Radio wars!

airwaves over York

NOBODY could accuse Martyn Rose of seeking vengeance in his determination to muscle in on the airwaves of Minster Sound Radio Plc in York

That's despite the fact that he left suddenly after eight years as former chairman and co-founder when new masters came on the scene.

Mr Rose, 52, is now chairman of Yorkshire Radio Enterprises Ltd, a consortium which is among more than a dozen organisations estimated to be bidding for the new West and South Yorkshire FM licence.

After all, York, Selby and Harrogate will account for only a small proportion of the reckoned 2.5 million adult listeners in the region which the chosen licence holder is likely to attract once it starts broadcasting in 2002

Besides, he insists that he amicably left his beloved Minster Sound Radio - which runs Minster FM in York - when it was sold last February to GWR group Plc and Radio Investments Ltd. "It was an elegant moment to leave," he says.

But he cannot conceal a certain delight at the prospect of returning to York with Nova 106, the title of his consortium's proposed new radio station. Initially it will employ 35 people plus freelancers and... "It will be a very interesting challenge to be back on the patch," he says

carefully.

Even so, the former practising barrister who still lives in Nun Monkton can't resist a minor swipe at his old outfit whose Radio Joint Audience Research performance figures, he claims, have fallen from 16.8 per cent of listener market share in the final quarter of 1999 to 13.1 per cent in the latest published RAJAR figures. "Not because I left but because others left too. It shows how quickly things can change."

Clearly, the competition is hotting up as the Radio Authority's closing date of February 6 draws nigh. An announcement next summer that Nova 106 will be chosen to beam into York and Harrogate as well as the rest of the region is by no means a foregone conclusion.

Among the applicants will be some big guns. For instance Regional Independent Media (RIM) has linked arms with Chameleon Television in a consortium led by... guess who? That's right, Minster Sound. They are pitching for Yorkshire FM offering news, information and entertainment and targeting the 25 to 54 year old age group. If it wins then it will start with a payroll of about 45 people.

And to complicate rivalries the GWR Group - yes, Minster Sound Radio's new master - has just launched what it calls "a major six-figure marketing and public consultation programme" for its proposed Y107.

Applicants are also likely to include the SMG Group, owners of Virgin Radio, Jazz FM, Century Radio, GMG (Guardian Media Group) as Variety FM, Forever Broadcasting, Yorkshire Sounds' Route FM and Saga, the over-50s leisure group.

But Mr Rose points out that he also has heavyweight backing now that Newsquest, the UK's largest regional newspaper group and owner of the Evening Press, has supported his consortium. Here there will also be complicated cross-currents given that Newsquest has been granted a Government go-ahead to bid for rival radio bidders RIM! But, he says, Nova 106 will have specific advantages - "like striking a blow for independence."

By that he means that his consortium will be free from the feeding frenzy of consolidation which has been taking place lately in the broadcasting industry.

To name but a few examples - Border TV and Century being taken over by Capital Radio; former Sun editor Kelvin McKenzie's Wireless Group acquiring The Radio Partnership; and GWR snapping up even more new radio stations.

Mr Rose says: "The whole idea behind all this consolidation is to save costs by transferring programming. Inevitably this leads to lowest common denominator choices, watered down to appeal to an area too broad to think locally."

Wheras? "Our interest will be our listeners' interests," he says (and no doubt every one of his opponents would utter the same claim).

But won't he be tempted to sell out quickly to a big bidder? After all he is an instinctive entrepreneur as his chairmanship of eight other companies in sectors as diverse as soft drinks, fine art and manufacturing bares witness.

He baulks at the thought. Didn't his chairmanship of Minster Sound last for eight years and prove he was a "stayer"? He says: "We are going to make a very clear and unequivocal statement that we are there for the long term and all the shareholders of Nova are of the same mind. We are not in this for a quick killing.

"Indeed it is more likely that we will stay unaffected by the shifting corporate sands which see larger organisations swallowed up to the point where there will be only two or three major players and we are very happy to commit ourselves to doing no deals for some time ahead."

So what will his new station offer that is so different? "We've done our market research and came up with unique programming formats. We don't want to show our hand as to what these innovative initiatives are but it will be of an album format."

In radio-speak that means that it won't be playing the Top Ten, rather tracks from albums which may be hits. "And with the support of Newsquest our news service will be second to none."

No, unlike many other applicants, his consortium did not conduct live trials. Instead the market research was thorough. "I don't think trials tell you a lot."