Media

Global to rationalise the Gold network

By | Published on Tuesday 29 June 2010

Radio Today has confirmed what is happening to Global Radio’s network of Gold stations, the golden oldies channel that operates on the AM frequencies that once belonged to local radio stations like Southern Sound and Invicta Radio.

As previously reported, the FM frequencies of those stations now operate under the Heart brand and, thanks to new local radio rules introduced by the Digital Economy Act, Global is streamlining the Heart network so that regions that used to have their own local programming will now share said programmes with neighbouring areas.

As predicted, the same rule change is affecting the Gold network of stations, all of which used to carry four hours of local programming a day (actually around lunch time and not breakfast, as we previously said). Those local shows can now be axed, meaning that all the Gold stations in England will carry the same programmes 24/7 oblivious of locality.

According to Radio Today, the Welsh Gold stations will have a different middle-of-the-day output, while Gold stations in the Midlands, which are operated under licence by Orion Media, will also have some of their own programmes.

In related news, The Guardian has just reported that the Smooth Radio network is planning a similar streamlining of its output, cutting local programmes and axing 60 jobs in the process. And given Smooth is owned by The Guardian’s radio company, they should know.



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