Well I did not like the smooth changes,mainly the sacking or exiting of good DJ's. But I do listen from time to time and it does run well and the songs are what people know. Dont get me wrong I wish the playlist was wider like under Gmg but sadly that's not the way global do radio. I do miss the interaction between the DJ and the listener. As for a return of smooth Xmas oh dear from global you will be looking at about 50 songs on shuffle 24/7. Still it will give you an idea of what this new station will be like. Music from the 70s 80s and 90s how many thousand hits over those decades and how many hundred will it play I wonder.
Well I did not like the smooth changes,mainly the sacking or exiting of good DJ's. But I do listen from time to time and it does run well and the songs are what people know. Dont get me wrong I wish the playlist was wider like under Gmg but sadly that's not the way global do radio. I do miss the interaction between the DJ and the listener. As for a return of smooth Xmas oh dear from global you will be looking at about 50 songs on shuffle 24/7. Still it will give you an idea of what this new station will be like. Music from the 70s 80s and 90s how many thousand hits over those decades and how many hundred will it play I wonder.
Good points well made and yes I fear you are right about Smooth Christmas
Easily
There's at least that amount on the triple now Christmas albums plus it's the one time of year that they actually roll back the years with the playlists with Bing and co Some tracks from the 1950's and in the case of White Christmas even earlier
The last few years I've actually listened to several superb. American Christmas stations plus an annual charity one from Dublin online
I have not listened to Smooth since April. Unfortunately I was a passenger in a pool car last week (on a lengthy journey) This pool car had Smooth on, and It pained me to listen to exactly the same crap that I heard back in April. Repetitive adverts, hardly any interaction and the same few songs on a loop.
I couldn't wait to get away from it.
I see the same argument is being tossed about on here too. If this is what the 'music testers' say people want to hear, then who am I to argue? All I can say is people (the music testers) must be VERY easily pleased if this is what they call entertaining radio. Because IMO Smooth is anything but entertaining.
I think it's more like the public being easily displeased Jimmy and having many other calls on their time and attention.
A station that builds big audiences running any format/music policy should be applauded. After all any business that isn't customer focused usually isn't a business for long.
I have not listened to Smooth since April. Unfortunately I was a passenger in a pool car last week (on a lengthy journey) This pool car had Smooth on, and It pained me to listen to exactly the same crap that I heard back in April. Repetitive adverts, hardly any interaction and the same few songs on a loop.
I couldn't wait to get away from it.
I see the same argument is being tossed about on here too. If this is what the 'music testers' say people want to hear, then who am I to argue? All I can say is people (the music testers) must be VERY easily pleased if this is what they call entertaining radio. Because IMO Smooth is anything but entertaining.
I totally agree with you jimmy 100%,!!!! Smooth is not to my taste in radio listening at all, Although I was an avid listener before the changes took place!!
I still listen to Smooth a lot as I like the music - even after the changes- it is a bit repetitive and I miss to chat / interaction with listeners particularly on the weekend nightshift programme with Dave Lincoln as I had it on at work. I think a while ago Smartprogrammer said do not discount the new Smooth yet- it is still evolving and there are still things to come. and most of us will like the changes. I hope they are right...but I'm holding out !
I totally agree with you jimmy 100%,!!!! Smooth is not to my taste in radio listening at all, Although I was an avid listener before the changes took place!!
I have to ask the question why are you so bloody unpleasant ? And before you come out with the now you're being confrontational you would try the patience of a Saint
How rude! You've never met me. My wife also tells me I'd try the patience of a saint so we agree on that one!
If I'm asked a question I answer it I don't swerve I for one conceded that they had produced the numbers that's a fact I also mentioned sooner or later people will get sick of it .. Fact as that's human nature but the fact remains the RAJAR's are not the be all and end all
Rajars are pretty important if you're in commercial radio. Presenters and management live and die by the numbers. If you don't get the figures, you don't make money and therefore have no business (or job in some cases).
You talk about a debate ..sadly you don't debate you just go blindly on not wanting to listen to anyone else's point of view
The reason I read these forums is to get others' points of view! If I disagree with them, I argue against them. I usually have the facts to back my arguments up. Just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean I'm not listening.
I can only assume you've been taking lessons from Hit who made such a fool of himself on the various Global threads he was told to shut up by an employee of Global as he was doing more harm than good to its brands
I don't think Ashley's having too many sleepless nights about what a few anoraks think about his brands.
If you got off your high horse you actually do make some decent comments but if all you do is come back with smart arse comments why should we bother trying to have dialogue with you ?
Why are my comments "smart arse"? Surely you mean just "smart" (based on common sense rather than rabid nonsense and speculation).
How rude! You've never met me. My wife also tells me I'd try the patience of a saint so we agree on that one!
Rajars are pretty important if you're in commercial radio. Presenters and management live and die by the numbers. If you don't get the figures, you don't make money and therefore have no business (or job in some cases).
The reason I read these forums is to get others' points of view! If I disagree with them, I argue against them. I usually have the facts to back my arguments up. Just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean I'm not listening.
I don't think Ashley's having too many sleepless nights about what a few anoraks think about his brands.
Why are my comments "smart arse"? Surely you mean just "smart" (based on common sense rather than rabid nonsense and speculation).
I stand by everything I said and I think your comment about me having apparently no common sense and talking rabid nonsense and speculation speaks volumes about the kind of person you are
As for your poor wife I feel her pain
It must so bloody hard to live with Mary Poppins 'practically perfect in every way '
Oh and as for me not meeting you and passing comment it's never stopped you with any of the others
Finally anorak I might well be but that's didnt stop me for over ten years reviewing the papers with Andy Henley over the whole of the GWR network and doing the same with the likes of Sarah Graham John Rockley and numerous others on century and Real and also attending and contributing to playlist meetings in the Manchester area
So as such I might not be such an imbecile as you take us anoraks to be after all
Nah people love me would you like a stab at the substantive point though?-Why did GMG sell?
GMG sold because the board decided to concentrate on their main newspapers
As a result they sold off their radio and tv interests and a portfolio of local newspapers including the Manchester Evening News and I think the Liverpool Echo
The papers and channel m the local tv station went to mirror group who promptly closed Channel m
Not only because it was loss making but mainly as they'd already had their fingers burnt with the other tv station they'd ran and had no wish to repeat the experience L!VE TV
Incidentally it's failure and that of so many others was why so many were astonished when the local tv idea was resurrected by this government
It's a bit of a shame that it's all got a bit personal on here as there is definitely a debate to be had. The reality is that Smooth (in London at least) was really struggling. While the Big 4 (Capital, Magic, Kiss, Heart) have regularly been clocking up reach between 1.6m and 2.2m, Smooth was trailing way behind, sometimes barely getting over 300k. Faced with that kind of evidence, there was no way Global was going to take on the Smooth brand and preserve the status quo - that would just be madness.
What they have a track record of delivering is well researched, tightly formatted, brands that work. Capital works. Heart works. On a personal level I agree with many of the sentiments on here - it doesn't excite me and I wouldn't want to listen to it. The early signs are though that Global have started to turn its fortunes around and have got it right, building an audience in London where it has historically struggled whilst also increasing reach in the North West where it has always done pretty well. Where's the problem?
Global can't be complacent though - it's early days and not unknown for rebrands and relaunches to see an initial spike in audience that cannot be maintained over a longer period. That's now the challenge for Global and for me it's a touch early for anyone to be getting too smug about the results so far. The challenge, especially in London, is to ensure that any audience growth is at the expense of Magic and Radio 2, rather than Heart. They don't want to build one brand by damaging another.
For me, I totally get what they're doing and why. I also think they are maybe playing it a touch safe. I think they could achieve similar results with a *slightly* wider and more adventurous playlist. Having said that, 'Cambodia' and 'I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down' will never be Smooth records, nor should they be. Leave that to Absolute 80s. If you want to hear those records, Smooth is not the station for you.
As for the 'Global boys' - I think the issue is that they seem almost incapable of finding any fault with anything the company does? Surely it's not all perfect? I believe in what my company does and think on the whole it gets things right, yet there's still stuff that occasionally makes me raise an eyebrow. It would be refreshing to see the likes of Cut6 come on here and comment on something Global does that he personally is uncomfortable with - for no other reason than to offer a little balance and remove the reputation of being the company's nodding dog. Unless of course you genuinely believe that everything they do is perfect...........??
Not a bad answer at all - a bit cut'n'paste corporate hymn sheet of course.
Sorry Borsant are you referring to me with my GMG comments ??hard to tell as you'd not quoted
I didn't mention the fact about the station losing money as nobody has ever said it didn't
And it was just one of several of
GMGS ventures in that position
I lumped everything together for brevity
I never worked for GMG by the way just contributed on air
Having said that though I have some knowledge of the company as my dads sister was head of accounts at the Manchester Evening News for many years and my grandad was a lino type operator at their printing plant
Comments
Good points well made and yes I fear you are right about Smooth Christmas
Are there as many as 50 decent Xmas hits??
Easily
There's at least that amount on the triple now Christmas albums plus it's the one time of year that they actually roll back the years with the playlists with Bing and co Some tracks from the 1950's and in the case of White Christmas even earlier
The last few years I've actually listened to several superb. American Christmas stations plus an annual charity one from Dublin online
Just written out a lengthy PM to you explaining a few things, but it says you have chosen not to accept PM's
i'll save it, and maybe if you message me, I can send it back to you?
I couldn't wait to get away from it.
I see the same argument is being tossed about on here too. If this is what the 'music testers' say people want to hear, then who am I to argue? All I can say is people (the music testers) must be VERY easily pleased if this is what they call entertaining radio. Because IMO Smooth is anything but entertaining.
A station that builds big audiences running any format/music policy should be applauded. After all any business that isn't customer focused usually isn't a business for long.
I totally agree with you jimmy 100%,!!!! Smooth is not to my taste in radio listening at all, Although I was an avid listener before the changes took place!!
If only there'd been more like you John
There was !! Me for one 😄
I was an avid listener as well such a shame that nobody asked us what we listened to.
With the dozen or so other anti voices.... Why oh why did GMG sell the gold mine that was the old Smooth lol
And you wonder why there are people on here who despise you!
Very immature, not the slightest bit funny.
How rude! You've never met me. My wife also tells me I'd try the patience of a saint so we agree on that one!
Rajars are pretty important if you're in commercial radio. Presenters and management live and die by the numbers. If you don't get the figures, you don't make money and therefore have no business (or job in some cases).
The reason I read these forums is to get others' points of view! If I disagree with them, I argue against them. I usually have the facts to back my arguments up. Just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean I'm not listening.
I don't think Ashley's having too many sleepless nights about what a few anoraks think about his brands.
Why are my comments "smart arse"? Surely you mean just "smart" (based on common sense rather than rabid nonsense and speculation).
I stand by everything I said and I think your comment about me having apparently no common sense and talking rabid nonsense and speculation speaks volumes about the kind of person you are
As for your poor wife I feel her pain
It must so bloody hard to live with Mary Poppins 'practically perfect in every way '
Oh and as for me not meeting you and passing comment it's never stopped you with any of the others
Finally anorak I might well be but that's didnt stop me for over ten years reviewing the papers with Andy Henley over the whole of the GWR network and doing the same with the likes of Sarah Graham John Rockley and numerous others on century and Real and also attending and contributing to playlist meetings in the Manchester area
So as such I might not be such an imbecile as you take us anoraks to be after all
GMG sold because the board decided to concentrate on their main newspapers
As a result they sold off their radio and tv interests and a portfolio of local newspapers including the Manchester Evening News and I think the Liverpool Echo
The papers and channel m the local tv station went to mirror group who promptly closed Channel m
Not only because it was loss making but mainly as they'd already had their fingers burnt with the other tv station they'd ran and had no wish to repeat the experience L!VE TV
Incidentally it's failure and that of so many others was why so many were astonished when the local tv idea was resurrected by this government
What they have a track record of delivering is well researched, tightly formatted, brands that work. Capital works. Heart works. On a personal level I agree with many of the sentiments on here - it doesn't excite me and I wouldn't want to listen to it. The early signs are though that Global have started to turn its fortunes around and have got it right, building an audience in London where it has historically struggled whilst also increasing reach in the North West where it has always done pretty well. Where's the problem?
Global can't be complacent though - it's early days and not unknown for rebrands and relaunches to see an initial spike in audience that cannot be maintained over a longer period. That's now the challenge for Global and for me it's a touch early for anyone to be getting too smug about the results so far. The challenge, especially in London, is to ensure that any audience growth is at the expense of Magic and Radio 2, rather than Heart. They don't want to build one brand by damaging another.
For me, I totally get what they're doing and why. I also think they are maybe playing it a touch safe. I think they could achieve similar results with a *slightly* wider and more adventurous playlist. Having said that, 'Cambodia' and 'I'm Gonna Tear Your Playhouse Down' will never be Smooth records, nor should they be. Leave that to Absolute 80s. If you want to hear those records, Smooth is not the station for you.
As for the 'Global boys' - I think the issue is that they seem almost incapable of finding any fault with anything the company does? Surely it's not all perfect? I believe in what my company does and think on the whole it gets things right, yet there's still stuff that occasionally makes me raise an eyebrow. It would be refreshing to see the likes of Cut6 come on here and comment on something Global does that he personally is uncomfortable with - for no other reason than to offer a little balance and remove the reputation of being the company's nodding dog. Unless of course you genuinely believe that everything they do is perfect...........??
Of course you do Occy - it's the same show wherever you're listening. What would you expect??
Sorry Borsant are you referring to me with my GMG comments ??hard to tell as you'd not quoted
I didn't mention the fact about the station losing money as nobody has ever said it didn't
And it was just one of several of
GMGS ventures in that position
I lumped everything together for brevity
I never worked for GMG by the way just contributed on air
Having said that though I have some knowledge of the company as my dads sister was head of accounts at the Manchester Evening News for many years and my grandad was a lino type operator at their printing plant