Emap to review digital radio stations

LONDON - Emap, which yesterday announced the sale of its Irish radio stations in a £135m deal with Communicorp Group, is carrying out a review of its national digital radio offering with a view to relaunching stations to generate more cash.

Andria Vidler, managing director of Magic 105.4, will assess the performance of all the company's national digital stations, which include Heat and Kiss.
Relaunches are expected to kick off in the autumn and Vidler has not ruled out any brands.

"We believe in exploring and growing brands and making sure the potential of some of the brands is realised," she said.

She cited Heat as one of the brands that consumers would like to see more of - which was a contributing factor to the launch of Heatworld.com in June.

Emap is preparing to launch Closer radio, a version of its weekly women's title, after the Channel 4 consortium in which it is a shareholder won its bid for the second national digital multiplex.

Vidler also said she will not be replacing Richard Park, Magic 105.4's programme director, who left at the beginning of the month.

Media Week 17-Jul-07, 10:15