The second digital multiplex - the choice is clear
I've looked through both offerings: and only one really excites
So, the UK is to get a bunch more DAB Digital Radio radio stations next summer.
One is from Arqiva, Bauer and UTV, as Sound Digital. Bauer and UTV are well-known as the second and third largest radio groups in the UK. Arqiva is the transmission provider behind most TV and radio transmitters.
And the other is from Orion Media and Babcock International, as Listen2Digital. Babcock International work with people like the BBC World Service, ABC Australia, NHK Japan and Voice of America. Orion Media own Free Radio and Gem in the Midlands, and are run by Phil Riley who's had considerable experience in UK radio.
Ofcom's mandarins now have two applications to go through. Sound Digital is undoubtedly a safe pair of hands: Bauer and UTV are good and fine operators, and Arqiva's the only name for transmission in the UK (quite literally). They'll be keen to avoid a repeat of the debacle with Channel 4 Radio, who won the original multiplex licence and then gave it back again. They clearly won't get that with the Sound Digital bid.
And then there's Listen2Digital. At first glance, a little more risky: but once you read the bid in full, you realise the extent of knowledge and understanding here. It is a much more interesting, pragmatic, and exciting bid for a listener: and, once you look closer, much less risky than it first appears.
Virgin on the obvious
The press is already focusing on the potential return of Virgin Radio to the UK market. Virgin disappeared in 2008, after the station was bought by the Times Group of India. I used to work at Virgin, and the brand was simultaneously useful and frustrating. A blog post I wrote at the time highlighted some of those issues. For UTV to get a franchise licensing deal from Virgin is relatively simple (anyone can licence the name), but doesn't mean much to other Virgin businesses. Working there was my best job ever. I loved it, and it's a brand that has much to recommend it. It's a name rights deal that comes with baggage, however, and one that any new franchise operator should be aware of. And don't forget: it's a brand new station, with nobody signed to it. Its music position is already part-owned by Absolute Radio and Xfm; or they could copy the music position of the other Virgin Radios around the world and make it more top40, in which case they'd completely confuse the audience.
Talk
I believe the future for radio is focused around speech, whether on a music or talk station. Premier has a lot of speech, but it's on both bids - so ignoring them, where are the differences?
The Sound Digital bid has three new talk stations, all run by UTV. talkBUSINESS, talkRADIO and talkSPORT 2. Assuming talkSPORT 2 is an 'extra' station for commentaries, which given I've not seen their bid might well be the case, that's two new expensive talk services to fund from nowhere. talkRADIO is presumably a direct competitor to LBC, while talkBUSINESS would appear to be a partial competitor to Share Radio. I like competition, but I wonder whether this is the right approach - good for UTV, not so good for the radio listener.
Listen2Digital has four new talk stations. Yet, one is the highly established RTÉ Radio 1, Ireland's most listened-to radio station, on air since 1926, with a budget of over €18m and a ready audience over 322,000 Irish ex-pats. Then there's Share Radio, a station already available in London on DAB, and once more not an unknown quantity. There's a confidential sports-talk station (confidential to us, but not to Ofcom); and a channel devoted to food which will have large chunks of speech on it.
Speech is expensive to do right. What's interesting is that Listen2Digital broadens choice by bringing two already well-funded channels to the national UK airwaves for the first time. If your worry is "a safe pair of hands", then Listen2Digital's bid appears to be the winner here from a programming and security standpoint.
Music
I'm less interested in music channels, if only because if they're as exciting as Smooth Extra, I've no real interest in them. But...
With Sound Digital, Bauer's playing musical chairs with its stations, and only plans to launch one new one, "Magic Mellow" (why not Mellow Magic, heaven only knows, given that's been on-air on their main Magic station for many years now). Some of the rest shift over from Digital One, like Absolute 80s and Planet Rock, and some become national for the first time, like heat radio and KISSTORY. Then there's a mysterious "non-mainstream music station".
I'd be surprised, incidentally, if Bauer's station moves away from Digital One means better audio quality. Some will point to that and get excited. Digital One will have better coverage for a long time to come, and I'd suspect Arqiva will simply resell those mono slots to other stations.
On Listen2Digital, you've a much wider choice of services, like ChrisCountry, Gaydio, Wireless, FunKids, Nation and Gem. The first four of these are genuinely new formats for the UK, and that's got to be interesting to listeners.
Listen2Digital also plan a top40 channel, a "modern rock" channel, and a jazz/blues/soul station: all three of these from confidential broadcasters. It wouldn't surprise me to see some well-known brands behind these stations.
Other
And then you've got Listen2Digital's "Upload Radio" channel. If listener choice is what you want, this'll give it to you - their website appears to be live and explains how it works; an access radio station for anyone. Even you or me. It's taken a while since Matt announced it at Next Radio, but it'll be fascinating to hear.
The DAB+ question
Sound Digital has one DAB+ service, which they're not talking about. Listen2Digital has four. I can't help but feel that if the intention is "to lay the foundation of a future migration to DAB+ and accelerate take-up of DAB+ compatible radios", to quote Sound Digital's press release, you're probably best adding four unique services including Ireland's most listened-to radio station.
My choice
Now - I work with Matt Deegan from Folder Media, one of the partners in Listen2Digital; we plan the Next Radio conference and a few other things together. He's told me nothing about this bid though.
Loyalties aside, the right choice is still an obvious one to me.
As a radio listener, I want a great choice of stations. I want interesting stuff that I can't get from my Google Play Music subscription. I want stuff with budget behind it. I want to hear amazing stuff that I'd not hear from the big players.
As someone in the radio industry, however tangentially, I don't want transmission owned by a monopoly provider, and I don't want a world where Global, Bauer and UTV are the only players. I want more radio stations that complement, not compete, with those that already exist.
So, Upload Radio excites and thrills me. RTÉ Radio 1, while parts are dull and old-fashioned, also has some amazingly good documentaries and great content, and I'd love to hear that in the car. Share Radio's not for me, but I appreciate it exists, and it deserves a wider platform.
I can't quite get as excited at the Bauer/UTV bid. Even if it does mean the return of the Virgin Radio name.
Finally, Arqiva, Bauer and UTV control over 80% of UK multiplexes and are shareholders in all but two of them. Do we really want to give them more?
I'd be really interested to hear in the comments if you agree.