GCap looks at buying Emap radio stations

LONDON - GCap Media is among a handful of major radio groups considering Emap's radio assets following the latter's announcement it is considering break-up options.

GCap, which last week predicted a 16% year-on-year profits increase for July, believes that its portfolio of predominantly southern stations would be a "good fit" with Emap’s Big City Network of regional stations, which are more northerly.

TalkSport owner UTV and new Chrysalis owner Global Radio are also predicted to be assessing Emap Radio’s stations, but none would comment this week.

However, GCap chief executive Ralph Bernard said competition laws are unlikely to hinder the acquisition of either Magic 105.4 or Kiss 100 by the owner of another London station.

"There would be an issue to be looked at, but what the Competition Commission has done in the past is protect what it calls ‘vulnerable local advertisers’," he said. "It believes that national advertisers can look after themselves and can choose from a stack of alternative platforms if they want to, but it believes there are fewer choices for local advertisers."

Earlier this year, Bernard predicted that the next two years would see further consolidation in the radio industry.

This week he told Media Week he believed that, by then, there would be one "very big operator", a slightly smaller one and then a lot of companies that were smaller still.

He would not say who he thought the players might be, but admitted that if Global Radio made a bid for GCap he would consider it "like any other" in the context of what represented best value for money for his shareholders.

Bernard also denied he has looked at Virgin, saying his company had "not even looked at the numbers", but he predicted the station’s future would be resolved in an initial public offering.

The chief executive also spoke to Media Week about Capital 95.8’s two-ads-in-a-row policy, saying it had achieved what it was put in place for – namely to protect the station’s advertising premium – and that its future was in the hands of London managing director Fru Hazlitt.

"If the policy is changed now, we would hope it was from a position of strength, not weakness," he said. "The market has been declining over the past few years and you want people to see they are getting value for money from the audience you do deliver."

Media Week 31-Jul-07, 10:25