Island of Dreams
It’s been quite a week - what with Gollygate, the collapse of Project Kangaroo and yesterday, an unedited profanity on BBC Breakfast that left viewers choking on their toast. However, the highlight for me was hearing internet radio’s potential to become a viable alternative to FM move another step closer with the launch of Wight FM on the Isle of Wight.
Until now, internet radio has been largely dismissed by the denizens of Medialand as the sorry refuge for geeks, anoraks and other wannabe bedroom broadcasters. But times and media habits are changing, and while RAJAR recently reported a slight drop in online listening, I hope it’s only the quiet before a streaming storm.
To my mind, the issue of creating a profitable internet radio brand presents a number of immediate challenges to new media entrepreneurs - credibility, awareness, difference, relevance and revenue. But from where I’m standing, it looks like Wight FM might just have hit upon a winning formula.
Founded by a couple of island businessmen with a background in local news & magazine publishing, the station’s first smart move was to sign former Isle of Wight Radio presenter and local personality Alex Dyke to head up the operation - porting both his considerable broadcast experience and his popular Mid-Morning Boogie show format in the process.
Next, they used their existing print titles to promote the new station heavily across the island, while also driving awareness of this emerging media platform. Incidentally, another stroke of genius is that Wight FM will also sell the WiFi radios and FM mini-transmitters that uninitiated listeners might need to tune in more easily around the home or workplace.
They then developed a programming strategy to set them apart from the competition, employing a refreshingly eclectic mix of tunes and names like Mike Read, Paul Burnett and Ed Stewart among the line-up. Adding IOW Festival guru Jon Giddings plus a handful of local club promoters and island personalities to the schedule only helped strengthen their local USP yet further.
And finally, I’m guessing they simply grew out their existing print news-gathering & commercial sales operations to provide the new radio brand with a local voice and crucially, a direct route to potential advertisers & sponsors.
So, with a passing nod to the 1967 launch of Radio 1, Wight FM burst into life at 11am last Sunday morning and despite a few inevitable hiccups, the overall response this week appears to be more than positive with calls and emails of support flooding in from across the island and the country. Of course, there’s also been no shortage of folk taking pot-shots at both Dyke and some of the clunkier automated segments on Wight FM but hey, it’s early days and with a bit of spit and polish, they’ll soon knock it into shape. However, to these old radio ears of mine, Wight FM already sounds fresh, exciting and fun.
Only time will tell what happens from here but interestingly, the week ended with another IW Radio presenter jumping ship and joining Wight FM’s self-styled WiFi Revolution. Sure, the station faces an uphill struggle but since when did that become reason enough to abandon hope and settle for the status quo?
Vive la révolution!
Tags: Alex Dyke, Internet, Isle of Wight, Local Radio, Music, Online, Programming, Radio, Wi-Fi