Bauer rebranding 53 stations to The Hits/Greatest Hits

Also, Bauers Country Hits Radio is to move from the Hits brand to the Absolute brand becoming Absolute Radio Country.

https://radiotoday.co.uk/2021/02/country-hits-radio-is-rebranding-to-absolute-radio-country/

Interesting move as it didn't really fit with Hits - if they'd come up with more versions of xxx Hits Radio then it might have. However I'm not sure it fits with Absolute either. Country music radio has never really caught on in the UK except for, I think, a station in Northern Ireland

That's an odd choice - Absolute is a station with character, decent production values and listeners.

Greatest hits none of that.

If you listen to radio in London and were in the market for an older-skewed station, you probably would already be listening to 102.2.

If you're listening to Absolute, you won't be sticking around for this abomination of a network.

Global will be rubbing their hands.

I think this is a bad move if the new Absolute Radio Country has to take the usual Absolute Radio network shows, like breakfast and drive or Hometime.

A bit of a gap in your logic there.

You're basically saying: It shouldn't get an extra FM outlet as it doesn't have listeners?


I'm not sure about that, Smooth is a very different proposition to GHR, its more competing for the Magic audience - both are more 'easy' than GHRs 'oldies, but not too old' . I'm mid 40s and will happily listen to GHR, but Smooth is just a total turn off for me (remember that in some parts of the country it was once Saga Radio)

GHR is more going for Radio 2 as is quite obvious from its schedule of former Radio 2 presenters. It's Radio 2 without any new music


The big advantage it does give Global is to potentially boost Radio X, although the music policy differs (X is more 'indie' and less classic rock) it'll be the only rock based FM station in London. As mentioned lots by Chris Moyles, X's audience in London is quite low despite it being on FM

Sorry, to clarify I didn't say any station shoudln't get on FM because it has no listeners...

I am saying putting it on FM in London, in place of a station that has production values, presence and does also have listeners is a very odd business choice for an outlet that will rely on advertisers.... advertisers who presumably want to reach listeners.

I agree with you though on Radio X. This is a big boost for them and for Chris Moyles.

Absolute listeners who use 105.8 will be unlikely to stick around listening to a station, which so far as I can tell is heard almost exclusively in branches of Greggs. Radio X is the obvious choice for those listeners (or at least the ones without DAB).

I know Bauer are investing in the talent side of the channel, but the station's sound is still beyond poor and it is all just very, very dull.

It all looks very much like something that has got out of hand, like a gambler that just hopes that the next role of the dice will undo the 15 failures that lead to his losses.

GHR is a bad network. Terminally so... but now its a bad network with an increasingly expensive roster of talent and distribution costs.

But you're comparing two different things - a well established station will have 'presence' (however you define that) but it only got that through time its outlets. Immediately it gets in FM it will have more 'prescense' especially with those who buy national advertising. The same with listeners, though of course we don't know how many listeners it has as there's been no audience figures for a year.

You can't criticise it both for lacking prescense and also trying to gain more of it

Its a bit of a gamble, but presumably they think that Absolute's loyal established audience will just do what they do in the rest of the country. Meanwhile GHR as a network has nothing to lose by getting an extra frequency.


It could go two ways, depends how many listeners to Dave Berry do so because they prefer him but don't mind Moyles as a second choice.

It's worth noting that Bauer already replaced Absolute with GHR in the West Midlands on FM. The Rajar before lockdown showed that the supposedly more accessible format has less listeners than the former.

Bauer already have a radio station in London that holds its own against Global brands that plays a lot of 80s music already with Magic Radio. All this will do is provide less choice with Magic and GHR both playing the likes of George Michael and Go West.

Your opinion of course. But I (and a large group) happen to like the output. Certainly better than the dross it replaced.

Now who's comparing two different things?

I mentionend listeners - something which Rajars to date have proved that GHR fails to attract. But you mention 'presence'.

Being 'present' doesn't make you attractive to advertisers - having a share of the 'listening public' does.

As pointed out by London Lite, this exact swap has been trialled before in Birmingham - listening figures prove it has been less than a success.

In London, for it to work it will likely harm one of their other brands. But it won't, because the London radio market is hard and you won't make inroads with a half-baked format like GHR.

What's so bad about GHR, lhx1985? I wouldn't switch to it from Radio 2 but from the little bits I've heard and checking the playlist and increasingly impressive roster of DJs, I could see why some might.

Maybe it is fishing in the same pond as Magic and Smooth, but there's probably just enough difference to the music policy to make it worthwhile.

I think some people *might* switch to the channel if they hear that a presenter they like is broadcasting on there... But I don't think there's much to stick around for. That's the problem, and why I think they might have been better rolling out Magic and spending the money there.

The playlist is repetitive (yes, it's commercial radio) but lacks focus. Global's stations are repetitive, but they are tightly formatted. I mostly hear the station these days if I nip into my local Greggs. When I do, I have a 50:50 chance of hearing Build me up buttercup. If I don't hear it, they're on a commercial break.

The technical standards are low - depending on where you are listening, you should get use to poor processing, mono on FM, swapped L and R channels and long periods of dead air - you will probably become very aqcuainted with their emergency tape.

Low production standards. The layout of the clock, the imaging, it all just sounds clunky. It ain't a slick production.

Lack of energy - they have pulled of the impresive feat of sounding voicetracked when they are live.

I'm checking out Mark's Top 10 at 10 from this morning.. is the web stream mono too? That IS poor.

I haven't listened enough yet to comment on the overall feel of the shows.. it'd be a shame if they can't make it a good station with the high profile presenters they're attracting. Surely Simon's new show should be decent? He won't be content with just playing songs with short links.