According to The Sunday Telegraph, Rupert Murdoch is launching an ad-free, opinion-led rival to BBC Radio 4 in the coming months, a DAB channel called Times Radio.
The paper calls it "an attack on the vulnerable BBC" and says the new radio station is "designed to threaten Radio 4".
Sounds good to me. An alternative to the "endless fugue of misery and victimhood" that is today's Radio 4 is sorely needed.
Will Rod Liddle host a rival breakfast show to Today? Will Libby Purves's Midweek be reborn? Will the Times's excellent media correspondent Matthew Moore present a counterpart to Amol Rajan's Media Show?
Intriguing. I definitely think there is a potential market there, although I have always found The Times to be rather tedious itself. If it replicates itself on radio it could be "Radio Bore" to go with "Radio For Depressives".
ReplyDeleteHowever, there's a chance it might be more interesting. If they can strike deals on using audio books and plays, throw in a bit of tuneful classical music, have some of their reporters give talks and so on, they could probably fill their schedules quite well. It needn't be an expensive operation. I am sure there are plenty of engaging historians with books to sell who would gladly describe the history of a particular period.
I will definitely be tuning in.
Murdoch already owns TalkRadio/TV
ReplyDeletewhich takes R4 market share with JHB and then Mike Graham in the morning
JHB runs ad-free "thanks to the Times"
The is a huge gulf in the Times comments
as most Times reader-commenters call out the many Guardianlike junk pieces the staff write.
( I currently need to find a family member to add me to their account, cos mine expired.)