Is there any point though? Smooth still sells advertising regionally, even in London where there's zero local content bar advertising.

Global handle their national sales.

They don't seem to know if they are a national station or a regional station. If they want to be a national station they should close down the regional DAB mux's and sell advertising nationally or close digital one outlet and continue selling advertising on a regional basis.

It must confuse listeners within the FM service areas where they get 2 versions of Smooth Radio on DAB. 1 regional and 1 national, with same programmes but different news and ads!!!!!

Unless your a radio buff and flagged up - listeners won't give too hoots or even notice.

I like this station,but I have decided this morning that I cant be bothered listening to two songs then a load of adverts,then another two songs and more adverts.
I understand they have to make money,but this is overkill.

Smooth seems to have at least 6 months left under Global as global decides what to do.
Noticed the agencies think there is still a case for Smooth to continue as a standalone station rather than become "Gold"!
http://mediaweek.co.uk/news/1138480/...ase-GMG-Radio/

However Age UK now have an online station called The Wireless which seems very similar (but less Soul and Disco) and has has features for over 50's which i thought Smooth would have done more of. but Smooth is now also after the 40's market which is Heart's target audience.
http://www.ageuk.org.uk/the-wireless/
If Global do drop Smooth, then The Wireless could be well placed pick up some of the listeners?

Not without some serious marketing.

I'm in the industry and I'd never heard of The Wireless until your post. Apparently it's been going 3 months but it's had absolutely no press coverage. I can't imagine anyone even knows it exists so it's certainly no threat to Smooth or Gold.

And The Wireless's audience is probably targeted at over 60's compared to Smooth and Gold who are younger.

The Wireless looks like a great idea - Saga Radio provided by a charity, providing useful information for older people in a popular, but uncommercial, format.

Depends how internet savvy they are. My Dad is a silver surfer. my mum just cannot cope with it. But she has a shiny DAB radio
and it switches off as she goes to sleep...the PC needs to be 'shutdown'. As for internet radio, blimey I don't want to confuse them

The only way i knew it existed was a poster in one of the shops!
Had a look at the website

But agree so far just a low cost operation and no threat to other stations, as a charity they would have to be careful not to spend to much on it as potential for profits are low.

This sat and sun Mark Forrest is covering for Pat on weekend Breakfast and David Prever is covering for Lynn Parsons, who will be covering for Mark all next week.

Really hope smooth stays. I have Gold on DAB here and find it crap and too repetitive and i also have capital and obviously smooth which is what i listen too. On FM here we have no capital or smooth we have just heart which i dont like so i really hope smooth stays on national DAB as i would really miss it if it closed.

Here Here, I#m 25 and I can listen to Smooth for a good while but can't say the same about heart or gold.

Here's why Smooth's doomed and Heart will continue to grow:

The conference was told that the elderly were an audience the BBC had to itself, because advertisers would pay only a third of the amount for audiences over 50, compared with high spending women, aged 25-39, and that no commercial radio was ever going to target the over-60s.

(Taken from this Media Guardian piece on BBC LR: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012...io-beryl-betty)

Makes me wonder if Global will try and take the "new" Smooth/Gold a bit younger if they can get away with it.

Gold is already 45-54, however as you say, the Gold format could be tweaked a bit to add more 80s tracks to attract younger audiences, although as London and the North West are still lumbered with soulful formats, the current format would need to be tweaked to add more soul/motown, so it could be more Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder than Elvis with a merged station.

Is that Mark Forrest who used to present on Classic FM?

Aswell as Virgin radio late 90s - early 2000's

I really hope smooth is saved maybe I should email global not that they would Listen to me lol. Any ideas on what might happen to smooth I hope it don't become gold.

I do still feel Smooth isn't connected with the South East and London. When Dave Lincoln said the breakfast show today is with Pat Sharp made it sound like he's a stand in and does anyone up North know who this well known DJ is?

You took all that from the way Dave said that Pat was next?

If only people "up North" had a TV. Then they would have seen him on I'm A Celebrity and Funhouse

I'd dare say more people north of Watford know who Pat Sharp is than Dave Lincoln.

........Who's Dave Lincoln ????

Only One Golden Hour from September well on a Friday..:

Wonder if it's the new owners Global Radio Stations Ltd starting to make changes?

The charts on http://pauleaston.blogspot.co.uk/ shows Smooth is currently doing better than Global's Choice, XFM LBC 1152 and Gold in London.

Indeed it will do but now global have their hands on it no doubt it will go downhill which would be a shame unless they leave it as it is but upgrade the phone app and website.