Current Bun Radio
The online radio revolution gathers yet more pace this week with news that The Sun is to launch its own talk radio channel in April. Sun Talk is part of a £1m investment in video & radio services at News International’s best-selling daily tabloid and headlining the schedule will be former Talk Sport presenter, Sun columnist and general tub-thumper of the parish, Jon Gaunt. Now, while some will be quick to dismiss the venture as either a marketing ploy or perhaps an attempt at breathing new life into Gaunt’s colourful radio career, I think this could mark the start of a bold new synergy between print and radio that may end up posing a significant challenge to traditional broadcast outlets.
It’s highly likely that Sun Talk will be every bit as populist as its parent in print and that there won’t be many panel shows, dramas or documentaries among the schedules - so at least the burghers of Radio 4 will have little to worry about. However, talk stations such as BBC 5 Live, LBC and Talk Sport should have every reason to be concerned because here comes a wealthy new kid on the block with in-house commercial, editorial and marketing expertise in spades. What’s more, without transmitter rental or Ofcom licence fees to pay, plus a direct line to the News Corporation’s Sky News Radio, it doesn’t take an enormous leap of faith to see the sums starting to add up.
While it’s not yet clear whether the output will be linear, vertical or some combination of the two, Gaunt is set to present a daily live show on the station - taking the notion of print titles delivering rich media content a stage further than the current on-demand offerings of say, The Guardian and the Daily Telegraph. As an online broadcaster, Sun Talk will of course be free from the traditional radio restrictions on programming, sponsorship and advertising - allowing the station to carve out its own editorial and commercial path without fear of interference or sanctions from Ofcom. And while that might set alarm bells ringing with über liberals and established radio operators alike, if steered carefully, Sun Talk could herald a new freedom to develop commercial programming with the kind of honest and innovative edge that’s been missing from British broadcasting of late.
The only real fly in the Sun cream is the vexed issue of portability but with applications already available for tuning in to radio on iPhones and other mobile devices, it can’t be too long before that particular circle is squared. Radio purists will of course be quick to point out that Sun Talk won’t be radio at all because it’s delivered by wires but that’s a somewhat pointless argument in today’s digital age in which audiences already search for content that’s more relevant to them instead of simply accepting whatever happens to be dolloped out before their eyes and ears by the usual suspects.
Interestingly, an old friend and former captain of the commercial radio industry said to me recently, "British radio is completely F***ed!" He might well be right but then again, perhaps print will turn out to be the new radio.
Anyone care for a bun?
Tags: Freedom, Internet, Jon Gaunt, Newspapers, Online, Programming, Radio, Talk Radio, Talk Sport, The Sun