Hazlitt: More Radio Consolidation Would Be A 'Distraction'

Fru Hazlitt

GCAP MEDIA's new CEO FRU HAZLITT, has told the commercial radio industry to stop being distracted by further attempts at consolidation and to end its obsession with the BBC, reports U.K.'s THE GUARDIAN. HAZLITT said her priority was to grow the power and reach of GCAP's brands, which include CLASSIC FM, CAPITAL 95.8 and XFM, across a range of media outlets including broadband.

"It's not so much about size, it's about brands and brand behaviour," she told MEDIAGUARDIAN on her first day in the job. "We need to demonstrate more than we have to date the quality of our brands. We don't need the distraction [of consolidation]. I think we will be serving our investors better if we are building growth within our own stable."

GCAP's Chairman, RICHARD EYRE, agreed that the company -- formed from the 2005 merger of GWR and CAPITAL RADIO -- was in no hurry to launch a new wave of radio consolidation.

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