Global is continuing to buy UK radio stations by acquiring Juice 107.2 in Brighton.
Juice is locally owned after being sold by UKRD in 2016, 12 months after the group bought it. It launched in 1997 as Surf 107.
The station covers Brighton and Hove on FM and is on the local Sussex DAB digital radio multiplex.
Ashley Tabor OBE, Founder & Executive President of Global, said: “This is an exciting station to acquire for Global and we look forward to fulfilling the station’s successful future.”
Global also bought Juice FM in Liverpool which was owned by UTV in 2015, and more recently bought The Bay and Lakeland Radio to rebrand as Heart and Smooth respectively.
The deal is expected to be completed in February, after which more details about the future of the station will be announced.
Global already owns Heart Sussex in the Brighton and Hove area, and this additional frequency could extend the Capital network into the area.
Managing Director of Juice 107.2 Laurence Elphick is stepping down in February due to personal circumstances. “Juice has been a hugely important part of my life for the best part of 17 years. I have huge admiration for what the team at Juice have achieved and immensely proud that in an increasingly competitive industry, Juice has continued to be a distinctive and successful part of our community in Brighton & Hove. I am confident that with Global, the future is an exciting one.”
Ryan Heal, Juice Chairman said: “Laurence’s role as figurehead and brand ambassador has been pivotal to the station’s traction and stability in the city. We are so grateful to him for the years of unmatched leadership but with his imminent departure, the board felt the time was right to seize the opportunity for new owners to take the business forward. This is a hugely positive step for radio in Brighton. We’ll be working with Global to ensure a smooth transition for everyone involved.”
Founder and Director Daniel Nathan adds: “Over 20 years, the radio station has reflected the best of the city we love, and helped launch so many broadcasting careers. As a new chapter begins, the board and I would like to thank every member of the Juice family past and present for their part in creating radio made in Brighton.”
Yet another station to be killed off by Global & just to end up with Networked programming. This is sad.
Another “Capital” purchase (there’s already a Heart & Smooth there).
The competitions commission might request Global to sell it to Communicorp as a franchise. Just like Capital South Wales.
Not necessarily as OFCON are about to relax the rules even more which is why they’ve bought three stations in the last few weeks – no doubt in preparation for these changes.
If the rules are relaxed to such an extent, they may well also trigger the ‘buy back’ clause in Communicorp’s contract.
Relaxing rules on the broadcast side that’s Ofcom. Purchase of stations/companies (in this case the non-broadcast side) that’s OFT aka The office of fair trading aka commission. They’re two separate bodies.
I think we will be left with nationally networked ‘brands’ (mustn’t call them radio stations anymore) of Capital, Smooth, and Heart playing the same gut churning music all the time, with no local stations, except B.B.C., left at all.
Still it will leave the ground furtive for community and online radio stations I suppose, who actually care about what they’re output as well as managing a business.
Perhaps somebody should down with Mr. Tabor and explain to him the actual meaning, substance, and quality behind truly local radio…
Such a shame. Was a great local station! Best of luck to the team for the future.
What’s the point? This would have been better for The Wireless Group, maybe it could have been 107.2 Tower FM Brighton with shows networked from Wigan?
Global cocked up buying this. Now they effectively own all of Brighton.
Ofcom might tell them to sell. I can see Bell Media being interested!!
Ofcom doesn’t with the enforcement of buying/selling stations. I think you mean the office of fair trading/Competition Commision. Btw Bauer and even the owners of More Radio may off put in a bid, but Juice decided to opt for Globals’ offer. Who knows?
I think I got it wrong with Ofcom. You got that right.
Global could keep Juice as a network brand, run Liverpool and Brighton as one network, perhaps have local breakfast 6-10 and drive 2pm-7pm, with Georgie Palzeard (spelt correct?) doing 10am-2pm, and networked evenings 7-10pm with Sian Welby (move her from Heart??) and Mark Watson on the late show?
Wouldn’t it make sense for Global to turn Capital Northeast, Capital Yorkshire, Capital Liverpool and Juice Brighton into the Juice network, with all programming from Liverpool or Brighton?
They could also drop Capital from South Coast, maybe turn that into a localized version of Radio X with a hybrid Capital/Radio X playlist.
Except they won’t and you should know that by now.
Very sad to read this. Juice was a bastion of independent Brighton. Really hope it doesn’t go the way of Heart
Hello Capital Brighton, but networked from London. So sad.
Last one to leave the country turn out the lights. Local FM commercial radio in the UK is dead. What I don’t get is why stations like Juice don’t fight against these bully boys and just tell them to p**s off. If I owned an independent station I would literally blow it up before I handed it over to the likes of these money driven muppets!!
Ashley Tabor OBE, Founder & Executive President of Global, said: “This is an exciting station to acquire for Global and we look forward to fulfilling the station’s successful future.”
Translated
Ashley Tabor OBE, Founder & Executive President of Global, said: “This is an exciting station to acquire for Global and we look forward to fulfilling the demise of radio in this country.”
NOTE TO RADIO TODAY – I thought you were going to do your annual predictions story?
You said around Christmas time that you were going to do one (https://radiotoday.co.uk/2017/12/merry-xmas-happy-new-year-from-radiotoday/) this link proves it.
Whilst we’re on a page about an acquisition, my radio predictions for 2018 are as follows:
Bauer will relaunch the CITY 1 network as ABSOLUTE RADIO (except Free Radio in the West Midlands).
Wave 105 & Gem 106 are also rebranded as ABSOLUTE RADIO.
The CITY 2 network & FREE RADIO is rebranded to ABSOLUTE HITS – The Greatest Hits Network.
FREE RADIO 80s is rebranded as ABSOLUTE 80s.
Celador buys Nation Broadcasting later rebranding Nation Radio as SAM FM and the local services as THE BREEZE.
Celador also rebrands its Anglian stations as THE BREEZE.
One of the big two will buy the LINCS FM group.
Hi
We did our predictions in our email newsletter, eRADIO. You can view it online: https://madmimi.com/p/1aea5b
Or subscribe at radiotoday.co.uk/register to make sure you don’t miss out in future 🙂
Hey hey! Those are interesting predictions. Nation Broadcasting is competing for the Bristol license to take from Celador. I this Nation do a great job. Very little is Networked. We needed Nation Radio to be the local station after Global took Red Dragon and Capital-ed it! If anything I think Celador will be selling up. They have refused to put services on DAB muxes, Nation wants to make services local & I think they do a great job!
Make services local?-Nation services from Ceredigion,Carmarthenshire,Bridgend,Swansea Bay and Pembrokeshire which used to have separate programmes now originate from the same place and the news comes from a hub in Yorkshire-if what they do is not networking I’d like to know what is.I assume whatever station they owned would be played out from their headquarters near Cardiff.