Switch Digital, the consortium formed by Talk Radio, Virgin Radio , Clear Channel and Castle Transmission (see Newsline), has announced plans to apply for the London digital radio multiplex. The consortium this morning told a press conference that research of 1000 people in London showed that consumer benefit from the new digital radio services is of paramount importance to marketing strategy.
Switch Digital is pitted against CE Digital – the Capital and Emap Radio consortium – in its bid for the London multiplex. Whereas CE Digital plans mainly to simulcast analogue services on the digital radio multiplex, Switch claims to be in the process of developing a whole new set of services exclusive to the new digital radio platform.
According to Switch Digital’s research, simulcasting analogue services on digital will serve to decrease the interest in digital radio, as it creates no new choice for the consumer and therefore little incentive to invest money in the new digital radio technology. Jason Bryant, development director of Talk Radio commented: “Digital radio will not succeed without clear consumer benefit.”
Switch Digital found that the people surveyed feel that London commercial radio programming is aimed largely at young people and involves too much music programming, with people aged 50 and upwards inadequately catered for. People are interested in receiving a mixture of new and existing programming, according to the research.
The Switch consortium claims to be spearheading up to 10 new services which will be exclusive to DAB (digital audio broadcasting), “giving consumers more choice, more new channels, more competitive programming and therefore more incentive to invest in digital radio”. The formats of the new services will be revealed after the deadline for the submission of applications, which is Tuesday 11 May, and Kelvin MacKenzie, chief executive of Talk Radio, said that they are keen to market each channel separately. He stressed: “The essential thing is that we will be providing new radio stations which will not be able to be received elsewhere.”
CE Digital has submitted the only applications for the digital radio mulitplex licences in Birmingham and Manchester (see Newsline); the group’s bid for the London licence is the first to be contested by other interested parties. A consortium including Chrysalis and Border TV is also expected to release details of a bid for the London licence on Monday next week (see Newsline).
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