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Business News Media
Final new stations at Global are Smooth spin-offs
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 3 September 2019
Global has announced that the final two of the five new radio stations it is launching are both extensions of the Smooth brand, it having already added a new Capital station and two new Heart stations in the last few days. Both new Smooths go live today.
One of those super new Smooths will be focused on all things country music, taking on the Country Hits station that rival Bauer launched back in March. The other is Smooth Chill, described as “the perfect antidote to our busy lives, featuring non-stop chill out music”.
The latter in essence takes over from an existing station in the Global portfolio known simply as Chill. It was one of two digital stations established in the 2000s that Global acquired along the way and which still operated on various channels even though they were not core brands for the media firm. The other was rock station The Arrow, which has been wound down entirely as the new Heart, Capital and Smooth spin-offs have gone live.
Announcing all this, Smooth’s Managing Editor Sam Jackson said: “To launch two new Smooth branded stations on one day is hugely exciting for us and confirms our vision to grow and develop the brand”. Offering a few, though not many, more specifics, he added: “Smooth Country will celebrate the best country music hits, while Smooth Chill will play the best music to relax and unwind to, no matter what time of the day”.
Elsewhere in Global news, the media company has announced an alliance with Midlands-based radio group Quidem. The new deal will see core Global brands extend in the region, replacing Quidem’s Touch FM, Banbury Sound and Rugby FM.
The Midlands firm will remain independent, but will license Global-owned brands in a similar fashion to Irish broadcaster Communicorp Media, which operates Capital, Heart and Smooth outlets in the UK. Global will also provide ad sales and local news services to Quidem’s network of stations.
