Radio News

Alexander Armstrong to host Classic FM mornings

After almost 10 years hosting Classic FM’s morning show, John Suchet is moving to present a new weekday evening concert programme. The Classic FM Concert with John Suchet will feature orchestras, choirs and soloists from across the UK and around the world. The new show, weekdays 8pm till 10pm, will be in addition to John’s current year-long Saturday night series, Beethoven: The Man Revealed. Alexander Armstrong will replace John on the weekday morning programme and becomes the fourth presenter of the show in the station’s 28-year history...

Jonny Owen joins Mark Webster at talkSPORT

Welsh TV actor, director and producer Jonny Owen has joined talkSPORT to launch a new two hour Sunday morning show with Mark Webster. A new Sunday evening investigative journalism show The Dive has also started designed to present a deep dive into the world of sport. Welshman Jonny Owen was the director of I Believe in Miracles, the story of the history-making Nottingham Forest team that won back-to-back European Cups in 1979 and 1980, ‘Don’t take me home’ the story of Wales’ journey at the Euro’s, and was the Producer/Presenter of ITV Wales Soccer Sunday...

Annie Mac: ‘I'm happy in chaos and noise’

Annie Mac is not your average DJ. Through her Radio 1 show and hit podcast, she has championed new music and is not afraid to tackle grittier subjects such as misogyny in rap and knife crime. Laura Snapes finds out what drives her and the secret of her self-confidence. Annie Mac is busy doing her homework when I reach her by video one morning in early May. She’s due to give her weekly “rave lesson” on fellow BBC Radio 1 presenter Nick Grimshaw’s teatime show (today’s subject: the week-long Castlemorton party of 1992). I had wondered if these lessons were a sneaky way of teaching teenagers how to kickstart parties in the wreckage of...

Orchestra to perform BBC Local Radio’s Great Northern Playlist

BBC Local Radio listeners across the North of England are being asked to nominate the song that best symbolises their area, with the winners then being performed by the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. An ensemble of up to 80 players will adapt and perform each of the 10 songs, with each individual part recorded from the musicians’ own homes. The final 10 songs will be selected by a presenter from each of the stations involved – which are Radio Merseyside, Radio Manchester, Radio Lancashire, Radio Cumbria, Radio Newcastle, Radio Tees, Radio Leeds, Radio York, Radio Humberside and Radio Sheffield...

What does the BBC’s Annual Plan say about Radio?

OPINION: The BBC is required to publish its annual plan each year. Just as with every broadcaster, however – and every industry – this year’s is atypical. Even when the COVID crisis abates, life will never be the same again. My notes here focus largely on radio, but it is worth citing the general headlines from the report, which bear out Ofcom’s latest research published yesterday: “As social distancing began in the UK in the third week of March, pan-BBC reach among adults peaked at 94%. That is: 94% of the British public used the BBC that week. 86% of young adults aged 16-34 used the BBC that week, up from 77% the week before”...

The Prince of Wales to host Classic FM shows

Classic FM is to broadcast two special programmes with His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales next week. Both two-hour programmes will be a celebration of His Royal Highness’s life-long support and enjoyment of classical music – with each piece personally chosen by him through recordings made by his extensive musical patronages across the UK. These include the Philharmonia Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Monteverdi and Bach Choirs, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and Welsh National Opera Orchestra. Classic FM presenter Alan Titchmarsh will join His Royal Highness for the first programme, on Monday 25th May at 8pm...

KISS to join six other Bauer stations in Europe for #RadioRave

A 5-hour dance music show is to air across seven radio station in Europe at the end of this month – across the seven countries that Bauer Media operates radio stations in. The #RadioRave will broadcast on KISS in the UK, along with KISS branded stations in Norway and Finland, RMF Maxxx in Poland, The Voice in Denmark, NRJ in Sweden and Radio Expres in Slovakia. The line-up for the show at 8pm Central European Time on Saturday 30th May will feature DJs including David Guetta, Martin Garrix, Majestic and Joel Corry, in what Bauer is calling ‘one of Europe’s largest house parties’...

Maya Jama leaves BBC Radio 1 after two years

Weekend morning show presenter Maya Jama has left BBC Radio 1 after deciding not to renew her contract. She joined the station in 2018 and has most recently been hosting 10am-1pm on Friday and Saturdays. During the coronavirus schedules the weekend mornings slot has been on a 3-week changing cylce between Maya, Jordan North and Dev & Alice. Radio 1 says Jordan, Dev and Alice will continue to do the show in rotation. It means Maya’s final show on the station was Sunday 3rd May. The BBC says ‘exciting commitments later in the year’ mean she’s not able to dedicate the time needed to her show...

RAJAR Q1 2020: London and national brands roundup

BBC Radio 2 has lost almost a million listeners in the last year, according to the Q1/2020 audience research from RAJAR. The reach of the UK’s biggest radio station fell from 15.356m at the start of 2019 to 14.362m over the first three months of this year. The two biggest commercial radio networks – Heart and Capital – both lost significant reach over the 12 months too. The Heart network lost 787,000 listeners to leave a reach of 7.737m, while Capital dropped 815,000 to 6.386m. When you add in the other Heart and Capital branded stations – 70s, 80s, 90s, Dance, Xtra and Xtra Reloaded – the Heart brand reaches 9.365m and the Capital brand 7.502m...

RAJAR Q1 2020: Four percent growth in digital share

Digital listening share has increased to a new record of 58.6% up from 56.4% year on year in the latest RAJAR figures. Digital reach is also at a new record with 36.9 million adults, or 67% of the population, tuning in via a digital platform, up from 36.3m in Q1 2019. Listening via online and apps now accounts for 14% of all listening and nearly a quarter (24%) of digital listening, having grown by 25.4 million hours (or by 23%) year on year. With 32% of adults now claiming to own a smart speaker, online listening in home was for the fourth consecutive quarter the fastest growing platform and location, increasing by 21 million hours (or by 26.6%) year on year...