Jazz FM (UK)

Radio station


name=Jazz FM
airdate= 7 June 2005 (as jazzfm.com)
6 October 2008 (as Jazz FM)
slogan=Listen in Colour
frequency=12C - CE London (DAB)
12C - MXR North West (DAB)
12C - MXR Wales and West (DAB)
12A - MXR West Midlands (DAB)
11C - ScoreGLASGOW (DAB)
Sky Digital: 0202
Eurobird 1: 11390V 27500 2/3
area=London
West Midlands
North West England
South Wales and the Severn Estuary
West Central Scotland
United Kingdom (Satellite)
International (Internet)
format = Jazz
owner = The Local Radio Company (under license from GMG Radio)
website= [http://www.jazzfm.com www.jazzfm.com]
[http://www.listenincolour.com/ www.listenincolour.com]

Jazz FM, formerly known as jazzfm.com and ejazz.fm, is a radio station broadcasting on digital radio in the United Kingdom which predominately plays smooth jazz, jazz standards as well as blues and soul music. The station also plays specialist programming in a wide variety of jazz disciplines. The station is being run by The Local Radio Company from October 6 as part of a three year licensing deal with GMG Radio. [cite web|url=http://www.radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.3703.2|title=Jazz FM relaunches October 6th|date=2008-08-13|accessdate=2008-08-13|publisher=Radio Today] The station broadcasts in London, the West Midlands, the North West of England, South Wales and the Severn Estuary, West Central Scotland as well as free-to-air digital satellite via the Sky Digital. The station launched on October 6 at 19:00 BST (18:00 UTC).cite web|url=http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/842005/Jazz-FM-sales-contract-goes-First-Radio-Sales/|title=Jazz FM sales contract goes to First Radio Sales|last=Crawley-Boevey|first=Sarah|date=2008-08-27|accessdate=2008-08-27|publisher=Brand Republic] cite web|url=http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=1035298&c=1|title=First Radio Sales awarded Jazz FM contract|date=2008-08-27|accessdate=2008-08-27|publisher=Music Week] The service will also launch on the Freesat platform in late October.

The station started off as a separate website named ejazz as an accompaniment to the now defunct 102.2 Jazz FM and 100.4 Jazz FM stations in London and the North West respectively. GMG Radio revamped the site in 2004 and in 2005 when the London Jazz FM station was replaced with 102.2 Smooth FM, the ejazz website adopted the Jazz FM name and moved to jazzfm.com. Jazzfm.com also took up DAB slots in Yorkshire, South Wales and the Severn Estuary to relay the Blue Room stream of smooth jazz and funk music from the website at a higher bitrate, which were left vacant by the defunct Smooth Digital radio station.cite web|url=http://frequencyfinder.org.uk/old_updates_dig.html|title=Digital radio updates|year=2006|accessdate=2008-09-03|publisher=Frequency Finder] GMG also launched jazzfm.com on free-to-air digital satellite via the Sky Digital platform, but closed it down in 2006 to save money to re-invest into the website. The station also took spare slots when GMG Radio bought the Saga radio stations across the UK, but also sold jazzfm.com DAB slots to a number of buyers, including Leeds United A.F.C. and United Christian Broadcasters. In 2008, GMG made plans to relaunch Jazz FM in a move to encourage Ofcom to remove jazz commitments from the licenses of 102.2 Smooth Radio and 100.4 Smooth Radio. The format change was denied but GMG promised to continue its plans to relaunch jazzfm.com as Jazz FM, including a three year licensing deal with The Local Radio Company, run by former Jazz FM CEO, Richard Wheatly.

History

ejazz.fm alongside Jazz FM

The original site ejazz.fm launched by Jazz FM [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/988084.stm|title=Commercial radio makes waves online|date=2000-10-24|accessdate=2008-08-16|publisher=BBC News] on June 7 2000 [cite web|url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=164|title=London radio station Jazz FM launches new internet audio channel ejazz.fm|date=2000-07-05|accessdate=2008-08-16|publisher=All About Jazz] as a website focused on the wide genre of jazz and included free and subscription based jazz content as well as two continuous jazz music streams for uptempo and downtempo jazz. The website was originally designed by the DDW agency. [cite web|url=http://www.mad.co.uk/Main/News/Disciplines/Media/TV/Articles/510f2c8d1adb44ee9cff798e832186ec/DDW-updates-classics-for-Ejazzfm-website.html|title=DDW updates classics for Ejazz.fm website|date=2000-06-02|last=Schogger|first=Damian|accessdate=2008-08-16|publisher=Mad.co.uk] Club ejazz for a subscription of £5 a month allowed listeners to listen to exclusive one hour specialist shows from Jazz FM presenters as well as live and recorded concert material. [cite web|url=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=288|title=EJAZZ.FM - the site for real jazz heads|date=2000-10-18|publisher=All About Jazz] [cite web|url=http://www.citywire.co.uk/professional/-/news/other/content.aspx?ID=214143&Page=4|title=JazzFM swings to a better beat|date=2000-10-19|last=Bowsher|first=Ed|accessdate=2008-09-03|publisher=Citywire]

The website was relaunched by the Guardian Media Group to its current look on July 12 2004cite web|url=http://www.gmgradio.co.uk/newsarticles/news99.html|title=JAZZFM launches dedicated web service for jazz fans|date=2004-06-29|accessdate=2007-03-27|publisher=GMG Radio] promising more than 200 specially commissioned programmes exclusive to the website,cite web|url=http://www.gmgradiosales.co.uk/?section=divisions&page=jazzfm.com|title=jazzfm.com|accessdate=2007-03-27|publisher=GMG Radio Sales] with five new programmes being added each month from Jazz FM's presenters such as Sarah Ward, Campbell Burnap and Peter Young, as well as jazz news and features, including the ejazz.fm artist of the month. The subscription fee for Club ejazz was dropped but user registration remained.

The website was heavily promoted via the Jazz FM website and through advertising on Jazz FM.

The rebrand to jazzfm.com on DAB

The ejazz.fm website was renamed to jazzfm.com on the 7th of June 2005, alongside the change of 102.2 Jazz FM to 102.2 Smooth FM. It was on this date that the radio station appeared on DAB in Yorkshire, South Wales and the Severn Estuary using spare capacity from the now defunct Smooth Digital service. The station also broadcast on free-to-air digital satellite and via the Sky Digital platform.

It was announced that on Monday April 10, 2006 that the service will no longer be available in Yorkshire on DAB from the Summer of 2006 after a deal was reached with Leeds United and the multiplex owner, MXR Yorkshire to launch a new sports and music radio station, Yorkshire Radio, which has taken over the space formerly occupied by jazzfm.com. The Yorkshire jazzfm.com service closed on June 26, 2006 to make way for Yorkshire Radio test transmissions to take place, ready for its launch on July 10, 2006. [http://www.getdabdigitalradio.com/news/story.html?191 News from Yorkshire MXR multiplex!] Published by MXR Ltd. Accessed October 12, 2006]

The station was also carried on the Sky Digital platform across the United Kingdom, but on Wednesday the 3rd of May 2006, jazzfm.com was removed from the electronic program guide, and did continue to be broadcast from the Astra 2B satellite, one of the satellites which provides part of the Sky Digital service, for a short while after. GMG Radio said that the money saved by pulling the plug on the Sky Digital and DAB services will be re-invested into the website. The jazzfm.com Blue Room stream would still be available on the website.

In March 2007, GMG Radio purchased and rebranded all the Saga stations.cite web|url=http://www.radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.1772|title=The Smoothest radio re-brand?|accessdate=2007-03-24|date=2007-03-20|publisher=Radio Today] In the West Midlands, Saga 105.7 FM and Smooth Radio both broadcast on the MXR West Midlands DAB ensemble.cite web|url=http://www.wohnort.demon.co.uk/DAB/uknat.html|title=DAB Ensembles WorldwideUnited Kingdom & the Isle of Man|accessdate=2007-03-24] Smooth FM and Saga 105.7 FM merged to become Smooth Radio and the spare slot formerly used by Smooth FM was replaced with jazzfm.com. The service also replaced Saga 105.2 FM on Monday March 26 on the Score Glasgow multiplex as Smooth Radio is already broadcast on the Switch Central Scotland ensemble.cite web|url=http://www.wohnort.demon.co.uk/DAB/ukloc.html|title=DAB Ensembles WorldwideUnited Kingdom & the Isle of Man|accessdate=2007-03-27]

Panjab Radio has replaced jazzfm.com with Panjab Radio and Asian FX in the West Midlands on November 1, 2007 after a deal between the station and multiplex owner MXR was reached. [cite web|url=http://www.radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.2398|title=Panjab secures MXR space|accessdate=2007-09-01|date=2007-09-01|publisher=Radio Today]

GMG Radio was also looking to sell its other DAB slot currently held in South Wales and the Severn Estuary since the closure of jazzfm.com in Yorkshire. [http://www.radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.723 jazzfm dot gone from sky] Published by Radio Today on May 5, 2006. Accessed October 12, 2006] The South Wales and the Severn Estuary service was earmarked to close in late 2006, but continued to broadcast after this date. However, in an Ofcom radio broadcast update for August 2007, it was confirmed that the South Wales and the Severn Estuary service would close at an unspecified date to allow the launch of two stations from United Christian Broadcasters (UCB) in a separate deal with MXR. [cite web|url=http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rbl/rbupdates/update0807/|title=Radio Broadcast Update August 2007|accessdate=2007-09-07|publisher=Ofcom] The station left the multiplex on September 28, 2007 to be replaced by UCB UK and UCB Inspirational.

The only area to continue broadcasting jazzfm.com on DAB, Glasgow and West Central Scotland, made the switch to Jazz FM on October 6. [cite web|url=http://www.wohnort.demon.co.uk/DAB/|title=Latest Updates and News|accessdate=2008-10-07|publisher=Wohnort]

jazzfm.com Playlist

The jazzfm.com DAB service and website relayed one stream of a mixture of smooth jazz and funk music in the daytime and traditional and mainstream jazz music in the evening without DJs at 64kbit/s Windows Media Audio 9 format in stereo for free and with a subscription for a higher bitrate. Until June 16, 2008 the free bitrate streamed at 32kbit/s. The jazzfm.com radio station on DAB was relayed at 128 kbit/s joint stereo MPEG-1 Audio Layer II encoding. At the top of each hour, a news bulletin produced and provided by Sky News Radio is broadcast. [http://www.sky.com/skynews/fixed_article/0,,70004-1200025,00.html]

The website however, used to have two dedicated stations, the Red Room and the Blue Room. The Blue Room played more smooth jazz and funk. The Blue Room feed was the one that was played on the Sky Digital and DAB feeds as smooth jazz is more commercially viable and popular with listeners. From March 2006 the Blue Room used to carry advertising immediately after the news bulletin, though this was dropped later in its life. The Red Room played all styles of modern jazz from the fifties up to the present day. The Red Room's jazz output was continuous and uninterrupted, without advertising or news bulletins. Neither station has DJs on its output. On the website, both feeds were available free at 32 kbit/s stereo and at a higher bitrate with a subscription to RealMusic.

Availability

jazzfm.com used to broadcast on the Internet as well as digital radio in the United Kingdom on DAB in West Central Scotland. It used to broadcast smooth jazz and funk music on DAB in Yorkshire, South Wales, the Severn Estuary, the West Midlands and on Sky Digital. The DAB service carried jazzfm.com at a higher bitrate free-to-air than the website stream did.

Relaunch of jazzfm.com for the return of Jazz FM

On February 28, 2008 GMG Radio's chief executive John Myers made an announcement that Jazz FM would be brought back [cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/apr/23/commercialradio.radio|title=Ofcom tells Smooth Radio to keep jazz|last=Plunkett|first=John|date=2008-04-23|accessdate=2008-05-07|publisher=The Guardian] [cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/a94468/gmg-to-press-ahead-with-jazz-fm-on-dab.html?rss|title=GMG to press ahead with Jazz FM on DAB|last=West|first=Dave|date=2008-04-23|accessdate=2008-05-07|publisher=Digital Spy] as a relaunch of the current jazzfm.com service with presenters on DAB. [cite web|url=http://www.radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.3106.2|title=Jazz FM set to return|date=2008-02-28|accessdate=2008-03-16|publisher=Radio Today] Myers also said that he believed it would make more sense for there to be a dedicated radio station for jazz listeners than the current 45 hours of jazz to be played on Smooth FM, as required by the licence granted to them by Ofcom.cite web|url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/media/article3448634.ece|title=GMG in talks with Ofcom about Jazz FM return|last=Andrews|first=Amanda|date=2008-02-28|accessdate=2008-02-28|publisher=The Times] The closure of theJazz on Digital One was also part of the reason for the return of Jazz FM. [cite web|url=http://www.crainsmanchesterbusiness.co.uk/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080228/FREE/556837529/1109/-/-/gmg-jazzes-up-digital-radio|title=GMG jazzes up digital radio|last=Chapelard|first=James|date=2008-02-28|accessdate=2008-02-28|publisher=Crain's Manchester Business]

The Local Radio Company, run under the former chief executive of 102.2 Jazz FM, Richard Wheatly, signed a three year deal with GMG Radio to relaunch Jazz FM on DAB.cite web|url=http://www.radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.3540.2|title=Wheatley to relaunch Jazz FM|date=2008-06-29|accessdate=2008-06-29|publisher=Radio Today] According to The Times, no money exchanged hands in the deal. [cite web|url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article4881510.ece|title=Action stations for Jazz pioneer|date=2008-10-05|last=Walsh|first=Kate|accessdate=2008-10-07|publisher=The Times] There are also plans to relaunch the Jazz FM Records label with CD and download sales. [cite web|url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/2008/07/jazz_fm_tunes_in_to_web_advances.html|title=Jazz FM tunes in to web advances|last=Shepherd|first=Rob|date=2008-07-16|accessdate=2008-09-02|publisher=Broadcast] WARL have been appointed to advertise the relaunched station prior to its launch, including the return of the Jazz FM chameleon and "Listen In Colour" branding used previously on 102.2 Jazz FM.cite web|url=http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=61404&d=254&h=260&f=3|title=JAZZ FM appoints WARL for relaunch|date=2008-07-02|accessdate=2008-07-02|publisher=Marketing Week] The station will raise awareness of the relaunch through email and social networking websites [cite web|url=http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/842776/Jazz-FM-uses-social-networking-promote-relaunch/|title=Jazz FM uses social networking to promote relaunch|date=2008-09-01|last=McNally|first=Paul|accessdate=2008-09-01|publisher=Brand Republic] as well as a nationwide campaign through posters, national newspapers and magazines featuring the Jazz FM chameleon in 3D and listen in colour branding. [cite web|url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/news/2008/10/jazz_fm_unveils_rebrand.html|title=Jazz FM unveils rebrand|date=2008-10-01|last=Shepherd|first=Rob|accessdate=2008-10-02|publisher=Broadcast] Jazz FM will broadcast predominantly from The Local Radio Company's studios in High Wycombe and Macclesfield.

Launch

The station launched on October 6, 2008 at 19:00 BST (18:00 UTC) with an introductory speech from Richard Wheatly, followed by the Dinner Jazz programme with Sarah Ward. However, there were some problems with the playout system a few minutes into the programme which interrupted the music, but were soon fixed. [cite web|url=http://www.radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.3893.2|title=Jazz FM returns in Colour|date=2008-10-06|accessdate=2008-10-06|publisher=Radio Today] The first song played was Art Pepper's All the Things You Are. [cite web|url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article4893816.ece|title=Small-town America counters the credit crunch|date=2008-10-07|accessdate=2008-10-07|last=Waller|first=Martin|publisher=The Times]

Availability

The station will broadcast on DAB ensembles in London, the North West and the West Midlands where it will replace Real Radio as well as South Wales and the Severn Estuary where it will replace 102.2 Smooth Radio. [cite web|url=http://www.getdabdigitalradio.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=129|title=Jazz FM returns!|date=2008-09-25|accessdate=2008-09-26|publisher=MXR] The station will continue to broadcast in West Central Scotland on DAB. It will also relaunch on digital satellite as a free-to-air service on the Freesat and Sky Digital platforms.cite web|url=http://www.mad.co.uk/Main/News/Articlex/105c188ff113478086ab3a54a0ec5971/Jazz-FM-returns-as-digital-radio-brand.html|title=Jazz FM returns as digital radio brand|date=2008-06-30|accessdate=2008-06-30|last=Johnson|first=Bradwell|publisher=Mad.co.uk]

Presenters and Shows

When Jazz FM programme controller Mike Vitti formally released the programme schedule for the new station on September 19 2008, many of the programmes were ones which had been broadcast on the now-defunct 102.2 and 100.4 Jazz FM stations as well as on-demand programming on jazzfm.com.cite web|url=http://www.radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.3832.17|title=Deja vu at the new Jazz FM|date=2008-09-19|accessdate=2008-09-19|publisher=Radio Today]

ee also

*102.2 Jazz FM
*100.4 Jazz FM
*theJazz

References

External links

* [http://www.jazzfm.com/ Jazz FM website]
* [http://www.listenincolour.com/ Jazz FM promotional website]
* [http://www.gmgradio.co.uk/newsarticles/news125.html Press Release about the rebrand]