THE RETURN OF JAZZ FM IN LONDON

Jazz FM in London and the North West are being revived by GMG Radio as a digital-only station. The relaunch comes just weeks after GCap Media announced plans to close down its digital-only jazz station, theJazz. Jazz FM is scheduled to be revived later in the year pending approve by media watchdog Ofcom. It will be available on the digital audio broadcasting (DAB) platform, 24 hours a day. GMG had rebranded Jazz FM in London and the North West to Smooth FM three years ago in a bid to broaden the stations appeal and boost audiences; however, it now seems that the Jazz FM brand could still garner some audiences with an online presence. GMG Radio chief executive, John Myers, says the demise of theJazz means there is an opportunity to revive the Jazz FM format for fans of the genre. He adds: "We have always carried on Jazz FM online but we now hope that the gap left by theJazz will enable us to win an increase audience to this new service." Jazz FM was widely known for its mix of smooth jazz, chill, R&B, funk, and dance, all fused for what was a great sounding station. Of course, as we have seen so many times before with so many other radio stations, it’s all about the business of radio. In other words, radio is created for the masses and not for the particular few. This is why niche radio formats will never work on a grand scale. And so this is why all of these unsuccessful formats have gone to live streaming on the Internet. Oh well.