I've no idea if they do- but central, kingdom, west fm, borders and original which are all comparable size (a bit smaller even in terms of reach) seem to operate profitably.
I'd have thought the bosses at YOUR must be giving serious thought to buying this licence. It would give them a much better footprint - that is if global are even willing to sell.
Common sense says that if global have handed it back and YOUR show interest, OFCOM should do their best to give them the licence , but history says that hand back means the absolute end of a licence- no ifs or buts
I've no idea if they do- but central, kingdom, west fm, borders and original which are all comparable size (a bit smaller even in terms of reach) seem to operate profitably.
I'd have thought the bosses at YOUR must be giving serious thought to buying this licence. It would give them a much better footprint - that is if global are even willing to sell.
Common sense says that if global have handed it back and YOUR show interest, OFCOM should do their best to give them the licence , but history says that hand back means the absolute end of a licence- no ifs or buts
Agreed. I thought that Ofcom (if there's a great reason) still allow applicants for strengthening the quality of existing ilr stations or expanding their services nearby?
I'd have thought the bosses at YOUR must be giving serious thought to buying this licence. It would give them a much better footprint - that is if global are even willing to sell.
Common sense says that if global have handed it back and YOUR show interest, OFCOM should do their best to give them the licence , but history says that hand back means the absolute end of a licence- no ifs or buts
Ofcom are working toward a DSO, so will probably say Your radio can take out a contract on local DAB to get a larger footprint rather than readvertise the licence?
Technically XFM are working towards digital and will still cover Scotland, sadly with no local content and job losses.
The FM frequency might be reoffered in community radio round 4?
If Global is allowed to run programmes from London 24/7 on the Manchester FM frequency due to being a specialist station based in England, Global may decide to put XFM on FM in the Wirral replacing Capital. Global have purchased Juice in Liverpool from UTV this station covers the whole of Merseyside which will be rebranded as Capital.
If Global are not allowed to broadcast programmes from London 24/7 on the Manchester FM frequency they could hand the FM licence for the Wirral back to Ofcom.
In Manchester there are two ways to get around this by broadcasting the new Breakfast and Drive shows from there which will also go out on FM in London and national DAB.
Another way around could be for Global to hand back the Manchester FM licence for XFM but the new XFM or Radio X could still exist on analogue radio by moving to AM and replacing Gold. AM has less restrictions than FM, Global can broadcast programmes from London 24/7 as the restrictions are that 4 hours weekdays must be broadcast from England. Gold could move to DAB in the Manchester area replacing the local XFM station as XFM is on national Digital One.
Global may also decide to put Radio X on AM in the East Midlands replacing Gold. Gold could continue digitally on local DAB in the East Midlands.
Common sense says that if global have handed it back and YOUR show interest, OFCOM should do their best to give them the licence , but history says that hand back means the absolute end of a licence- no ifs or buts
No, so far as I know it's up to the handback-ee if they want to hand it back and even if there are willing buyers .
The 'buyer ar 13th hour' scenario has happened in a few instances but only where the seller had no further interest in that market.
In this instance, Global have a very big interest in the market and given the size of the company there is no business sense in them selling it on.
It is highly unlikely that OFCOM wil readvertise it and the calculation for Global will be that even if OFCOM did then it's just another small competitor that at least now they are no longer paying for themselves.
Don't get me wrong, I like Your Radio and I'm pleased it exists. But has it ever made a profit? Surely it's only use is for a newspaper company to own it rather than let a potential competitor into the market?
Now that the Romanes takeover has had time to bed in; I'm wondering if it'll exist (or at least, exist in its present form) for much longer…
Newsquest have a questionable history when it comes to maintaining 'locality' in their newspaper assets (in particular, the Herald and Times subsidiary, which Your appears to fall under has just posted another cut to editorial staff; and most of the UK titles are sharing resources, very similar to Bauer/Global style networking but on paper) but a radio station is a bit more of an unknown for them, so it'll be interesting to see what the long term future is for Your Radio.
I've no idea if they do- but central, kingdom, west fm, borders and original which are all comparable size (a bit smaller even in terms of reach) seem to operate profitably.
You're missing the point. None of them are in Glasgow, fighting the other media beasts in the city. If Global sold this licence, the new owner would be up against Clyde 1 & 2, a very successful Smooth, plus Heart and Capital on a regional level. It could never survive.
96.3 has never made money. Not for Global, not for GMG, not for the previous owners. And if Ofcom don't want to allow Global to fully network it, it'll close.
As for Go Radio's press release about wanting to buy it, it'd bankrupt them within 6 months. Their costs are pretty low because of the way Small Scale DAB works, but with all of the costs of an FM transmission chain, they couldn't make it work either.
As for the job losses, yes I'm sure there will be some, but there are job losses every time a business closes, be it a restaurant, car dealership or shop. The numbers here are pretty small.
One thing is for sure - there will be plenty of DAB space available around the country with XFM (I would imagine) leaving the local muxes they are on.
In Glasgow they will leave that as the licence is going back, and in Manchester it may stay - depends if 97.7 stays I suppose.
AS for the rest of the UK, the same version of XFM is carried - London. They all have the same SID number of C474 (C574 for Manchester, C668 for Glasgow).
Once XFM goes onto D1, there will be a slot in all the areas where XFM has been remoed. Am I right or will XFM continue on local DAB muxes as well? I doubt it!
One thing is for sure - there will be plenty of DAB space available around the country with XFM (I would imagine) leaving the local muxes they are on.
In Glasgow they will leave that as the licence is going back, and in Manchester it may stay - depends if 97.7 stays I suppose.
AS for the rest of the UK, the same version of XFM is carried - London. They all have the same SID number of C474 (C574 for Manchester, C668 for Glasgow).
Once XFM goes onto D1, there will be a slot in all the areas where XFM has been remoed. Am I right or will XFM continue on local DAB muxes as well? I doubt it!
Global could use this space to expand the Gold network.
Another way around could be for Global to hand back the Manchester FM licence for XFM but the new XFM or Radio X could still exist on analogue radio by moving to AM and replacing Gold. AM has less restrictions than FM, Global can broadcast programmes from London 24/7 as the restrictions are that 4 hours weekdays must be broadcast from England. Gold could move to DAB in the Manchester area replacing the local XFM station as XFM is on national Digital One.
Global may also decide to put Radio X on AM in the East Midlands replacing Gold. Gold could continue digitally on local DAB in the East Midlands.
You're missing the point. None of them are in Glasgow, fighting the other media beasts in the city. If Global sold this licence, the new owner would be up against Clyde 1 & 2, a very successful Smooth, plus Heart and Capital on a regional level. It could never survive.
96.3 has never made money. Not for Global, not for GMG, not for the previous owners. And if Ofcom don't want to allow Global to fully network it, it'll close.
As for Go Radio's press release about wanting to buy it, it'd bankrupt them within 6 months. Their costs are pretty low because of the way Small Scale DAB works, but with all of the costs of an FM transmission chain, they couldn't make it work either
It's a shame, but it's business.
No more competition than kingdom FM in fife. They have forth, Tay, heart and capital trawling the local ad market, yet run at a profit.
Central is also in a viciously crowded market and you could argue that there are many more businesses to trawl for advertising in Glasgow than there are in the likes of Falkirk.
Advertising on the "media giants" is prohibitively expensive for small businesses and that's where these smaller stations make their money.
almost all of the ads on Clyde and forth at e national, or for goliaths like car dealerships. The hairdressers , small garages, even local shopping centres- don't get a look in. That's why the centrals and the kingdoms are still on air.
It's not unworkable if the right people are behind it. But it's a moot point as there's no way global will sell.
No more competition than kingdom FM in fife. They have forth, Tay, heart and capital trawling the local ad market, yet run at a profit.
Central is also in a viciously crowded market and you could argue that there are many more businesses to trawl for advertising in Glasgow than there are in the likes of Falkirk.
Advertising on the "media giants" is prohibitively expensive for small businesses and that's where these smaller stations make their money.
almost all of the ads on Clyde and forth at e national, or for goliaths like car dealerships. The hairdressers , small garages, even local shopping centres- don't get a look in. That's why the centrals and the kingdoms are still on air.
It's not unworkable if the right people are behind it. But it's a moot point as there's no way global will sell.
I must point out that whilst 96.3 FM carried Real XS I'm it's final days before XFM, Rocksport Radio did offer Global to buy it off them. However, global declined because the offer wasn't reasonable. Could they and GO Radio be interested (again) in bidding for the licence? If Global knows that XFM Scotland is weak, then it won't be much of a threat to them if they sold it off, assuming that whoever picks it up, would hand it back to ofcom in a few years time? (if it still makes loses)
I must point out that whilst 96.3 FM carried Real XS I'm it's final days before XFM, Rocksport Radio did offer Global to buy it off them. However, global declined because the offer wasn't reasonable. Could they and GO Radio be interested (again) in bidding for the licence? If Global knows that XFM Scotland is weak, then it won't be much of a threat to them if they sold it off, assuming that whoever picks it up, would hand it back to ofcom in a few years time? (if it still makes loses)
Even better from their perspective is to hand back. Even if OFCOM readvertises it would delay competition by a year, maybe more.
I must point out that whilst 96.3 FM carried Real XS I'm it's final days before XFM, Rocksport Radio did offer Global to buy it off them. However, global declined because the offer wasn't reasonable. Could they and GO Radio be interested (again) in bidding for the licence? If Global knows that XFM Scotland is weak, then it won't be much of a threat to them if they sold it off, assuming that whoever picks it up, would hand it back to ofcom in a few years time? (if it still makes loses)
Well as Eklipse Sports Radio (now RockSport) when the Real & Smooth divestment to Communicorp (pah... purleease..) was taking place we offered £250k for the XFM licence to Global but as the above poster said it was declined because it wasn't 'reasonable'. Probably because I don't play golf....
As much as I love and admire Kevin Cameron at GO Radio (and small interest declaration here - I'm doing the technical set up) it's very doubtful that OFCOM will just give them the frequency. RockSport might be a better bet as that station's backers are minted from their football dealings. It's probably a case at the end of the day that money talks.
The reality is that Global by handing back the XFM licence, are effectively sewing up the FM advertising market in Glasgow between them and Bauer. From Global's business point of view it's an extremely smart, if cynical, move as it reduces new competition on FM for a considerable period of time if OFCOM did re-advertise the licence. The only hope for any independent station under the current OFCOM policy will be on DAB as OFCOM want to move towards DSO for commercial stations. However I expect the 96.3 frequency to be thrown back into the pot to reappear on Round 4 of the community licences. So probably 3 new stations in about 3 years across the Central Belt all on 25W broadcasting to six sheep and a haggis.
Would Ofcom actually allow Global to shut down only the Wirral 97.1 licence and hand it back?
I'm sure that the Wrexham 103.4 & Wirral 97.1 frequencies are actually only one licence despite how they've been operated with separate programming?
With the recent closure of the 1431 AM Berkshire Global frequency they were forced to also close 1485 kHz as Ofcom would not allow them to operate one frequency without the other, same with the Hereford 954 & Worcester 1530 frequencies when Ofcom would not allow the Murfins to continue on 1530 only.
If Global closed 97.1 and were forced to shut 103.4 too, would their North Wales Coast 96.3 frequency continue as Global might decide it was uneconomical to operate that frequency on its own. Crazy potentially?
Would Ofcom actually allow Global to shut down only the Wirral 97.1 licence and hand it back?
I'm sure that the Wrexham 103.4 & Wirral 97.1 frequencies are actually only one licence despite how they've been operated with separate programming?
They're the same licence, yes. Despite appearing to be a separate station, 97.1 is officially just a relay and can't be handed back without also closing 103.4 unless Ofcom agree to split the licence. Global could then close it or apply to put something else on 97.1 like the new 'X', with Capital replacing Juice on the better 107.6 frequency.
Going on AM for Radio X would be the last resort for Global.
If Global want to be on analogue radio in the Manchester area and Ofcom refuse Global having a FM station having 24/7 output from London.
Listeners would find the station on AM by having adverts across Manchester in print in newspapers, billboard etc and website.
Listeners who are interested in the sort of music XFM plays in Greater Manchester will already know about the station. They will not be happy about it being moved from FM to AM.
The move could lead to negative publicity in the places from where the target audience gets its information. That negative publicity would be even more unwelcome at a time when the brand is going national, and big names are launching their shows.
Listeners would not be sympathetic to Global. Considering XFM is aimed at people who go to gigs and connect with music more than for example, Heart listeners, listeners would probably think there should be more airtime for local music and events.
Ofcom should consult the public of Greater Manchester, and invite interest from groups who could provide a more local music service aimed at people who like rock/alternative/indie music.
Comments
I'd have thought the bosses at YOUR must be giving serious thought to buying this licence. It would give them a much better footprint - that is if global are even willing to sell.
Common sense says that if global have handed it back and YOUR show interest, OFCOM should do their best to give them the licence , but history says that hand back means the absolute end of a licence- no ifs or buts
Agreed. I thought that Ofcom (if there's a great reason) still allow applicants for strengthening the quality of existing ilr stations or expanding their services nearby?
Technically XFM are working towards digital and will still cover Scotland, sadly with no local content and job losses.
The FM frequency might be reoffered in community radio round 4?
If Global are not allowed to broadcast programmes from London 24/7 on the Manchester FM frequency they could hand the FM licence for the Wirral back to Ofcom.
In Manchester there are two ways to get around this by broadcasting the new Breakfast and Drive shows from there which will also go out on FM in London and national DAB.
Another way around could be for Global to hand back the Manchester FM licence for XFM but the new XFM or Radio X could still exist on analogue radio by moving to AM and replacing Gold. AM has less restrictions than FM, Global can broadcast programmes from London 24/7 as the restrictions are that 4 hours weekdays must be broadcast from England. Gold could move to DAB in the Manchester area replacing the local XFM station as XFM is on national Digital One.
Global may also decide to put Radio X on AM in the East Midlands replacing Gold. Gold could continue digitally on local DAB in the East Midlands.
No, so far as I know it's up to the handback-ee if they want to hand it back and even if there are willing buyers .
The 'buyer ar 13th hour' scenario has happened in a few instances but only where the seller had no further interest in that market.
In this instance, Global have a very big interest in the market and given the size of the company there is no business sense in them selling it on.
It is highly unlikely that OFCOM wil readvertise it and the calculation for Global will be that even if OFCOM did then it's just another small competitor that at least now they are no longer paying for themselves.
Newsquest have a questionable history when it comes to maintaining 'locality' in their newspaper assets (in particular, the Herald and Times subsidiary, which Your appears to fall under has just posted another cut to editorial staff; and most of the UK titles are sharing resources, very similar to Bauer/Global style networking but on paper) but a radio station is a bit more of an unknown for them, so it'll be interesting to see what the long term future is for Your Radio.
You're missing the point. None of them are in Glasgow, fighting the other media beasts in the city. If Global sold this licence, the new owner would be up against Clyde 1 & 2, a very successful Smooth, plus Heart and Capital on a regional level. It could never survive.
96.3 has never made money. Not for Global, not for GMG, not for the previous owners. And if Ofcom don't want to allow Global to fully network it, it'll close.
As for Go Radio's press release about wanting to buy it, it'd bankrupt them within 6 months. Their costs are pretty low because of the way Small Scale DAB works, but with all of the costs of an FM transmission chain, they couldn't make it work either.
As for the job losses, yes I'm sure there will be some, but there are job losses every time a business closes, be it a restaurant, car dealership or shop. The numbers here are pretty small.
It's a shame, but it's business.
In Glasgow they will leave that as the licence is going back, and in Manchester it may stay - depends if 97.7 stays I suppose.
AS for the rest of the UK, the same version of XFM is carried - London. They all have the same SID number of C474 (C574 for Manchester, C668 for Glasgow).
Once XFM goes onto D1, there will be a slot in all the areas where XFM has been remoed. Am I right or will XFM continue on local DAB muxes as well? I doubt it!
Nobody would listen.
No more competition than kingdom FM in fife. They have forth, Tay, heart and capital trawling the local ad market, yet run at a profit.
Central is also in a viciously crowded market and you could argue that there are many more businesses to trawl for advertising in Glasgow than there are in the likes of Falkirk.
Advertising on the "media giants" is prohibitively expensive for small businesses and that's where these smaller stations make their money.
almost all of the ads on Clyde and forth at e national, or for goliaths like car dealerships. The hairdressers , small garages, even local shopping centres- don't get a look in. That's why the centrals and the kingdoms are still on air.
It's not unworkable if the right people are behind it. But it's a moot point as there's no way global will sell.
I must point out that whilst 96.3 FM carried Real XS I'm it's final days before XFM, Rocksport Radio did offer Global to buy it off them. However, global declined because the offer wasn't reasonable. Could they and GO Radio be interested (again) in bidding for the licence? If Global knows that XFM Scotland is weak, then it won't be much of a threat to them if they sold it off, assuming that whoever picks it up, would hand it back to ofcom in a few years time? (if it still makes loses)
Even better from their perspective is to hand back. Even if OFCOM readvertises it would delay competition by a year, maybe more.
People in cars would listen who don't have digital radio.
The same audience who listen to Absolute on AM.
Going on AM for Radio X would be the last resort for Global.
If Global want to be on analogue radio in the Manchester area and Ofcom refuse Global having a FM station having 24/7 output from London.
Listeners would find the station on AM by having adverts across Manchester in print in newspapers, billboard etc and website.
Well as Eklipse Sports Radio (now RockSport) when the Real & Smooth divestment to Communicorp (pah... purleease..) was taking place we offered £250k for the XFM licence to Global but as the above poster said it was declined because it wasn't 'reasonable'. Probably because I don't play golf....
As much as I love and admire Kevin Cameron at GO Radio (and small interest declaration here - I'm doing the technical set up) it's very doubtful that OFCOM will just give them the frequency. RockSport might be a better bet as that station's backers are minted from their football dealings. It's probably a case at the end of the day that money talks.
The reality is that Global by handing back the XFM licence, are effectively sewing up the FM advertising market in Glasgow between them and Bauer. From Global's business point of view it's an extremely smart, if cynical, move as it reduces new competition on FM for a considerable period of time if OFCOM did re-advertise the licence. The only hope for any independent station under the current OFCOM policy will be on DAB as OFCOM want to move towards DSO for commercial stations. However I expect the 96.3 frequency to be thrown back into the pot to reappear on Round 4 of the community licences. So probably 3 new stations in about 3 years across the Central Belt all on 25W broadcasting to six sheep and a haggis.
Is this the first FM commercial licence to be returned ?
Talk 107 in Edinburgh (Ofcom's first and worst radio licence award?) was handed back.
I'm sure that the Wrexham 103.4 & Wirral 97.1 frequencies are actually only one licence despite how they've been operated with separate programming?
With the recent closure of the 1431 AM Berkshire Global frequency they were forced to also close 1485 kHz as Ofcom would not allow them to operate one frequency without the other, same with the Hereford 954 & Worcester 1530 frequencies when Ofcom would not allow the Murfins to continue on 1530 only.
If Global closed 97.1 and were forced to shut 103.4 too, would their North Wales Coast 96.3 frequency continue as Global might decide it was uneconomical to operate that frequency on its own. Crazy potentially?
They're the same licence, yes. Despite appearing to be a separate station, 97.1 is officially just a relay and can't be handed back without also closing 103.4 unless Ofcom agree to split the licence. Global could then close it or apply to put something else on 97.1 like the new 'X', with Capital replacing Juice on the better 107.6 frequency.
Why would they do that when they had previously decided to drastically cut it?
Listeners who are interested in the sort of music XFM plays in Greater Manchester will already know about the station. They will not be happy about it being moved from FM to AM.
The move could lead to negative publicity in the places from where the target audience gets its information. That negative publicity would be even more unwelcome at a time when the brand is going national, and big names are launching their shows.
Listeners would not be sympathetic to Global. Considering XFM is aimed at people who go to gigs and connect with music more than for example, Heart listeners, listeners would probably think there should be more airtime for local music and events.
Ofcom should consult the public of Greater Manchester, and invite interest from groups who could provide a more local music service aimed at people who like rock/alternative/indie music.