Kerrang! Radio Appoints Baxter To Oversee Expansion
Emap Performance has announced the appointment of Travis Baxter as managing director of Kerrang! Radio with responsibility for driving growth of the rock music station.
The newly created position will see Baxter head-up the launch of Kerrang! 105.2 in the West Midlands, which will begin broadcasting as a full-time FM station later this year. Responsibility for Kerrang!’s digital radio output and networked programmes will also fall within the remit of the new managing director.
Baxter joins the rock station with experience as launch managing director of Atlantic 252, the UK’s first all day national commercial radio station with a weekly reach of over 6 million. He has also worked on BBC Radio 2, local stations and as a consultant to Scottish Radio Holdings for the past two years.
Commenting on his appointment, Baxter said: “I am immensely enthusiastic about the opportunity of leading the team responsible for the development of such a fantastic radio brand. Emap Performance is a very exciting place to be right now.”
The Kerrang! brand was recently extended into Manchester, with Emap Performance running a one month trial of the rock music station, broadcasting on 97.6 FM. The move follows a decision by Ofcom to offer at least 35 commercial radio licences over the next two years and could see the brand extend across the country (see Kerrang Radio Prepares FM Broadcasts In Manchester).
Kerrang! radio has seen rapid expansion in the past few months, but the latest RAJAR data for the three months to December 2003 reveal a 16.4% decline in weekly reach to 722,000, down from 864,000 in the previous period.
The job cuts were announced earlier this month as part of an ongoing strategy to reduce costs and increase profit margins. The cuts are expected to affect all departments at Performance including its magazine publishing arm and its radio networks (see Emap Performance Restructures To Cut Costs).
Emap: 01733 568 900 www.emap.co.uk
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