn't really work in practise.
I’m would love an ability to add hourly or half hourly news bulletins while I’m listening to music playlists while working or driving. I hacked something like that together many years ago in WinAmp.
(This post was last modified: 10-08-2023, 08:41 PM by
sjhoward.)
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(10-08-2023, 08:18 PM)sjhoward Wrote: I’m would love an ability to add hourly or half hourly news bulletins while I’m listening to music playlists while working or driving. I hacked something like that together many years ago in WinAmp.
Spotify does offer something similar with their Daily Drive playlist function, but it's basically some short informational bits from Wireless Group interspersed between some songs in your liked playlist and other songs that Spotify thinks you'll like.
I kissed a gull and I liked it!
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Heart have refreshed their news jingle today. Essentially the same but with a higher pitched and a bit more bass. Feels a bit more Capital.
What does that say about a channel if it scares fish? Just talk me through that.
(This post was last modified: 18-03-2024, 03:17 PM by
Josh.)
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(18-03-2024, 03:17 PM)Josh Wrote: Heart have refreshed their news jingle today. Essentially the same but with a higher pitched and a bit more bass. Feels a bit more Capital.
It's been like that for a few weeks now.
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It was Roman's last show today. On Sian Instagram story she post Roman walking out. In that video something caught my eye. All the building work to the left in what was office space. Looks like they might be building a new studio? Is Capital getting a new home?
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(28-03-2024, 07:50 PM)CATV Wrote: It was Roman's last show today. On Sian Instagram story she post Roman walking out. In that video something caught my eye. All the building work to the left in what was office space. Looks like they might be building a new studio? Is Capital getting a new home?
No, we’re not building a new studio. It’s a new guest area that’s being built.
(This post was last modified: 28-03-2024, 08:39 PM by
DeMarkay.)
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(10-08-2023, 07:03 PM)Adsales Wrote: And once the increased speech commitments were dropped… boy do I remember how amazing some stations sounded. It was like we finally got radio like other countries.
The ILRs in the 80s were not fit for purpose.
It wasn't an efficient system, but a lot of folks do look back at ILR from the 80's with Rose Tinted Glasses. And I'll be honest, while I grew up in the 00's, I have to say that while I like the choice we have today, I think people will miss the privelege of having their own local station, with their own presenters and programming. Heart, Capital, and all of the other Parent brands make good shows, but they're nothing special.