Capital Radio relaunched this week with a new schedule, new music policy, 24-hour news and less advertising. The station is desperate to regain its number one in London spot from rival Heart after seeing its audience fall from 2.17m to 1.8m within a year.
The new music mix, aimed at 25- to 34-year-olds, ditches manufactured pop for mainstream R&B; melodic singer-songwriters like James Blunt and Dido; 'feel-good soul', like Janet Jackson and Destiny's Child; and pop/funk from the likes of Justin Timberlake and Jamiroquai.
DJs Chris Brooks and Paul Gillies have been handed two key planks of the schedule with a four-hour afternoon slot and the main evening show respectively.
But Capital has stuck with the hosts of its two biggest shows - Johnny Vaughan on breakfast and Richard Bacon on drivetime. Both presenters divide opinion and Vaughan's style in particular could work against Capital's aim of recapturing a female-biased audience.
A "no more than two ads in an row" policy has been instituted to address one the major gripes of listeners to commercial stations - that there are too many ads. But halving ad minutage is a high risk strategy for a company that sorely needs the contents of advertisers' wallets.
Three days in to the relaunch, what do you think of the new Capital? Is the mix of R&B and singer-songwriters a distinctive sound, or does it jar? Is there a greater 'London feel' to the station? Do less ads stop you from station-hopping? And should Capital have paid off Vaughan and tried a new breakfast DJ, or is he the right man for the job?
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