[sparkie70]

Interesting develoments happening at the new 'Eagle Extra' which starts on monday 2nd April in West Surrey & Northeast Hampshire with a brand new live breakfast show.

Announcements from Peter Gordon are interesting reassuring listeners of no loss of identity or local output not that there had been much anyway in recent years.
It will be intresting to see how evenings go with its youth programmes & if it pumb up he listening figures which must be dire at present.
It be also interesting to see what they do at weekends especially if they do local sport.

Focus on Faith remains but is moved to a differant time slot with Swingtime ending on Sunday.

I'm quite looking forward to Monday.

[hanssolo]

Found the audio on the County Sound website
http://cml.sad.ukrd.com/audio/80670.mp3

They will have a hard time getting young people tune in on AM especially with the evening interference, suspect by now UKRD expected Eagle to be on DAB in Surrey, but the launch of the Muxco muxes have been delayed by Ofcom! But it does now have a webstream!
http://www.muxco.com/docs/muxco-surreysussex.pdf

UKRD are keen to ensure that its stations have a future in the digital
landscape, but recognise that with additional costs incurred through duplication of
transmission, this needs to be achieved in a cost efficient manner. It believes the
MuxCo concept, of shared ownership and efficient planning, is such a model.

The listening figures according to mediauk used to be 35k and are now 7k.

[sparkie70]

Originally Posted by hanssolo

Found the audio on the County Sound website
http://cml.sad.ukrd.com/audio/80670.mp3

They will have a hard time getting young people tune in on AM especially with the evening interference, suspect by now UKRD expected Eagle to be on DAB in Surrey, but the launch of the Muxco muxes have been delayed by Ofcom! But it does now have a webstream!
http://www.muxco.com/docs/muxco-surreysussex.pdf

The listening figures according to mediauk used to be 35k and are now 7k.

Of course AM does not help but I say automation is largely to blame for the shocking loss of listeners not to mention too much focus on Eagle FM. I suspect their will be some to fill the gaps but they need to pull something out of the hat to draw back listeners.

Star radio in Cambridge do some intresting shows like 'the business hub, The Motors show & the App show' which all gets sponsorship.

Also Eagle is involved in Guilfest so could be behind the seances stuff.
Not sure if PG is doing a one off breakfast show to kick start the station or is permanent which if the the latter raises some questions as he is on FM.

Guess will find out soon.

[wirewolf]

Latest quote on the launch of Eagle Extra:-

With just a few days to go until the official launch of “EAGLE EXTRA” the exciting new radio station for Surrey and North East Hampshire, more details are being released about its look and sound.

A new station logo has been unveiled today – for use on a brand new website and all radio station literature.

The Eagle Extra programme schedule will include the hugely successful and long running “Peter Gordon Breakfast Show” from sister station, 96.4 Eagle Radio. Plus, in addition to a broad range of music through the day, there will be extended news features, life style and celebrity interviews alongside locally produced specialist programmes covering drama, education and faith.

Evenings and weekends on Eagle Extra will see additional community focussed programmes, including some with specialist music and targeted towards a younger audience. A weekly youth music show will be funded by locally-based gaming giant – Electronic Arts (EA)

Eagle Director of Programmes, Peter Gordon, said “we are so excited about the options for listening, and opportunities for talent which are being created by the launch of Eagle Extra. We are finally seeing several years of planning taking shape and look forward to both our Eagle radio stations continuing to be the local media choice for listeners, businesses and community organisations in Surrey and North East Hampshire. To all intents and purposes we are a commercial enterprise offering a truly local public service!”

Interesting to see the FM breakfast show is being broadcast on AM as well.

[Martin Phillp]

Originally Posted by wirewolf

Latest quote on the launch of Eagle Extra:-



Interesting to see the FM breakfast show is being broadcast on AM as well.

Pop and prattle on 1566 as well during breakfast? I hope PG has a broader playlist for the simulcast.

[sparkie70]

Originally Posted by Martin Phillp

Pop and prattle on 1566 as well during breakfast? I hope PG has a broader playlist for the simulcast.

Did not hear it myself but I have heard it was more or less the same without Bev who is I beleave is on hoilday.
Cannot see this going down well with County listeners, all I heard was non stop music I expected some radio verson of 'Loose Women or maybe a doc on Guildford cathedral.

The jingles are bad but worst of all I heard no LOCAL news at midday.
It is early days & there are a couple of programmes after 7pm one of which is on guilfest.

[vinnielo]

Just heard the broadcast from the school. Way too heavily-edited, and I'm not sure the subject was of much interest to the rest of the county.. sounded too much like an advert of the school's achievements, if anything.
Only the first evening for the station, I guess.

[timbouk]

This really strikes me of a station with no direction. It is all very worthy on paper with the community and school stuff but who apart from the school kids who recorded it are going to listen?

The mismatch of content will not keep listeners, but I guess the lack of any other UKRD Am stations means its a struggle to programme.

Interesting that they brought back a live breakfast show after ditching the Country Sound one in December but a rebroadcast of the FM show is not really a forward step.

But good luck to it!

[James30]

Can't help but think this is a publicity vehicle for Peter Gordon.

Community Radio usually opens up to locals to do music programming even if they aren't students or in community groups. I'm sure many local people would volunteer, just as they did down the road at Wey Valley Radio in Alton years ago.

[sparkie70]

Originally Posted by timbouk

This really strikes me of a station with no direction. It is all very worthy on paper with the community and school stuff but who apart from the school kids who recorded it are going to listen?

The mismatch of content will not keep listeners, but I guess the lack of any other UKRD Am stations means its a struggle to programme.

!

In fairness to Extra they have a programme funded by' EA sports' so there must be something. As I posted above they need some sponsored programmes. We do have a major F1 team in Surrey so maybe a local F1 Show or motor show.

The problem is outside of youth is can they attracted a wide range of programmes in general. The local programming is not new as County Sound have been doing it for over a decade but sadly many faded were never replaced.

However I am struggling to see why an FM breakfast show is on AM.

[Martin Phillp]

Originally Posted by sparkie70

However I am struggling to see why an FM breakfast show is on AM.

It didn't stop Absolute Radio simulcasting their off-target breakfast show on their five decades stations.

Like the OC's show, Eagle Extra should consider delaying the output by an hour, so that the classic hits/oldies playlist can be scheduled in. Otherwise, technically Extra is off-air for 4 hours a day.

[Mr Spoons]

No mention of the frequency on their website so you have to wonder why they are bothering with 1566. The transmission costs and the AM licence must be costing a few bob.

[Mr Spoons]

Originally Posted by James30

Can't help but think this is a publicity vehicle for Peter Gordon.

Community Radio usually opens up to locals to do music programming even if they aren't students or in community groups. I'm sure many local people would volunteer, just as they did down the road at Wey Valley Radio in Alton years ago.

Agreed on both counts. Wey Valley radio was certainly open to anyone to get involved in an era before the term "community radio" had been invented.

[Bingethink]

Originally Posted by timbouk

This really strikes me of a station with no direction. It is all very worthy on paper with the community and school stuff but who apart from the school kids who recorded it are going to listen?

Their parents, relations, friends and teachers, presumably - and the simulcast breakfast show might mean raising awareness and sampling of the parent station.

Yes, it seems very much to be a "PR exercise" if you like, rather than a potential ratings powerhouse, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing, does it?

(Though it does seem odd that UKRD - which previously rid itself of loss-making stations elsewhere - keeps hold of this AM frequency for the sake of <10,000 listeners...)

[northantsgirl]

Originally Posted by Bingethink

(Though it does seem odd that UKRD - which previously rid itself of loss-making stations elsewhere - keeps hold of this AM frequency for the sake of <10,000 listeners...)

Could they franchise the frequency out to, as an example, an Asian station, much like in Leicester when Sunrise took over the GEM/Sabras output?

[Mr Spoons]

Originally Posted by Bingethink

(Though it does seem odd that UKRD - which previously rid itself of loss-making stations elsewhere - keeps hold of this AM frequency for the sake of <10,000 listeners...)

The station doesn't exist as a single entity IIRC. It's part of the FM licence and is tied up very closely with its FM counterpart. Note for example that Eagle gained an extra presenter shift at the same time as County Sound lost its live afternoon show.

Also I suspect they've been hanging on to it because of DAB. I've always thought 1566 would be turned off the day they launched the DAB service.

The thing CS has always had on its side is that UKRD have to run all the facilities at Guildford anyway. They have to have studios, a news team, a sales team etc regardless of if CS exists or not. So the cost base of CS was presumably very low compared to a normal stand alone station.

[Bingethink]

Originally Posted by Mr Spoons

The station doesn't exist as a single entity IIRC. It's part of the FM licence and is tied up very closely with its FM counterpart. Note for example that Eagle gained an extra presenter shift at the same time as County Sound lost its live afternoon show.

That's the choice of how UKRD operate it, though, rather than being a requirement of the licence.