Commercial Radio In Wales : A Case Of London Calling?

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

Let me make it clear I don't listen to Jagger and Woody on Heart radio Wales in the morning. Indeed I don't listen to Matt and Polly in Capital FM Wales in the morning either. It's one of those things where personally given I'm a fifty five year old curmudgeon these shows have many factors that don't attract me listening to them. One of them being they're just too young and bright for my ageing soul.

However daughter is a fan of Jagger and Woody and she was horrified to hear the news that these shows were coming to an end. Along with the one for Smooth radio. The idea (apparently approved by the authorities)  by their parent company Global radio is that all across Britain there will be a one show from London interspersed with local weather and traffic.

Now I'm going to focus on the Welsh perspective and not the British one because obviously I don't know the latter but the decision seems stunning to me given that we're talking about popular breakfast shows. My brain is obviously too old to understand how programmes which are popular can be closed down.

Ah say the people from Global radio look at the threat from the likes of Spotify. Well yes. But cancelling programmes is not going to keep people to a particular station. If anything it will drive people away from it. Indeed if there is one type of radio music programme people will listen to it's the breakfast show (the second being the drive time show which though revamped is according to reports still going to be local - making this decision even more odd).

And you could also make the argument that this decision, intentional or not, is anti-Welsh. As I've said before I don't listen to the above shows being as I am ancient. But I would guess that the Monday programme would have been full of Wales' victory over England in the six nations on Saturday. Radio stations in Wales happy with a Welsh victory. I'd be comfortable with that.

However a London produced programme would have mentioned the match probably in passing if at all. It would also have probably been neutral as to not offend the largely English audience. Advertisers of a London based show would not be happy to have unhappy listeners. Advertisers of a Welsh based show would be quite comfortable with a show happy with a Welsh victory over the traditional sporting enemy.

So what can be done? Well irony of irony there is the BBC. There are two radio stations at breakfast time in the Welsh language. BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio Cymru Mwy. BBC Radio Cymru broadcasts a radio news type programme and Cymru Mwy broadcasts a breakfast music show. Therefore why can't the English speaking BBC Radio Wales (that just broadcasts a news programme at this time) do exactly the same?

A Welsh based breakfast music show in the morning with news, weather and traffic from BBC Radio Wales. There can be no arguments about "competition" given that commercial radio, supposedly the providers of choice, want to take the choice of  popular Welsh programming away from the listener.

Until the next time.