Well,
Some good news today - a formal line-up for Times Radio to whet our appetite.
Overall I'd say it was a pretty good schedule.
Stig Abell, who is masterminding the station is also co-hosting breakfast - and in straitened times that's probably not a bad idea - leading from the front and saving money. Stig's been in front of microphones a lot so nothing to worry about there, although I'm pretty sure he hasn't done a daily strip show before. But he'll cope fine, and he has as co-host Aasmah Mir, from R4, and before then R5. Aasmah has, to my ears at least, one of the most attractive voices on radio - a hint of Scottish burr, but with intelligence, warmth and humour. That's a pretty good breakfast show team.
Matt Chorley is on mid-mornings. I'm a regular listener to his weekly "Times Red Box" podcasts and have said publicly he has what it takes to be a top radio performer. He is very very bright, witty and personable, and will do very well in a slightly more relaxed slot.
John Pienaar on Drive is obviously a very safe pair of hands. I don't think John is naturally a "personality", so Drive, which is fast paced and news-intensive, probably suits his style best.
There are a host of other names, most of whom have more than enough experience to make the overall sound of the station quite polished. I like the plan to have a Monday-Thursday schedule, and then a Friday-Sunday schedule - that regularity feels right for radio (Today on R4 always baffles me with its rotation policy) and Fridays is different so that 4/3 split seems sensible.
Times Radio has three things going for it I think:
First, there is an appetite for informed news and comment that shows no sign of diminishing. Brexit, Trump, Coronavirus, the EU - the list of topics to discuss is long and deep - so no shortage of things to fill the schedule, and no shortage of very clever people already on The Times payroll to be regular contributors and "names". I've no doubt it will become a good "product" very quickly - and if it can a) avoid too much sport, b) avoid being too highbrow, and c) avoid too many phone-ins it can carve out a niche alongside 5Live, TalkSport, R4 and LBC
Second, NewsUK have deep pockets, and a commitment to build on what is a fine brand in The Times. The Murdochs have always played a long game, and this is undoubtedly what will be needed here.
Third, technology is on their side. The costs of UK wide transmission via DAB+ on D2 will not blow a hole in the budget, and as we've seen increasingly over the past few months, we can now get contributors in really excellent quality from virtually anywhere, so lining up guests to participate will not be a problem, and might avoid the need for phone-ins, where competition is fierce.
There are three downsides of course!
First, they are up against the might of the BBC and LBC/Global for audiences - and prising enough folk away to listen and make this new station economically viable on its own will take a lot of time. I wouldn't expect big numbers for quite a few rajar books.
Second, there are no "stars" on that line-up - a John Humphreys for example, to drag people in by the force if his own personality. That means marketing, and it can't just be ads in The Times - it has to be more widespread than that to attract new listeners. But how and where do you market this type of radio station? Radio itself is a no-no, newspapers similarly not an option, and on TV only Sky News really has the right audience profile - so a tough one for the ad agency to figure out. Social media might work - but again that's pretty fierce right now, with LBC in particular dominant.
Third, they are launching against a backdrop of ruinous drops in advertising across the media, affecting Press, TV and Radio. Good job they aren't planning to sell any ads - just sponsorship!
I'd worry about the ongoing relationship with Talk Radio though - how will these two stations dovetail? I'm not sure it's as easy to differentiate talk stations as it is music networks, and given Talk is still new itself, having two mouths to feed will be challenging. Phone-ins might be one differentiator I suspect, and I might actively make the absence of phone-ins a feature of Times Radio to differentiate itself.
I've no idea how NewsUK view this - a simple brand extension that they hope will wash its face; the first part of a bigger media expansion; a new significant revenue stream? It's difficult to say at this point and I suspect inside the News Building this is being viewed as an exciting journey, but unknowable in terms of final destination - and sometimes those are the very best things to be involved with. If I was starting out on a production career right now I suspect my CV would already be on Stig's desk.
