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Capital FM Network (Part 2)


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Old 09-03-2011, 18:25
Blah.Blah.Blah.
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Something in the back of my mind thinks that talks with Chris Moyles might have been at some sort of embryonic stage last year, around the time of pay-gate.
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It is of course possible - indeed likely - that Ashley Tabor and Chris Moyles, as friends, have had casual conversations about Capital and the related "what ifs". In fact, given their history, you'd have to say it's inconcievable such conversations have not taken place, even if just over a pint or whatever.

Chris Moyles would be worth a fortune in sponsorship, but stopping for travel, adverts, news, etc would mean it would never be the same show, in my opinion. Remember Evans when he do the Radio 1 show on Virgin?

We're going to have drivetime syndicated within 18 months or so, though. That much is certain. And it's that sort of networked shift that could attract the big boys, like Chris. Sure, it's not a truly national station - but its footprint is enormous.

But it is Scott Mills - not Chris Moyles - who seems the favourite of the Radio 1 guys to do that at Capital. There was a cack handed attempt by GCap to "get" Scott when the rules were relaxed , I've heard, though it didn't get very far - and he's no stranger to the building.

I have a strong connection to the Galaxy stations going back some years, so I'm somewhat biased - but I was always sad Hirsty didn't get onto Radio 1 or a national shift somewhere. Such a warm, likeable, funny chap. A great show. I'd like to see somebody like him get such a shift - but as I say: it's the Moyles or Mills that would have the big bucks sponsorship possiblities.
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Old 09-03-2011, 18:53
Pizzatheaction
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I can't tolerate the sound problems anymore.

Capital FM, for when your radio only has one speaker.
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Old 09-03-2011, 21:15
chocolate_boy
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Dave Kelly with or without features still manages to put out an entertaining show though! I think he should've got the evening slot to be honest.

Ideally...

4pm Rich Clarke
7pm Dave Kelly
11pm Will Cozens
2am Greg Burns

I think that's a better line up or have Greg on the network.
Agreed, shoving a talent like Dave on overnights (practically) is criminal.
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Old 09-03-2011, 21:34
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Chris Moyles would be worth a fortune in sponsorship, but stopping for travel, adverts, news, etc would mean it would never be the same show, in my opinion. Remember Evans when he do the Radio 1 show on Virgin?.
Moyles was at his best when he was on Chiltern all them years ago, in my opinion his show on Radio One didnt come upto scratch
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Old 09-03-2011, 23:39
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Moyles was at his best when he was on Chiltern all them years ago, in my opinion his show on Radio One didnt come upto scratch
But that is over 15 years ago, and Chris Moyles is famous for having Comedy Dave etc etc in tow now. It was a different show, of a different era. The fact Chris Moyles once did a show that was popular that happened to have advert breaks on doesn't mean anything.

The show in its current form - the one people still listen to in their millions and the one he's famous for, the one they could get a whackload for in sponsorship for - wouldn't be the same and wouldn't work on the current Capital FM.

So what do you do? Put him by himself? Make him play loads of songs? Do, basically, what they've done to an immense talent like Dave Kelly? Moyles wouldn't do it, and the potential clients wouldn't want it. .
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Old 10-03-2011, 01:34
James Martin 2
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But that is over 15 years ago, and Chris Moyles is famous for having Comedy Dave etc etc in tow now. It was a different show, of a different era. The fact Chris Moyles once did a show that was popular that happened to have advert breaks on doesn't mean anything.

The show in its current form - the one people still listen to in their millions and the one he's famous for, the one they could get a whackload for in sponsorship for - wouldn't be the same and wouldn't work on the current Capital FM.

So what do you do? Put him by himself? Make him play loads of songs? Do, basically, what they've done to an immense talent like Dave Kelly? Moyles wouldn't do it, and the potential clients wouldn't want it. .
You're right, too. In a commercial organisation, Matthew Bannister and Andy Parfitt wouldn't have been able to allow Moyles the carte-blanche which has delivered immense audiences.

Any potential big-name sponsorship would want him just the way he is. Maybe if money talks enough, Tabor would think, OK. It'd stick out like a sore thumb but would almost certainly deliver a huge audience and generate a king's ransom in S&P.

Wouldn't it? If Moyles' show had airtime available to buy, most agencies would surely see it as the safest bet in the business?
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Old 10-03-2011, 02:17
Black Label
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Wouldn't it? If Moyles' show had airtime available to buy, most agencies would surely see it as the safest bet in the business?
I'm not so sure.

The audience who tune into Moyles tune in for Moyles, and he fits well with the more speech orientated Radio 1..

The audience who tune into Capital presumably tune in to hear unintrusive background wallpaper. Net time you hear Capital on anywhere ( a mate is listening, in a taxi, at work etc) ask whoever is listening if they can name who is on air? I bet you will be hard prssed to find a soul who can.

'Roberto' and 'Bassman' mean nothing to the British public. It's just background noise, rather like Atlantic 252 used to be.

IMHO Moyles on Capital as it is could just as easily be a huge disaster. On the other hnad if they were to water him down then what is the point when you can get someone doing the gig for probably a tenth or less of what Moyles would cost?
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Old 10-03-2011, 14:53
CapitalLife
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I'm not so sure.

The audience who tune into Moyles tune in for Moyles, and he fits well with the more speech orientated Radio 1..

The audience who tune into Capital presumably tune in to hear unintrusive background wallpaper. Net time you hear Capital on anywhere ( a mate is listening, in a taxi, at work etc) ask whoever is listening if they can name who is on air? I bet you will be hard prssed to find a soul who can.

'Roberto' and 'Bassman' mean nothing to the British public. It's just background noise, rather like Atlantic 252 used to be.

IMHO Moyles on Capital as it is could just as easily be a huge disaster. On the other hnad if they were to water him down then what is the point when you can get someone doing the gig for probably a tenth or less of what Moyles would cost?
I could always tell you who was on Atlantic 252 when I was listening - because it was either that or Radio 1 where I was back then and the Beeb station was the far less attractive option.
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Old 10-03-2011, 17:37
MickeyBricks
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Some would say naming a radio station after a river (Trent et al), an animal (Fox, Bear), something astronomical (Star, Galaxy), major organ (Heart) or a winged reptilian creature (Wyvern) is also 'strange'.

As has been said before on this forum, 'Capital' doesn't mean "capital city"; as well as a noun, it's also an adjective that means first and foremost/main/excellent. So not such a bad name for any organisation, including a radio station.

Outside London, I'm sure it's only people in the media who would think "London radio station" when they hear the word "Capital".
Deluded. That would be like saying Island Line trains on the Isle Of Wight could be rebranded to Capital Connect if First won that franchise in the future. How pathetic would that look and sound? In the UK, capital will always refer to capital cities.
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Old 10-03-2011, 17:51
my_login
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In the UK, capital will always refer to capital cities.
I agree. However, the Capital branding experts presumably work on a higher level than us. Their fiendish wisdom and foresight can only leave us awestruck.
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Old 10-03-2011, 18:57
James Martin 2
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Haha. If Galaxy wasn't an option they should have just found a new name, left London alone, or SHOCK HORROR used the original names - maybe branding-back Power FM and finding new localised names for the Galaxy stations.

That's where smart networking gets smart - I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but in terms of how to network, Orion's West Midlands stations have it bang-on. Totally seamless.
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Old 11-03-2011, 12:11
Bingethink
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'Capital' doesn't mean "capital city"; as well as a noun, it's also an adjective that means first and foremost/main/excellent.
When was the last time you heard anyone use "capital" to mean that, though, outside a black and white movie?

By your argument, Kiss could rebrand as "Spiffing FM".
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Old 12-03-2011, 13:58
RyanSky
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seems like capital fm south wales have leigh jones on untill 4

the other stations have the bassman
www.capitalfm.com/southwales
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Old 12-03-2011, 17:09
Joey Deacon
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Haha. If Galaxy wasn't an option they should have just found a new name, left London alone, or SHOCK HORROR used the original names - maybe branding-back Power FM and finding new localised names for the Galaxy stations.

That's where smart networking gets smart - I know it's not everyone's cup of tea but in terms of how to network, Orion's West Midlands stations have it bang-on. Totally seamless.
What would you have done James, if you were the CEO of Global?

The reason I ask is that I haven't got a clue what I would've done in his position.

It must've been a very very difficult decision to make to scrap Galaxy, Trent, Red Dragon etc and rebrand everything as Capital.

Would most of us have the balls to do that? Probably not.

However, the benefit of that decision is that Global now has a very effective and very simple brand-led business strategy, which is clear and easy to grasp for both advertisers and listeners alike.
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Old 12-03-2011, 17:29
MickeyBricks
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What would you have done James, if you were the CEO of Global?

The reason I ask is that I haven't got a clue what I would've done in his position.

It must've been a very very difficult decision to make to scrap Galaxy, Trent, Red Dragon etc and rebrand everything as Capital.

Would most of us have the balls to do that? Probably not.

However, the benefit of that decision is that Global now has a very effective and very simple brand-led business strategy, which is clear and easy to grasp for both advertisers and listeners alike.
Not sure it was that difficult a decison to be honest, the synergies support the business case but nothing seems to support the choice of brand name other than perhaps rose tinted spectacles. It seems like a classic case of shoe horning the whole excersice to fit their determined choice of name rather than choosing a name that conveys the product.

As an example of how poor MrUK's argument is - coast as a word can mean freewheeling in a car but would you choose Coast for a station name in Birmigham or Oxford? Of course not, because everybody, unless they are trying to convince themselves otherwise, knows coast refers to where the land meets the sea.

The 'Power Network' if implemented across the UK could however have been pushed as The Hit Music Capital of the UK, which would have satisfied the mystery media buyers whilst not relying on a localised narrowly defined and unsuitable brand name.
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Old 12-03-2011, 17:43
Steve Buck
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I don't think anyone would deny that the choice of name for the new network was kludgey and could be problematic outside London.

However, it's well established that the main point of the exercise was to have a consistent brand across the UK that the London agencies "got", right? So what would be the point in continuing with a plethora of brand names under one umbrella, or coming up with some new brand that wasn't established in London? That would totally defeat the object.

Anecdotally, P1 Capital listeners in Yorkshire don't seem to have a problem with the name at all. Even when I explain most of the output is now from London they don't bat an eyelid, the most common observations being "the music's the same as Galaxy" or simply "the music's brilliant".
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Old 12-03-2011, 19:30
Joey Deacon
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I don't think anyone would deny that the choice of name for the new network was kludgey and could be problematic outside London.

However, it's well established that the main point of the exercise was to have a consistent brand across the UK that the London agencies "got", right? So what would be the point in continuing with a plethora of brand names under one umbrella, or coming up with some new brand that wasn't established in London? That would totally defeat the object.

Anecdotally, P1 Capital listeners in Yorkshire don't seem to have a problem with the name at all. Even when I explain most of the output is now from London they don't bat an eyelid, the most common observations being "the music's the same as Galaxy" or simply "the music's brilliant".
Yes I think you're right. Just look at Capital's Facebook page - no mention of "Bring Back Galaxy" now.

Power FM is a good name, as Mickey says, but you just couldn't rebrand Capital as Power in London.
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Old 12-03-2011, 20:10
wavejockglw
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I think the TV advertising with all the big names have done a job for the branding outwith London.

Capital FM is now the station associated with the big current music acts.
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Old 12-03-2011, 21:23
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In the UK, capital will always refer to capital cities.
London and Birmingham, Capital hasnt got any relevance anywhere else

I know why they did it, Capital is a big brand in London and they wanted a national station out of Capital and Galazy so opted for the Capital name

Should have kept it the same Capital in London being networked out on Galaxy, they have the technology to have the same output on two brands
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Old 12-03-2011, 21:24
DRY_SWEEPER
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I think the TV advertising with all the big names have done a job for the branding outwith London.

Capital FM is now the station associated with the big current music acts.
But thats what should be played on the Heart licences
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Old 12-03-2011, 21:30
krob2
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For me the name is irrelevant - its the terrible output (very one sided music policy and totally inadequate information). Heard BRMB for the first time today in a while and its sounding good and doesn't ignore things like football which I'd guess the target audience for Capital would be interested in.
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Old 12-03-2011, 21:37
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For me the name is irrelevant - its the terrible output (very one sided music policy and totally inadequate information). Heard BRMB for the first time today in a while and its sounding good and doesn't ignore things like football which I'd guess the target audience for Capital would be interested in.
correct me if I am wrong but Tabor doesnt want football on any of his stations
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Old 12-03-2011, 21:46
Blah.Blah.Blah.
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London and Birmingham, Capital hasnt got any relevance anywhere else

I know why they did it, Capital is a big brand in London and they wanted a national station out of Capital and Galazy so opted for the Capital name

Should have kept it the same Capital in London being networked out on Galaxy, they have the technology to have the same output on two brands
You obviously don't "know why they did it". This has been discussed a few times much earlier in the thread.

This new network wasn't just about creating a single national brand - the reason Galaxy was dropped was because of its poor perception by agencies. A radio station's customers are its advertisers, and they didn't like Galaxy. You can go around in circles and fantasise forever about what else they could've done, but these are the precise reasons Galaxy was dropped. Not guesswork, not speculation - the precise reasons.

Tabor loved Galaxy, though. Anybody who ever worked with him can tell you that. He was borderline obsessed with it. And take it from me - they pushed, very hard, to try and turn perceptions of the network around so as to roll it out. Big presentations to clients, a dramatic shift in music WAY before they'd decided it'd share everything with London, etc. It was DEFINITELY the case they tried, most aggressively, to turn things around. But the fact was Galaxy was seen as a dance music station for chavs with no money. At BEST, it was thought of as for pissed students.

Brutal? Yes. Especially if, like me, you were very close to the brand for many years.

The reality of the station's listeners? Perhaps not. In fact in my experience, certainly not.

But the perception amongst customers? Definitely. Agencies did not want it and it could not attract the important, big spending brands. It has exactly the same problems Kiss does - the only Bauer stations to not make money, and the ones Bauer were pushing way before it was permitted to syndicate together entirely (this is something that's often airbrushed out of the daytime networking discussions: it was Bauer who wanted it first, really, as a way to cut to the bone at Kiss - which has always haemorrhaged money).

Whether Capital was the right thing to roll out in Galaxy's place is a seperate issue.
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Old 12-03-2011, 22:01
Dan Martin
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What annoys me about Capital is the narrow music it plays.

You can name tracks coming out that won't do very well in the charts as Capital either won't play it because they don't want to or it will violate the Galaxy licences.

Avril Lavigne - What The Hell, My Chemical Romance - Planetary for example.

Plus, as Global do publishing they can use Capital to seriously influence the new music scene, I think this is totally wrong.
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Old 12-03-2011, 22:05
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But the perception amongst customers? Definitely. Agencies did not want it and it could not attract the important, big spending brands. It has exactly the same problems Kiss does - the only Bauer stations to not make money, and the ones Bauer were pushing way before it was permitted to syndicate together entirely (this is something that's often airbrushed out of the daytime networking discussions: it was Bauer who wanted it first, really, as a way to cut to the bone at Kiss - which has always haemorrhaged money).

Whether Capital was the right thing to roll out in Galaxy's place is a seperate issue.
Bauer set themselves up with Kiss though, they were gung ho in getting rid of Vibe, ok the Bristol station wanst performing but that a side Kiss has never really been taken to in East Anglia like Vibe was
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