Radio Today is reporting that Virgin Radio has been sold to TIML Golden Square Limited for £53 million. The company are apparently spending £15 million on rebranding away from the Virgin name.
They are also saying the station will be managed by Absolute Radio who own Jack Fm and FM107.9 in Oxford.
So it looks like a goodbye to the Virgin Radio name.
Sources:
Radio Today
Scotsman
Virgin Radio Sold? - Name to Disappear?
You beat me to it Ant, I have now deleted my thread though.
What name will the use, Jack Radio, maybe? AM1215? I doubt those names will be used though, but they need to pick a random word which works with style of the station and that is going to be hard job.
They could separate the London FM station and apply the Jack FM brand in the capital.
What name will the use, Jack Radio, maybe? AM1215? I doubt those names will be used though, but they need to pick a random word which works with style of the station and that is going to be hard job.
They could separate the London FM station and apply the Jack FM brand in the capital.
The Virgin Group are said to be looking to relaunch Virgin Radio on DAB in UK in the future.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/b ... 019446.ece
It should be a very interesting few months.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/b ... 019446.ece
It should be a very interesting few months.
The name of the station will be Absolute Radio, which is also the name of the company who run the station on behalf of TIML.
http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/cgi-bin/ ... &h=260&f=3
http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/cgi-bin/ ... &h=260&f=3
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There's an article on MediaGuardian today about the name change. It seems they'll be overhauling the schedule and format as well, with a greater emphasis on new music.
Apparently they're also going to start playing a wider selection of songs, rather than the current very limited playlist. That's the one thing which has put me off listening regularly to Virgin - listen often, and it's like Groundhog Day. So in that sense, it sounds like good news.
Not sure about the name though. It just sounds too corporate and bland, but maybe it'll grown on me.
Apparently they're also going to start playing a wider selection of songs, rather than the current very limited playlist. That's the one thing which has put me off listening regularly to Virgin - listen often, and it's like Groundhog Day. So in that sense, it sounds like good news.
Not sure about the name though. It just sounds too corporate and bland, but maybe it'll grown on me.
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Thanks for your comments guys. It’s so hard to find something that pleases everyone. Maybe once you’ve lived with it while you’ll come to like it as much as we do. In Absolute, we think that we’ve found something that really embodies our unapologetic passion for real music, our determination to put our listeners at the heart of our plans and the fact that we’re not afraid to try something different, not afraid to challenge the commercial radio status quo.
The name is just one part of the new brand and what we stand for. You can read more about the changes happening at http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk
There's also blog by James Cridland about the name-change which is well worth a read; http://james.cridland.net/blog/2008/09/ ... utely-fab/
Please keep your comments coming, we'd love to hear your opinions and will do our best to respond to and questiions or concerns.
Dave Absolute
The name is just one part of the new brand and what we stand for. You can read more about the changes happening at http://www.absoluteradio.co.uk
There's also blog by James Cridland about the name-change which is well worth a read; http://james.cridland.net/blog/2008/09/ ... utely-fab/
Please keep your comments coming, we'd love to hear your opinions and will do our best to respond to and questiions or concerns.
Dave Absolute
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- Joined: Tue 24 Aug, 2004 17.47
- Location: From The North
According to Radio Today, other prominent names in the running were iRadio, Galleon and Nomad.
Eugh.
With this in mind, maybe they made the right decision after all.
Thanks also to Dave for posting. Nice to get some input from the horse's mouth, so to speak.
Interesting to read James Cridland's blog - never thought about the future advantages of having an alphabetically favourable name.
Anyone fancy joining me in launching Aardvark Radio?
Eugh.
With this in mind, maybe they made the right decision after all.
Thanks also to Dave for posting. Nice to get some input from the horse's mouth, so to speak.
Interesting to read James Cridland's blog - never thought about the future advantages of having an alphabetically favourable name.
Anyone fancy joining me in launching Aardvark Radio?
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- Joined: Tue 02 Sep, 2008 11.38
You're welcome!
It's an exciting time ahead and we hope you'll stick with us for the journey. Make sure to check our website for the latest updates, there will be loads going on over the coming months.
Dave Absolute
P.S. Good luck with Aardvark Radio!
It's an exciting time ahead and we hope you'll stick with us for the journey. Make sure to check our website for the latest updates, there will be loads going on over the coming months.
Dave Absolute
P.S. Good luck with Aardvark Radio!
I really like the name, ever since Sunday when I found out the name I instantly liked it. It's simple, effective, not too specific to a type of music and easily adaptable. I can also see you selling CD's branded Absolute 80's, Absolute Classics etc.
I found out on Sunday that Absolute have bought up a load of domains such as Absolute Classics and Absolute Now, something they would not have been able to do with the Virgin name.
Good Luck, Absolute with running Absolute, I'm sure you will do an Absolutely brilliant job.
I found out on Sunday that Absolute have bought up a load of domains such as Absolute Classics and Absolute Now, something they would not have been able to do with the Virgin name.
Good Luck, Absolute with running Absolute, I'm sure you will do an Absolutely brilliant job.