Gaydar Radio To Boost Investment By $1.5 Million
Digital radio operator Gaydar Radio has announced a £1.5 million investment programme which will see the company bid for more licences, commission more live programming and launch its own sales division.
As part of the move, Gaydar Radio will move to a new, larger studio complex in Twickenham, London ahead of a recruitment drive to increase head count in line with expansion plans. The broadcaster’s new sales operation will be headed by former Opus executive Miles Hall with a brief to develop its offering and eventually become a sales point for other niche digital and internet radio stations.
Commenting on the investment Gaydar Radio station director Jamie Crick said: “Gaydar Radio is currently putting on 100,000 new listeners a month. This investment plan is about developing the radio station to grow our diverse and lucrative GBLT and polysexual audience further. To do this we need to recruit new on air talent, investment in more live programming and more recruit staff which has meant a move to a larger broadcast studio complex which goes on air shortly.”
Gaydar moved from operating solely as an internet radio station with the acquisition of struggling Purple Radio’s spectrum on the London DAB multiplex. The move gave the station a digital as well as European satellite and global internet distribution. The next phase of investment should see the station expand out of London and increase its listenership.
The station claims a current audience of over two million each month, stating that its audience of predominantly ABC1 males aged 15 to 34 is larger than that of Kiss, Galaxy and XFM. On the importance of creating a new sales house, sales head Miles Hall said: Establishing our own sales point is an opportunity for us to re-educate media agencies and advertisers as to value of this lucrative high income marketplace which is all about lifestyle and aspiration. To do this we need to become the most authoritative and first point of contact for the gay marketplace.”
He added: “Our aim is to become an established advertising destination in the UK by helping brands to communicate effectively with the GLBT audience. Once we have that proposition right, our aim is expand our services to other emerging niche and digital stations.”
Earlier this year saw Gaydar supporting the creation of new standards and procedures designed to further drive accountability for electronic media. The guidelines, set out by the Joint Industry Committee for Web Standards (Jicwebs), govern the reporting of active registered users, advertising metrics and streamed content, greatly increasing the accountability of internet radio stations (see New Standards Make Electronic Media More Accountable).
Gaydar: www.gaydar.co.uk
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