Xfm Shakes Up DJs To Give Listeners Friday Feeling
Indie station Xfm is to revamp its DJ line-up in the coming months, as Lauren Laverne takes over the Breakfast show from Monday to Thursday, while the station gears up for the weekend throughout the whole of Friday.
The station hopes to give listeners a lift on Fridays from the moment they wake up, as Xfm stalwart Shaun Keaveny takes to the air for Breakfast, kicking off a whole day of dedicated programming building up to the weekend.
“I’m quite a fan of Fridays,” Keaveny explained. “They nearly always signal the imminent arrival of the weekend… The fact that I have been bestowed with the honour of officially “starting off” Friday (which I shall do ceremonially each Friday at 6 with a pistol) could not be more exciting to me. It’s even more exciting to me than the phrase “free bar”.”
The presenter re-shuffle follows the departure of Xfm’s breakfast host, Christian O’Connell, earlier this month. The DJ is to host Virgin Radio’s breakfast show from 23 January 2006, although his departure from Xfm allowed the station to re-think its entire schedule (see Virgin Signs O’Connell As New Breakfast Host).
Xfm programme director, Andy Ashton, explained: “I decided to use the new breakfast show as a chance to sit down and totally re-think the way we put the station together. Lauren was my first choice for the new breakfast show but we always knew she would only be able to work Monday to Thursdays due to her prior commitment to [ITV music show] CD:UK, so we used this opportunity to do something we’ve been thinking about for a while now, and that is to totally rethink how we present the end of the week to our audience.
“Friday has a very different feel anyway, and from the 4th of November we’re going to reflect that on the station. I can’t wait for everyone to get a load of the new sound of Fridays on Xfm. This is just the start of some big plans I have for the weekend as a whole and I’m looking forward to seeing it all take shape over the next six months.”
As part of the new Friday line-up, DJ Iain Baker’s regular afternoon show will move to mid-mornings, with Xfm’s flagship listener request hour The X-List moving to the 12-1 slot. Lauren Laverne stays in the line-up with her hugely popular Music:Response Countdown which will now air in the earlier timeslot of 1-3pm, followed by Lucio’s drive time show. A two hour mix of “non-stop Xfm anthems” will follow, concluding the Friday line-up as Adam Longworth takes the helm of The Weekender.
Xfm saw its weekly reach slip during the last wave of RAJAR results, with the station’s listeners now numbering 506,000 in London and 633,000 nationally. The figures represent a dip of 2.1% and 2.8% respectively period on period, and a more sizeable 12.3% and 9.7% respectively year on year.
Next year will see the station begin regional broadcasts in Manchester, having been awarded the local licence by Ofcom in June. The GCap-owned station will transmit more than 20 hours of daily local programming, with the remaining content shared across its London and national broadcasts (see Xfm Scoops Close Fought Manchester FM Licence).
Xfm: 0871 222 1049 www.xfm.co.uk