Recent events at GCap typify the problems that seem endemic in the UK Commercial radio business - hardly an industry! Is anyone listening?

First, they remove their commercial director, responsible for reducing advertising volumes (a positive anti-clutter advertiser friendly move) whilst failing to invest in the programme content that appeals to listeners.

They then second install a new CEO who promptly announces an updated middle of the road programme policy for Capital Radio in London when there are already other MOR stations doing the business for the listeners; you can down load what you want anyway and there's no evidence of advertisers queuing up with any money for more of the same.

Finally they seem devoid of any initiative that will update and broaden the appeal among those ABC1 45+ audiences (the equivalent of the US Baby Boomers and the "Unilever Dove" audience strategy) who the advertisers want and for whom a premium radio price is a discount on most other media prices.

Numis Securities latest assessment of GCap - from a business perspective- goes right to the heart of the matter. I quote directly

"(Numis) are broadly supportive of the group's decision to invest £2.6m on marketing investment behind its core brands like Capital Radio. However, the decision to invest the balance of the savings in areas such as a digital-only Jazz station, speculative on line initiatives and attempts to market CDs, magazines and concert tickets to listeners does not appear to us to be an appropriate targeting of the group's resources. We would like to see GCap focus on restoring its core brands to industry-standard levels of profitability rather than embarking on investment in new brands and ancillary revenues"

If Commercial radio doesn't start listening soon to its friends and supporters there wont be too many listeners out there listening to their programmes