Profile - Thomson ushers in a new Global era

With the dust now settling after Global Radio's buyout of Chrysalis Radio in June, the group's chief operating officer Don Thomson tells Julia Martin why he is excited about the opportunities ahead.

Poor Don Thomson. It must be a touch wearying being in the hot seat at Global Radio at the moment. After completing the buyout of Chrysalis Radio at the end of July, the company is being touted as a potential buyer in just about every current sales opportunity in media.

Not that the newly-promoted chief operating officer seems too down-hearted. A touch jittery perhaps, wary of revealing too much about his new masters' plans for the road ahead, but overwhelmingly his mood is "excited".

It's a word the radio stalwart uses repeatedly as he talks about his new role, and why he decided to stick with Global, while his old friend and colleague Phil Riley decided it was time to bid farewell to what used to be Chrysalis.

Thomson, who helped set up the company from scratch in 1994, admits it wasn't a straightforward decision. Part of the draw was the new management team, a triumvirate of big names: Charles Allen, Ashley Tabor and Richard Park.

"It's an incredibly strong blend - Charles' track record is pretty impressive, Richard is one of the most experienced programmers in commercial radio - he started in 1973, so he's one of the few people who's been in radio longer than me - and Ashley is an inspirational character," he says.

But he confesses: "When Phil decided to leave, I did think about going. It was almost like there was a line you could draw. I decided not to, mainly because I think radio is about to enter the most exciting phase."

He acknowledges radio has struggled over recent years, but claims there are now several reasons for optimism, such as the growth of DAB and multi-platform radio listening and the imminent launch of the second digital multiplex under Channel 4's leadership.

More specifically, he claims the new ownership places Chrysalis' key brands - Heart, Galaxy and LBC - in prime position to ride the crest of the radio revival wave.
While he is careful not to criticise the old regime, he concedes that the company had reached a hiatus, and that the injection of investment from Global Radio opens up new opportunities for growth.

"The greatest difficulty for the company was we'd got to a certain size and it was difficult for it to grow any further because we were not able to raise the finances to acquire other opportunities that came up," he says. "The difference now is that we have access to other resources. Opportunities are there."

He is also relishing the "liberating" effect of having no shareholders, which he claims enables him to take a more long-term view.

"I don't have to do presentations to the City answering questions about what we're investing in," he notes.

Whether that investment might include any of those much- speculated acquisitions - most notably the clutch of Emap stations up for grabs - remains a mystery; Thomson will not be drawn.

However, he does admit that, in general, he believes further consolidation would be good for the sector. "Radio is still accused of being a bit more difficult to buy, or unprofitable for agencies to buy," he observes. "If you consolidate into better coordinated groups, you overcome a lot of those obstacles."

For that reason, he says the sales contract Chrysalis had with Guardian Media Group still makes good sense and is set to continue.

"There is a lot of complementary territory across the stations, so it makes a very good coordinated sell," he says.

But some things are bound to change. He concedes: "We're merging together two cultures; while I'm certain the culture will change, it's a gradual rather than an immediate thing. I don't anticipate any other major changes. We have gone past the bedding-in phase now and we're in a new era."

While he won't discuss the recent head cull, which saw Heart, LBC and Galaxy station managing directors Barnaby Dawe, David Lloyd and Martyn Healey being shown the door, along with Heart's programme director and marketing director, he confirms they are recruiting a group marketing director and a London stations director, which he predicts should take "a couple of months".

In the meantime, he has plenty to keep him occupied.

He is in charge of driving forward the company's digital development and also sits on the board of C4's second digital multiplex as a stakeholder.

Then there is the move towards increasingly multi-platform listening - a massive opportunity, says Thomson, and one that is changing the way his team sells radio.
"I can't remember the last time I was this excited," he insists.

With so much to do, it's hardly any wonder he wants to concentrate on developing the Chrysalis business rather than the dealing with the distractions of speculations about what else the company might do next.

Media Week Media Week 25-Sep-07