chrismoyles.net
- Fri Sep 20, 2002 8:17 pm
#27150
Shake-up at Radio 1
by Jessica Hodgson, Evening Standard Media Correspondent
A major shake-up is being planned at Radio 1 in a bid to reverse declining listener figures.
DJs Chris Moyles and Dave Pearce are under threat from the station's controller, Andy Parfitt, who is understood to be considering sweeping changes to the schedule.
Sources say that Radio 1 executives have approached Christian O'Connell, an up-and-coming star on XFM, about the possibility of his taking Chris Moyles's afternoon slot on the station.
Moyles, who has just been signed up to present an afternoon TV show on Channel 5 starting after his Radio 1 show finishes, has complained about his punishing schedule and sources believe he may be tiring of his radio job.
New Zealand-born DJ and MTV presenter Zane Lowe, who has an afternoon show on XFM, has been earmarked as a new evening presenter to replace the Evening Session presenter Steve Lamacq after the show was axed last month.
However, breakfast presenter Sara Cox, whose show has lost listeners, has recently signed a three-year contract, and is not thought to be under threat. Radio 1 is facing an overall listener slump - from a 10.7 per cent share to 8.3 per cent in the past two years, and Cox has lost nearly 10 per cent of her listeners in the past year.
The station has been overtaken in popularity by Radio 2, once a byword for cardigan-wearing middle age, but now listened to by 13 million people.
Insiders confirm Radio 1 executives have contacted O'Connell and Lowe. One source said: "They are speaking to a number of people about Chris Moyles's slot."
Another source said: "After losing figures they've been told to sort it out. This doesn't necessarily mean they're going to lose their key DJs overnight, but it does mean that over the next year, two years, it's got to kick ass again." Production staff are also expecting a wide-ranging shake-up in the next two months.
Radio 1 says that Mr Moyles has just signed a two-year contract and that the station is " committed" to him. Radio 1 insists that its DJ line-up is secure.
A station spokesman said: "The frustration for us is that there's a perception that we are not championing new music and we feel that this is unfair."
-----------------------------------------
Moyles for chop?
Katy Fish
Loud-mouthed DJ Chris Moyles could about to be the victim of Radio One shake-up.
The station is in desperate need of a shake up after being overtaken by Classic FM and Terry Wogan on Radio 2 in the ratings wars.
Moyles had already been complaining of his gruelling schedule even before the filming of his new telly series started.
And then the portly presenter did himself no favours by publicly slamming colleague Sara Cox, saying he could do a much better job despite losing hundreds of thousands of listeners himself.
Moyles branded the news "utter rubbish" and bosses were quick to deny the reports, but experts believe XFM's Christian O'Connell is being lined up as a replacement.
Perhaps if Chris played more decent tunes he?d keep his nose clean.
(ahm he cant do anything about that, he has to play what hes told to play, thickoes)
by Jessica Hodgson, Evening Standard Media Correspondent
A major shake-up is being planned at Radio 1 in a bid to reverse declining listener figures.
DJs Chris Moyles and Dave Pearce are under threat from the station's controller, Andy Parfitt, who is understood to be considering sweeping changes to the schedule.
Sources say that Radio 1 executives have approached Christian O'Connell, an up-and-coming star on XFM, about the possibility of his taking Chris Moyles's afternoon slot on the station.
Moyles, who has just been signed up to present an afternoon TV show on Channel 5 starting after his Radio 1 show finishes, has complained about his punishing schedule and sources believe he may be tiring of his radio job.
New Zealand-born DJ and MTV presenter Zane Lowe, who has an afternoon show on XFM, has been earmarked as a new evening presenter to replace the Evening Session presenter Steve Lamacq after the show was axed last month.
However, breakfast presenter Sara Cox, whose show has lost listeners, has recently signed a three-year contract, and is not thought to be under threat. Radio 1 is facing an overall listener slump - from a 10.7 per cent share to 8.3 per cent in the past two years, and Cox has lost nearly 10 per cent of her listeners in the past year.
The station has been overtaken in popularity by Radio 2, once a byword for cardigan-wearing middle age, but now listened to by 13 million people.
Insiders confirm Radio 1 executives have contacted O'Connell and Lowe. One source said: "They are speaking to a number of people about Chris Moyles's slot."
Another source said: "After losing figures they've been told to sort it out. This doesn't necessarily mean they're going to lose their key DJs overnight, but it does mean that over the next year, two years, it's got to kick ass again." Production staff are also expecting a wide-ranging shake-up in the next two months.
Radio 1 says that Mr Moyles has just signed a two-year contract and that the station is " committed" to him. Radio 1 insists that its DJ line-up is secure.
A station spokesman said: "The frustration for us is that there's a perception that we are not championing new music and we feel that this is unfair."
-----------------------------------------
Moyles for chop?
Katy Fish
Loud-mouthed DJ Chris Moyles could about to be the victim of Radio One shake-up.
The station is in desperate need of a shake up after being overtaken by Classic FM and Terry Wogan on Radio 2 in the ratings wars.
Moyles had already been complaining of his gruelling schedule even before the filming of his new telly series started.
And then the portly presenter did himself no favours by publicly slamming colleague Sara Cox, saying he could do a much better job despite losing hundreds of thousands of listeners himself.
Moyles branded the news "utter rubbish" and bosses were quick to deny the reports, but experts believe XFM's Christian O'Connell is being lined up as a replacement.
Perhaps if Chris played more decent tunes he?d keep his nose clean.
(ahm he cant do anything about that, he has to play what hes told to play, thickoes)
dave benson phillips
