Spot on Kenneth, what they play is their business - note that last word.

Some posters on here seriously believe radio professionals don't know music or are too lazy to programme lesser songs. Many music managers were either presenters themselves or have served many years in the business and have seen many songs come and go but a precious few 'stick'

Completely pointless. Still it stops another organisation getting their hands on the DAB slot. Sod the listeners.

The rival stations inability to bid for DAB slots is actually behind this. Without the big groups, Digital would be nowhere.

BOOOOO!!!

Looks like this is a similar arrangement to what used to happen with The Mix when GWR owned all the separate named stationsa round the country.

There was a sustaining service overnight which match FM, and on a Sunday morning for Retro Countdown at 1000, but the rest of the time non-stop music was played but much of this was interlaced with voice-tracking.

By the look of it, the playlist is identical to regular Smooth Radio. There must be some local shows between 1000-1900. Strange that the mid morning show is not there though. I would imagine that Heart Extra will be similar but that one will probably see non-stop music at breakfast and drive, with the rest of the sustained output being carried. Only a guess that of course!

According to Premier's website Arqiva are asking for £1 million a year for their 64k slot.

I think that's a heavy price for Global to pay if their intention is just to try and prevent competitors using national DAB, which isn't going to work anyway as Magic launches on there in January (and D2 follows in Autumn 2015). Magic & Radio 2 alone could put a serious dent in Smooth's listening figures without any additional competition. We already know that indies like Amazing & Jazz FM cannot afford it, so who else is going to snap it up at that price?

I'm sure that Global's shareholders could put that £1 million to better use if there is no extra ad revenue here, so I think the assumption must be that this station is a work in progress.

It's interesting to note that Global once owned this multiplex, until they sold it to Arqiva for a nominal £1.

The Smooth Extra schedule is disappointing as it is simulcasts Smooth Radio at Breakfast and Evenings however it will reach areas of the UK where Smooth Radio is not available on FM / AM and local DAB and an alternative to the main Smooth Radio through the day with non stop music. I thought if Global wanted Smooth Extra to be a jukebox station they would have scheduled it similar to Gold for example Gold plays number ones at lunchtime for 1 hour and has seventies Saturday and Sixties Sundays. I thought Smooth Extra would have had 1 hour of the American Songbook and 1 hour of the British Songbook and 2 hours of Smooth Soul on week nights as an alternative to Smooth Radio. Smooth Extra could also had Smooth 70's at the weekends.

This is good news for listeners to Gold as it would be pointless replacing it on AM when it is going to be simulcasting the Smooth Radio service carried on FM at certain times. It will also pointless replacing Gold with Heart Extra it is going to modelled like Smooth Extra. The only area it would make sense to replace Gold with Heart Extra would be the East Midlands as Heart is not carried on FM.

Global could be planning to add Gold to Digital One in 2015 as well as Heart Extra as they do not currently offer a service nationally playing the Greatest Hits from acts like The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and Queen.

Global would be unlikely to add Gold to D1 as they would probably lose the Smooth Extra audience to it. The mainly no presenter Gold has increased ratings imagine what it could do on D1. It would be embarrassing to Global considering how they tore Gold apart last year.

Happy New Year too all Smooth listeners,

( P's, all those don't like Smooth please tune else where in 2015)

All the best x

Saturday schedule from 10 January

0200 Overnights
0600 Saturday Breakfast - Eamonn Kelly
1000 Smooth Extra
2000 The Great British Songbook
0000 Smoth Love Songs

Sunday schedule from 11 January

0200 Overnights
0600 Sunday Breakfast - Eamonn Kelly
1000 Smooth Extra
2000 The Great American Songbook

http://www.smoothradio.com/extra/sho...ate=2015-01-10
http://www.smoothradio.com/extra/sho...ate=2015-01-11

So it looks like London for all hours except

Monday-Friday 1000-1900
Saturday-Sunday 1000-2000

I say again - waste of space!

Possibly move some live presenters into the gaps as contracts are signed?

You wouldn't know whether it was Smooth or Smooth Extra not that it makes any difference it would still be just as dull & dreary.

As "Jimbo" posted above Smooth Extra is an absolute waste of D1 space.

Presumably we will have more of this duplication when Heart Extra arrives. This is just an utter farce. How did radio end up like this. You might as well just listen to Spotify. At least they have more than 200 songs.

So what will become of D2. Heart Extra Plus 7, Smooth 48.

I seem to remember when Jack 2 launched, I counted the number of tracks you could choose from - it was just 299 - hardly a choice - given you would be forgiven for thinking "we play what YOU want" - no they don't!

Radio City has I believe 400 songs at any one time. The Mix network used to have a rotation of 90 minutes for its A list songs - or whatever they called their current playlist at the time at the trun of the 21st century.

Radio getting worse even though you may not realise it - I know most on here do - but it iseems that way.

As for Magic/GHN - the new station is basically a merger of the two with Scotland opting out for Breakfast everyday, drive Monday-Friday, Saturday afternoon and Sunday 0900-1300

I Don't get why Global has taken this approach to Smooth Extra when they've done such a good job with Capital XTRA, that station has its own live programming 24/7 and its own playlist, with the exception of Friday 7-12 when it's networked with the main station

I thought that Global had planned a new station that would play music from the 70s, 80s and early 90s. I assumed that would be the new National station on D1, not Smooth Extra.

Heart Extra is coming Q2 this year, when Global hope that Premier's contract runs out and can't afford the £1m asking price for the slot and snap up the space on D1.

The only reason why Capital Extra is how it is is because it used to be Choice FM so it was its own station in the first place.

The others are offshoots created more recently and have no heritage behind them so that is probably why Capital Extra is a "proper station" if you see what I mean.

Yes that's what they originally announced but somewhere down the line it conveniently became the waste of D1 space that is Smooth Extra. I suppose we might have guessed that it was too good to be true as Global is delivered by brand and since they gained Smooth its there bees knees

What do people think of Smooth love songs then? I'm baffled as to why Everybody Hurts has been played when it isn't really a love song

Is it because when Global tested this song on the people they normally test songs on , before they play the same songs to death ,Global were told this was a 'great love song' and therefore will be played to death on Smooth by Global as a ' great love song'

That comment made me laugh but its true lol. Radio really is getting worse magic aint much better. Both jukeboxes and sad love songs i feel for nightshift workers that have to stay awake lol.

It is however a great ballad which expresses empathy and sympathy, both being characteristics of love.

Over the past two days now that we have Smooth, Smooth Extra (waste) and Magic on DAB I find that Magic is far superior to Smooth better presentation, jingles and definitely a better playlist.

Hopefully this will make Global give dreary Smooth a much needed facelift.

I disagree Amara. Magic has gone downhill since going national same tracks boring playlist. The old magic North would have been better but that's not a london station. How DJs don't get bored these days is beyond me. I bet they could do karaoke without needing the words they play the songs so regularly. Also why are DJs not aloud to talk anymore that to me makes radio pointless.