Can't see Hot benefiting from Fire's sale or relocation in any way, their target audiences are so different. An earlier poster may have a point about Hot being too much like Wave, but what's the alternative in towns like Poole and Bournemouth? Maybe big band and easy listening? ;-) Either way they're hampered by the tiny transmitters that CRs have to have and in terms of making money CRs are kept small by the 50/50 rule (which I read could be scrapped, but hasn't been yet as far as I know). Hot was advertising on Media UK for presenters recently, but I haven't heard anyone new so not sure how that went. You'd think all sorts would come out of the woodwork and they'd have no trouble filling slots.
With all respect to Hope, you'd think that targeting Christian listeners in an increasingly secular country isn't ever going to lead to high figures. But as with Hot I guess we'll never know because there are no figures. Not seen a claim for 30,000, so I'm not sure where that figure comes from.
On the subject of Fire, I'm with earlier posters who were suggesting that Celador will keep the Fire brand then apply it to new acquisitions. There are very few commercial "yoof" stations, relatively speaking, in the UK, so maybe this is an area for growth? But then surveys suggest young people are turning away from radio as a medium in favour of streaming, so maybe even that's not a plan destined to succeed? I agree Juice would make a great new Fire.
Shame about Fire's specialist output. That was the only thing that made it unique for me, as daytime wasn't really that far off Capital's.
Dave moving to Heart has been a big loss, no doubt, but if Fire paid as well as the former owner says, getting a really good presenter to replace him should have been a piece of cake. There are surely many current ( and ex-) commercial radio presenters out there who could have done a great job with breakfast?
I can't see Fire's television thing working. I suspect local TV will turn out to be more like hospital radio, but on the telly. If Meridian and BBC South can't do better than the tired old news formats they've been pushing for decades, what hope have companies with a fraction of the budget?
The character remains the same - really? A Bournemouth station broadcasting from Southampton, not in the TSA, and it looks like the specialist shows have all gone too. Travel girl in the afternoon clearly knows nothing about Bournemouth roads!
Where do they stand on the local stuff anyway, I thought locally produced stuff had to be done within the broadcast area so I'd say they're breaching their format with that. From the Ofcom format: "Locally made programming must be produced within the licensed area."
And if they don't cover off 12 hours of specialist stuff this weekend they will be in breach again. They also don't have a Public File on the website, another breach.
They've had loads of live afternoon shows over the years - I don't understand what Mr Johnson is on about there, presumably he does though. Speaking of shows, there doesn't appear to be anyone on during the daytime!
The character remains the same - really? A Bournemouth station broadcasting from Southampton, not in the TSA, and it looks like the specialist shows have all gone too. Travel girl in the afternoon clearly knows nothing about Bournemouth roads!
Where do they stand on the local stuff anyway, I thought locally produced stuff had to be done within the broadcast area so I'd say they're breaching their format with that. From the Ofcom format: "Locally made programming must be produced within the licensed area."
The local hours have to be produced in the Ofcom local approved area, which is Solent in this case. Southampton is in the Solent area so it's OK.
"Mr Johnson said the terms of its Ofcom licence meant the character of the station would not change." Errr.... yes it has! Where have the specialist shows gone!? The terms of licence include 12 hours worth. So far this week there has been no specialist programming.[/QUOTE]
I have heard that the specialist dj`s have not been told anything, will have to wait untill after the weekend before making a complaint.
Dave Pearce is back on tonight at 6pm so that's a step in the right direction...
Regarding the 'localness' debate, Fire's local news bulletins actually came from Wessex FM at Dorchester for many years. Not sure when this arrangement stopped.
If they can't afford to have specialist DJ's for themselves, then they could at least try to meet the specialist quota by programming 6 hours of non-stop classic and modern dance anthems on a Friday and Saturday night 7pm-1am. Sorted! Or try to do a deal with a production company to get the rights to broadcast some syndicated specialist shows like Dave Pearce's.
If they can't afford to have specialist DJ's for themselves, then they could at least try to meet the specialist quota by programming 6 hours of non-stop classic and modern dance anthems on a Friday and Saturday night 7pm-1am. Sorted! Or try to do a deal with a production company to get the rights to broadcast some syndicated specialist shows like Dave Pearce's.
They have deleted a further 5 messages on their facebook page all asking whats happened to Ross eB. They know how to loose listeners, why not just be upfont and tell the truth.
Matt Dary and Graeme Park do syndicated dance shows.
So do the little known Kev Dobbs, Jay Forster and Ste Dawson, (the latter is actually a mixer and not a DJ as I once contacted him and he told me that its straight to radio mixing).
The rate that Fire is going they may as well contact these people and ask them if they wish to be part of the Fire Radio team in which case could well fill the specialist slots on the station.
"Dave Pearce is back on tonight at 6pm so that's a step in the right direction…" !!!
You have got to be kidding! That was the worst show on Fire and that's the one they choose to keep!
What Fire ought to do would be to have two dance strands. One Friday night and the other Saturday night, very early Sunday morning. So for example using both my and someone elses examples.
So for example Friday nights could run as...
6pm - Kev Dobbs In The Mix
8pm - Ste Dawson Essential Dance: Fascinating Rhythm
10pm - [a Trance show could be aired here]
midnight - Non Stop Fire
... then on Saturdays...
6pm - Jay Forster's House Central
7pm - Dave Pearce Anthems
10pm - This Is Graeme Park: Radio Show
midnight - Andi Durrant: The Electrik Playground
2am - Non Stop Fire.
There's my solution to Fire Radio's schedule, quick someone email them with the suggestions - they could well take the shows on.
Jay Forster used to have a show on Fire untill a couple of weeks ago. Celador obviously dont want the specialist dj`s.
Celador are shooting themselves in the foot with the axing of the specialist DJ`s, after all its them that make the station. What I mean by that is the tunes they bang out and the listener likes what they hear then their bound to stick with the station.
What Fire ought to do would be to have two dance strands. One Friday night and the other Saturday night, very early Sunday morning. So for example using both my and someone elses examples.
So for example Friday nights could run as...
6pm - Kev Dobbs In The Mix
8pm - Ste Dawson Essential Dance: Fascinating Rhythm
10pm - [a Trance show could be aired here]
midnight - Non Stop Fire
... then on Saturdays...
6pm - Jay Forster's House Central
7pm - Dave Pearce Anthems
10pm - This Is Graeme Park: Radio Show
midnight - Andi Durrant: The Electrik Playground
2am - Non Stop Fire.
There's my solution to Fire Radio's schedule, quick someone email them with the suggestions - they could well take the shows on.
Mate, you clearly never listened to the station. The specialist content was second to none with great shows week in week out, live in Bournemouth, with local relevance and international recognition.
Your suggestion for Friday wouldn't work as those 2 names would not be known by anyone within the TSA. Who are they? Will they have ever gigged in Bournemouth? As for Saturday, Dave Pearce's show is poorly crafted and traded solely on his Radio 1 history. Graeme Park's show is and always has been brilliant, but it's not on target whatsoever. Canvass the 16-40 year olds in the centre of town and ask them who Kev Dobbs and Graeme Park are and they wouldn't have a clue. The response would be totally different for the entire Fire specialist squad.
Last night, there was again a number of questions put to the Fire Radio Facebook page regarding the absence of the original line up. Mine included. Again those comments have been deleted. It's probably the Programme Controller hoping it will all blow over. I guess he/she has never been to Bournemouth either and doesn't understand anything about the area or the dance music scene.
Is there someone on here with the knowledge about Fire's licensing terms? Are they now in trouble with Ofcom for not putting out 12 hours of specialist shows in the first week?
I'm not sure why everybody is getting so over excited about the lack of specialist shows, I'm sure they will be back in the next couple of weeks. But probably syndicated shows.
They have posted on their facebook page today the link to the old owners site for the internet stream (that does not work anyway) and are still removing posts complaining about the loss of the specialist shows.
Comments
With all respect to Hope, you'd think that targeting Christian listeners in an increasingly secular country isn't ever going to lead to high figures. But as with Hot I guess we'll never know because there are no figures. Not seen a claim for 30,000, so I'm not sure where that figure comes from.
On the subject of Fire, I'm with earlier posters who were suggesting that Celador will keep the Fire brand then apply it to new acquisitions. There are very few commercial "yoof" stations, relatively speaking, in the UK, so maybe this is an area for growth? But then surveys suggest young people are turning away from radio as a medium in favour of streaming, so maybe even that's not a plan destined to succeed? I agree Juice would make a great new Fire.
Shame about Fire's specialist output. That was the only thing that made it unique for me, as daytime wasn't really that far off Capital's.
Dave moving to Heart has been a big loss, no doubt, but if Fire paid as well as the former owner says, getting a really good presenter to replace him should have been a piece of cake. There are surely many current ( and ex-) commercial radio presenters out there who could have done a great job with breakfast?
I can't see Fire's television thing working. I suspect local TV will turn out to be more like hospital radio, but on the telly. If Meridian and BBC South can't do better than the tired old news formats they've been pushing for decades, what hope have companies with a fraction of the budget?
I'm "watching" Fire with interest though ;-)
Where do they stand on the local stuff anyway, I thought locally produced stuff had to be done within the broadcast area so I'd say they're breaching their format with that. From the Ofcom format: "Locally made programming must be produced within the licensed area."
And if they don't cover off 12 hours of specialist stuff this weekend they will be in breach again. They also don't have a Public File on the website, another breach.
They've had loads of live afternoon shows over the years - I don't understand what Mr Johnson is on about there, presumably he does though. Speaking of shows, there doesn't appear to be anyone on during the daytime!
The local hours have to be produced in the Ofcom local approved area, which is Solent in this case. Southampton is in the Solent area so it's OK.
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/consultations/radio/statement/Solent.pdf
I have heard that the specialist dj`s have not been told anything, will have to wait untill after the weekend before making a complaint.
Regarding the 'localness' debate, Fire's local news bulletins actually came from Wessex FM at Dorchester for many years. Not sure when this arrangement stopped.
You have got to be kidding! That was the worst show on Fire and that's the one they choose to keep!
Still need another 9hrs before Sunday night, I wont hold my breath.
matt dary graeme park do syndicated dance shows
So do the little known Kev Dobbs, Jay Forster and Ste Dawson, (the latter is actually a mixer and not a DJ as I once contacted him and he told me that its straight to radio mixing).
The rate that Fire is going they may as well contact these people and ask them if they wish to be part of the Fire Radio team in which case could well fill the specialist slots on the station.
What Fire ought to do would be to have two dance strands. One Friday night and the other Saturday night, very early Sunday morning. So for example using both my and someone elses examples.
So for example Friday nights could run as...
6pm - Kev Dobbs In The Mix
8pm - Ste Dawson Essential Dance: Fascinating Rhythm
10pm - [a Trance show could be aired here]
midnight - Non Stop Fire
... then on Saturdays...
6pm - Jay Forster's House Central
7pm - Dave Pearce Anthems
10pm - This Is Graeme Park: Radio Show
midnight - Andi Durrant: The Electrik Playground
2am - Non Stop Fire.
There's my solution to Fire Radio's schedule, quick someone email them with the suggestions - they could well take the shows on.
Celador are shooting themselves in the foot with the axing of the specialist DJ`s, after all its them that make the station. What I mean by that is the tunes they bang out and the listener likes what they hear then their bound to stick with the station.
Mate, you clearly never listened to the station. The specialist content was second to none with great shows week in week out, live in Bournemouth, with local relevance and international recognition.
Your suggestion for Friday wouldn't work as those 2 names would not be known by anyone within the TSA. Who are they? Will they have ever gigged in Bournemouth? As for Saturday, Dave Pearce's show is poorly crafted and traded solely on his Radio 1 history. Graeme Park's show is and always has been brilliant, but it's not on target whatsoever. Canvass the 16-40 year olds in the centre of town and ask them who Kev Dobbs and Graeme Park are and they wouldn't have a clue. The response would be totally different for the entire Fire specialist squad.
Last night, there was again a number of questions put to the Fire Radio Facebook page regarding the absence of the original line up. Mine included. Again those comments have been deleted. It's probably the Programme Controller hoping it will all blow over. I guess he/she has never been to Bournemouth either and doesn't understand anything about the area or the dance music scene.
Is there someone on here with the knowledge about Fire's licensing terms? Are they now in trouble with Ofcom for not putting out 12 hours of specialist shows in the first week?
https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=Vk7CU9eqNvKe7Abn3IDQDA&url=http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/broadcast/radio-ops/formats/fire-radio.pdf
Sadly many of the points put forward to reduce specialist programmes can also be used to remove them altogether.
Probably working for plum full time.
It would have helped had the station had a schedule to go off on its half baked website. So half of the time I couldn't make out whose on when.