The move could see longstanding radio brands disappear from the landscape, to be replaced with stronger brands within the merged group's stations.
Commercial director Linda Smith said that GCap, which brought together the Capital Radio Group and GWR, would be reviewing the performance of all of its stations within the group over the next few months to address the increased portfolio of radio brands now the merger is complete.
Smith added that the next few Rajar results would decide which stations within the GCap portfolio could be strong digital prospects and which could be re-evaluated.
"Without a doubt there are certain stations within certain markets that are going to, at best, retain their audience in the short term before we get into digital,"she said.
"What we're doing over the next three months is to say which ones have got legs to go right into the future – and it might be that we've got too many to sustain, really."
Smith said that she expected digital radio to break into profit within the next two years and the network was ready for a digital future, but added that GCap was focused on giving audiences as well as media agencies and their advertisers the right portfolio of brands by the time digital radio reached a tipping point.
Smith said: "The issue and challenge for us is: can we use that market position to improve ourselves so we can invest more in our product and in our audiences? That's the biggest challenge we've got."
GCap wouldn't be the first radio station to look at rebranding its stations since Ofcom took over from the Radio Authority as the industry's regulator at the end of 2003.
The Guardian Media Group Radio changed its Jazz FM format to Smooth FM in both the West Midlands and most recently London.
Chrysalis Radio is expected to change the name and format of the Nottingham-based Century FM, which it acquired from GCap Media, to its Heart brand by the end of the year.
GCap Media owns, among others: the Capital FM network, the regional network Century FM, national station Classic FM and local stations Red Dragon FM in Wales and Ocean FM in Southampton, as well as former GWR Group properties Trent FM in Nottingham and East Anglian Radio in Norwich.
_1.jpg)
.jpg)
