Scot FM
Encyclopedia
Scot FM was the name of a regional radio station, originally based at Albert Quay, in Leith
, serving the Central Belt
of Scotland
and originally co-owned by two regional ITV companies, Border Television
and Grampian Television
.
The station was billed as radio for Scotland's thinking classes but was unable to create a clear identity for itself, while changing its format to focus on less speech and more music. The station was relaunched as Real Radio Scotland in January 2002 following a buyout by GMG Radio
.
Central Scotland Radio was named as the preferred bidder on 10 December 1993 - the Radio Authority argued that the station would extend listeners choice and could demonstrate financial stability and professional qualifications appropriate to launching and maintaining the service during its eight-year licence period. The company's founding chairman Sir David Steel (a non-executive director of Border) pledged the majority of its programming would be a unique Scottish view of Britain, the world, and Central Scotland's place in it. We will be primarily a talk station with news, travel information, and weather reports. Sport, politics, and the arts will be covered and listeners will be heavily involved through regular phone-ins.
There was some disagreement and even questioning of the decision to let two television companies already running ITV franchises (albeit, outside the coverage area) operate the new license.
Problems arose even before Scot FM made it to air - none of the 13 presenters listed in its original application schedule had made it to air and its target of 50% quality speech output at peak times could not be achieved. The station's news service was contracted out to Reuters Radio, leading to some confusion over how a station promising a unique Scottish view of Britain was carrying most of its news bulletins from London.
Complaints about the state of the station began to appear in the press, about the apparent problems with the new station. In dispensation, station management went back to the Radio Authority four times to ask for permission to vary its format to reduce its speech output obligations. Unfortunately, the station had limited resources with music as the station only had 1000 tracks on the computer, leading to some members of staff reportedly visiting local music shops to buy CDs of artists who were appearing as guests on the station.
The first official RAJAR figures released in early 1995 revealed that the station had a weekly audience of 8%, far short of the target 13% share, making it one of the least successful UK radio stations in terms of audience share. Within seven months of the station going on air, five different presenters had hosted Scot FM's breakfast show and a programme controller had left owing to ill health.
A major overhaul of the station took place shortly afterwards with all of the original presenters being replaced. by new signings including Alison Craig, Robin Galloway
and Scottie McClue
. Despite the plethora of new presenters and a reported improvement in weekly listening figures to 350,000, a number of complaints regarding format and regulatory problems led to another shake-up at management level. The station's news operator Reuters Radio was replaced by an in-house news service, although this had limited resources and was reportedly under-staffed with inexperienced young journalists who were even forced to travel by bus to help cut costs. Within a few months in May 1995, Grampian Television
bought out Border's stake in the company to become the sole owner of Scot FM.
In another attempt to improve its fortunes, Scot FM signed an exclusive commercial radio deal worth £155,000 a year with the Scottish Football League
, to broadcast live match commnentaries. This caused even further problems when Northsound
, who sponsored Aberdeen F.C.
at the time and also broadcast live Aberdeen matches before the deal, complained as Scot FM did not cover the Aberdeen area.
After two years in the job, Scot FM's managing director Tom Hunter
resigned, another programme controller became ill with stress, and most of the presenting line-up departed. In 1996, Scot FM reported losses of around £1 million.
In January 1997, the station's longest serving presenter Scottie McClue
left when contract negotiations broke down - despite a financial package which would have made him the highest paid presenter in Scotland being finalised, it is rumoured that the rejection by IRG of a more managerial role at the station led to his departure.
In 1997, a drop in audience share from 8% to 4% triggered another major reorganisation. News operations were overhauled and Glenn Campbell
was brought in to become head of news. By 1999, Scot FM had won a silver Sony Award in 1999 for its 'Lunchtime Live' programme.
In October 1999, Independent Radio Group was acquired by the Wireless Group for £21m. As the station was making a loss, the Wireless Group put the station on the market. An offer from Scottish Radio Holdings
of £29m was rejected as it would have required Competition Commission referral due to the rival stations in Scotland and a bid from Chrysalis of £27.5m was turned down as it is believed to have been unable to put the financing for the bid together. In the end, the third highest bidder acquired Scot FM for £25.5m in cash and loan notes, or 13 times its annual revenues, in a deal that allowed them to clear all its debts quickly in June 2001. The company was Guardian Media Group
.
Analysts were surprised that TWG sold Scot FM, widely regarded as one of its best assets, rather than disposing off some of its 18 smaller stations.
John Myers, chief executive of GMG Radio
said:
The problem with Scot FM is that it has changed owners faster than I've changed coats. It was badly launched. They gave an impression that they were going to do Radio 4 type speech and then they went and hired Scottie McClue
. For the first time Scot FM will have an owner that might actually give Scottish Radio Holdings
a run for their money.
Following the acquisition, GMG Radio
rebranded the station as Real Radio Scotland at 8am on Tuesday 8 January 2002.
Leith
-South Leith v. North Leith:Up until the late 16th century Leith , comprised two separate towns on either side of the river....
, serving the Central Belt
Central Belt
The Central Belt of Scotland is a common term used to describe the area of highest population density within Scotland. Despite the name, it is not geographically central but is nevertheless situated at the 'waist' of Scotland on a conventional map and the term 'central' is used in many local...
of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and originally co-owned by two regional ITV companies, Border Television
Border Television
Border Television is the ITV franchise holder for the Border region, spanning the England/Scotland border and covering Dumfries & Galloway region, a small part of the south-west area of Ayrshire, the Scottish Borders, parts of north and west Northumberland and the majority of Cumbria...
and Grampian Television
Grampian Television
Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...
.
The station was billed as radio for Scotland's thinking classes but was unable to create a clear identity for itself, while changing its format to focus on less speech and more music. The station was relaunched as Real Radio Scotland in January 2002 following a buyout by GMG Radio
GMG Radio
GMG Radio is the radio division of the Guardian Media Group. The group is based in Laser House, Salford Quays in Greater Manchester. The advertising division is in Old Trafford, Manchester. John Myers was the Chief Executive Officer, his deputy replaced him in April 2009...
.
Origins
In early 1993, the Radio Authority invited applicants to bid for a new regional FM licence covering Central Scotland and serving a potential audience of 3.3 million listeners. Seven groups contested the franchise:- Central Scotland Radio, a speech-based station backed by BorderBorder TelevisionBorder Television is the ITV franchise holder for the Border region, spanning the England/Scotland border and covering Dumfries & Galloway region, a small part of the south-west area of Ayrshire, the Scottish Borders, parts of north and west Northumberland and the majority of Cumbria...
and GrampianGrampian TelevisionGrampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...
television companies - Radio Six, led by Tony CurrieTony Currie (broadcaster)Tony Currie is a Scottish broadcaster and writer who is currently a continuity announcer for BBC Scotland.Currie began his broadcasting career at KPFK Radio in Los Angeles in 1972 before joining Scotland's first independent local radio station, Radio Clyde, a year later as the first person on air...
with a 24-hour news and speech station - Central Scotland Broadcasting Ltd with an easy listening and information service
- A company with Celtic/rock
- A company with contemporary rock
- A company with country music
- A company with Christian-biased programming
Central Scotland Radio was named as the preferred bidder on 10 December 1993 - the Radio Authority argued that the station would extend listeners choice and could demonstrate financial stability and professional qualifications appropriate to launching and maintaining the service during its eight-year licence period. The company's founding chairman Sir David Steel (a non-executive director of Border) pledged the majority of its programming would be a unique Scottish view of Britain, the world, and Central Scotland's place in it. We will be primarily a talk station with news, travel information, and weather reports. Sport, politics, and the arts will be covered and listeners will be heavily involved through regular phone-ins.
There was some disagreement and even questioning of the decision to let two television companies already running ITV franchises (albeit, outside the coverage area) operate the new license.
1994 - 1996
Scot FM began broadcasting from studios in Leith on 16 September 1994, after two weeks of test transmissions.Problems arose even before Scot FM made it to air - none of the 13 presenters listed in its original application schedule had made it to air and its target of 50% quality speech output at peak times could not be achieved. The station's news service was contracted out to Reuters Radio, leading to some confusion over how a station promising a unique Scottish view of Britain was carrying most of its news bulletins from London.
Complaints about the state of the station began to appear in the press, about the apparent problems with the new station. In dispensation, station management went back to the Radio Authority four times to ask for permission to vary its format to reduce its speech output obligations. Unfortunately, the station had limited resources with music as the station only had 1000 tracks on the computer, leading to some members of staff reportedly visiting local music shops to buy CDs of artists who were appearing as guests on the station.
The first official RAJAR figures released in early 1995 revealed that the station had a weekly audience of 8%, far short of the target 13% share, making it one of the least successful UK radio stations in terms of audience share. Within seven months of the station going on air, five different presenters had hosted Scot FM's breakfast show and a programme controller had left owing to ill health.
A major overhaul of the station took place shortly afterwards with all of the original presenters being replaced. by new signings including Alison Craig, Robin Galloway
Robin Galloway
Robin Galloway is a Scottish radio and TV broadcaster, currently working for Clyde 1 and five other Bauer Radio FM stations in Scotland.-Career:...
and Scottie McClue
Scottie McClue
Scottie McClue is the on-air pseudonym of media consultant, actor, writer and broadcaster Colin Lamont, whoin 1992 as Senior producer and presenter at Red Rose Gold in Preston, created the persona for the Scottie McClue Mega Phone-In, networked on various Independent Local Radio stations across the...
. Despite the plethora of new presenters and a reported improvement in weekly listening figures to 350,000, a number of complaints regarding format and regulatory problems led to another shake-up at management level. The station's news operator Reuters Radio was replaced by an in-house news service, although this had limited resources and was reportedly under-staffed with inexperienced young journalists who were even forced to travel by bus to help cut costs. Within a few months in May 1995, Grampian Television
Grampian Television
Grampian Television is the ITV franchisee for the North and North East of Scotland. Its coverage area includes the Scottish Highlands , Inverness, Aberdeen, Dundee and parts of north Fife...
bought out Border's stake in the company to become the sole owner of Scot FM.
In another attempt to improve its fortunes, Scot FM signed an exclusive commercial radio deal worth £155,000 a year with the Scottish Football League
Scottish Football League
The Scottish Football League is a league of football teams in Scotland, comprising theScottish First Division, Scottish Second Division and Scottish Third Division. From the league's foundation in 1890 until the breakaway Scottish Premier League was formed in 1998, the Scottish Football League...
, to broadcast live match commnentaries. This caused even further problems when Northsound
Northsound Radio
Northsound Radio was the name for the original Northsound Radio station, broadcast from Aberdeen, Scotland to the north-east of Scotland. In 1995, the station split to become two commercial local radio stations.- History :...
, who sponsored Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen F.C.
Aberdeen Football Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Aberdeen...
at the time and also broadcast live Aberdeen matches before the deal, complained as Scot FM did not cover the Aberdeen area.
After two years in the job, Scot FM's managing director Tom Hunter
Tom Hunter
Sir Thomas Blane Hunter is a Scottish businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.In April 2007, Hunter was reported in the Sunday Times Rich List as the first ever home-grown billionaire in Scotland, with an estimated wealth of £1.05 billion...
resigned, another programme controller became ill with stress, and most of the presenting line-up departed. In 1996, Scot FM reported losses of around £1 million.
1996 - 2000
In July 1996, Scot FM was sold to the Independent Radio Group for £5.25 million pounds. The new owners had been attracted to the station because of its large franchise covering central Scotland and the potential for continuing to grow its audience, and hoped to make its first profit by 1998.In January 1997, the station's longest serving presenter Scottie McClue
Scottie McClue
Scottie McClue is the on-air pseudonym of media consultant, actor, writer and broadcaster Colin Lamont, whoin 1992 as Senior producer and presenter at Red Rose Gold in Preston, created the persona for the Scottie McClue Mega Phone-In, networked on various Independent Local Radio stations across the...
left when contract negotiations broke down - despite a financial package which would have made him the highest paid presenter in Scotland being finalised, it is rumoured that the rejection by IRG of a more managerial role at the station led to his departure.
In 1997, a drop in audience share from 8% to 4% triggered another major reorganisation. News operations were overhauled and Glenn Campbell
Glenn Campbell (broadcaster)
Glenn Campbell is a Scottish news and current affairs broadcaster, currently working for BBC Scotland. He grew up on Islay and studied at the University of Glasgow.His career began in commercial radio...
was brought in to become head of news. By 1999, Scot FM had won a silver Sony Award in 1999 for its 'Lunchtime Live' programme.
In October 1999, Independent Radio Group was acquired by the Wireless Group for £21m. As the station was making a loss, the Wireless Group put the station on the market. An offer from Scottish Radio Holdings
Scottish Radio Holdings
Scottish Radio Holdings was a Scottish media company which owned 22 radio stations, and around 30 local newspapers in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.-History:...
of £29m was rejected as it would have required Competition Commission referral due to the rival stations in Scotland and a bid from Chrysalis of £27.5m was turned down as it is believed to have been unable to put the financing for the bid together. In the end, the third highest bidder acquired Scot FM for £25.5m in cash and loan notes, or 13 times its annual revenues, in a deal that allowed them to clear all its debts quickly in June 2001. The company was Guardian Media Group
Guardian Media Group
Guardian Media Group plc is a company of the United Kingdom owning various mass media operations including The Guardian and The Observer. The Group is owned by the Scott Trust. It was founded as the Manchester Guardian Ltd in 1907 when C. P. Scott bought the Manchester Guardian from the estate of...
.
Analysts were surprised that TWG sold Scot FM, widely regarded as one of its best assets, rather than disposing off some of its 18 smaller stations.
John Myers, chief executive of GMG Radio
GMG Radio
GMG Radio is the radio division of the Guardian Media Group. The group is based in Laser House, Salford Quays in Greater Manchester. The advertising division is in Old Trafford, Manchester. John Myers was the Chief Executive Officer, his deputy replaced him in April 2009...
said:
The problem with Scot FM is that it has changed owners faster than I've changed coats. It was badly launched. They gave an impression that they were going to do Radio 4 type speech and then they went and hired Scottie McClue
Scottie McClue
Scottie McClue is the on-air pseudonym of media consultant, actor, writer and broadcaster Colin Lamont, whoin 1992 as Senior producer and presenter at Red Rose Gold in Preston, created the persona for the Scottie McClue Mega Phone-In, networked on various Independent Local Radio stations across the...
. For the first time Scot FM will have an owner that might actually give Scottish Radio Holdings
Scottish Radio Holdings
Scottish Radio Holdings was a Scottish media company which owned 22 radio stations, and around 30 local newspapers in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.-History:...
a run for their money.
Following the acquisition, GMG Radio
GMG Radio
GMG Radio is the radio division of the Guardian Media Group. The group is based in Laser House, Salford Quays in Greater Manchester. The advertising division is in Old Trafford, Manchester. John Myers was the Chief Executive Officer, his deputy replaced him in April 2009...
rebranded the station as Real Radio Scotland at 8am on Tuesday 8 January 2002.
Advertising
Scot FM broadcast separate commercial breaks on both its Glasgow and Edinburgh frequencies (100.3 FM in the West and 101.1 FM in the East).Original line up
(from September 1994 - January 1995)- Iain Agnew
- Bruce Findlay
- Brian FordBrian Ford (British radio broadcaster)Brian Ford is a British radio broadcaster starting as one of the original DJs on Radio Clyde from its beginning, and, having worked for other radio stations still works for 1152 Clyde 2 and was previously a continuity announcer on BBC Radio Scotland...
- Haig Gordon
- Kenny Hutchinson
- Simon Lumsden
- Chris Mann
- Gerry Burke
- Ken Mitchell
- Paul Martin Davis
- Margo McDonald
Other Presenters
- Big Al
- Glenn CampbellGlenn Campbell (broadcaster)Glenn Campbell is a Scottish news and current affairs broadcaster, currently working for BBC Scotland. He grew up on Islay and studied at the University of Glasgow.His career began in commercial radio...
- Mhairi-Ann Corrigall
- Jay Crawford
- Jenny Farrish
- Robin Galloway
- Neil Henderson
- Alex Horsburgh
- Donny Hughes
- Steve Jack
- Dougie Jackson
- Joe Kilday
- Mike Riddoch
- Gary Marshall
- Mark McKenzie
- Scottie McClueScottie McClueScottie McClue is the on-air pseudonym of media consultant, actor, writer and broadcaster Colin Lamont, whoin 1992 as Senior producer and presenter at Red Rose Gold in Preston, created the persona for the Scottie McClue Mega Phone-In, networked on various Independent Local Radio stations across the...
- Craig McMurdo
- Frank Pilkington
- Kenny Stevens
- Arlene Stuart
- Wee Fat Boab
- Bill Young