UK

Greg James and Jamie Laing are going head-to-head this week in BBC Radio 1’s Giant Face Off challenge, which launched this morning at Silverstone Race Circuit.

The two presenters have been joined by all the other Radio 1 DJs, who have been split into Team Greg or Team Jamie, as they attempt to win as many BBC regions across the UK as possible.
Giant flags featuring their faces have been hidden in nineteen BBC Local Radio regions nationwide.
To win a region, a Radio 1 listener or DJ needs to find one of the giant flags and raise it for their team. The first team to raise ten flags and win ten regions will claim victory.
Radio 1 has teased that the loser will face a mystery forfeit, which is being kept secret from both Greg and Jamie.
Listeners are being asked to join in by solving clues, completing challenges, and helping raise giant face flags to support their chosen team.
The first flag was raised this morning at Silverstone after Formula 1’s Lando Norris summoned Jeremiah Asiamah for Team Greg and Melvin Odoom for Team Jamie during Monday’s Breakfast Show.
F1 broadcaster Harry Benjamin hosted the Formula 1-inspired driving challenge at Silverstone, where Jerry and Melvin competed to win the first region and officially kick off Radio 1’s Giant Face Off.
Last week, sports personalities including Lando Norris, England goalkeeper Mary Earps, and cricket star Ben Stokes interrupted tracks on Radio 1 to ask each DJ to choose whether they were Team Greg or Team Jamie for the challenge.

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Ashley Tabor-King will receive this year’s Music Industry Trusts Award in recognition of a two-decade career.

He will be presented with the award on 3rd November at The Grosvenor House Hotel in support of The BRIT Trust, Nordoff & Robbins, and Global Academy.
Ashley founded Global in 2007 and has since grown it into Europe’s largest commercial radio and outdoor company, with brands including Capital, Heart, Classic FM, Radio X, Smooth, and LBC, reaching 51 million people weekly across the UK.
Ashley launched the Global Academy to give young people from all backgrounds a direct pathway into the creative industries. This year it will also be part of the MITS.
Ashley was awarded an OBE in 2017, and a CBE in the King’s Birthday Honours List in 2024 for services to media and entertainment.
Ashley said: “I’m extremely honoured to receive the prestigious Music Industry Trust Award and am delighted that the Awards night will be supporting the important work of the BRIT Trust and Nordoff & Robbins, two extremely important charities in our industry whose work is very close to my heart.
“I’m also delighted and grateful to MITS for including Global Academy this year. I’m deeply humbled by this recognition and would like to thank everyone who has supported Global along the way and of course thank you to the MITS Award committee for this great honour.”
Co-chair of the MITS Award committee, Toby Leighton-Pope, said: “Ashley has redefined what a modern media business looks like. He took Global from an idea to a company that sets the pace for the entire industry.”
Dan Chalmers, co-chair of the MITS Award committee, added: “Ashley has built one of the most successful entertainment groups in Europe, transforming commercial radio and creating a full-scale entertainment powerhouse.
“His work has consistently opened doors, whether for artists breaking through or for young people entering the industry.”
Ashley joins previous MITS recipients including Annie Lennox, Kylie Minogue, Sir Elton John, Michael Eavis and Jason Iley.

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Aiir’s rebranded RadioNewsAI platform Audio.co is now offering AI-generated commercial production and voice-overs.

The New York-based software company says Audio.co enables stations to create short-form content including news bulletins, traffic, weather, and commercials, using AI-generated scripts and voices with production music from TM Studios.
Lee Price, Product Specialist for AI at Aiir, said: “With Audio.co, we’re harnessing the latest advances in machine learning to make professional-sounding commercials and full news bulletins accessible to every radio station.”
CEO Ricki Lee added that the launch marks a key moment for Aiir, combining its broadcast experience with AI to support stations with accessible and polished audio content: “From $19 a month, you can now produce polished commercials, weather, traffic, and news updates that keep audiences engaged and revenue streams growing.”
The platform adds to Aiir’s existing suite of tools for broadcasters, which includes websites, scheduling software, and playout integration.
Audio.co is live now at audio.co

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Radiocentre has launched a new campaign called Advertising Amplified to highlight the extensive reach and proven effectiveness of radio advertising for brands.

Launching today, 21 July, the campaign runs across radio, digital audio, out-of-home, social media, and digital display. It will be supported by a six-part podcast series later this summer to encourage brands to invest more of their media budgets into radio.
Radiocentre worked with Weber Shandwick to devise the Advertising Amplified concept and create the visual assets, while the audio ads were created by Radioville and voiced by comedian Diane Morgan, best known for Motherland and Philomena Cunk.
The humorous ads, in 30, 20, and 10 second versions, illustrate how turning up the volume gets you heard – just like radio advertising – and will run for six months across Radiocentre member stations and their owned audio platforms.
Visual executions created by Weber Shandwick feature reverberating amplifiers to show radio’s outsized impact, with lines such as “Hit them between the ears” and “Campaigns on radio grow market share four times faster”, alongside Radiocentre’s signature call to action, “See Radio Differently.”
Lucy Barrett, client director at Radiocentre, said: “With all the media choices on offer today, Advertising Amplified is to highlight the many proven benefits of radio advertising.
“We hope this campaign will remind advertisers of the medium’s enduring power, its growing audiences (now at 40 million) and the compelling evidence that it can amplify the impact of their advertising.”
Amy Garrett, UK President at Weber Shandwick, commented: “Radio is such a compelling medium for brands, and we relished the opportunity to bring this to life with Radiocentre.
Any Radiocentre member stations with questions about the campaign can contact steve.mcgoldrick@radiocentre.org.

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Heart North East Drive host Vicky Pattison is to host a new weekend show as part of schedule changes on Heart.

Vicky’s new show will air late Saturday afternoons, 4pm – 7pm. Ben Atkinson moves to 10pm – 1am Monday to Thursday and Guy Howard is the new host of weekday overnights from 1am – 4am
The refreshed schedule will also see Olly Murs co-hosting a new weekend breakfast show with Mark Wright every Saturday from 9am – 12pm.
Olly said: “I’m absolutely buzzing to be sharing my Saturday mornings with Wrighty and the Heart listeners.
“They’ve actually given us our own radio show – can you believe it?! We have such a laugh off air, so I know we’ll have a great time doing this together. Expect plenty of banter, big entertainment, and obviously a bit of healthy competition. Can’t wait!!”
Mark Wright added: “It’s not every day that you get to work with your mate, and I just can’t wait for Olly to join Heart. I just know our listeners are going to love listening to Olly every Saturday morning, and we promise to bring you all the good laughs, fun and banter!”
Over on Heart 00s, Fia Tarrant is the new host on Breakfast, 6am-10am.
Heart’s Managing Editor Richard Steel said: “We’re so excited to officially welcome Olly to Heart! He’s already a great friend of the station, and I know our listeners are going to love him on the radio. Olly and Mark have such an infectious energy together, it’s the perfect way to start the weekend!
“I also want to say a huge congratulations to Vicky, Ben, Guy and Fia on their new shows. I can’t wait to hear them in action.”

Radiodays Europe is happening in March 2025 – use code RTY25ATH to get a discount and join us in Athens! More..

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A new pop-up station from Virgin Radio UK launching today, will play music from the Britpop era.

Virgin Radio Britpop, which is available on DAB in London, on the Virgin Radio UK app and smart speakers, will take the Chris Evans Breakfast Show every weekday morning from 6.30am – 10.00am.
The station will play a mix of non-stop music, specials and sessions from the Virgin Radio archive, with bespoke programming from those who were a part of Britpop in the 1990s.
Artists played will include the likes of Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Elastica, Cast, The Charlatans and Manic Street Preachers; with live tracks from Shed 7, Richard Ashcroft, Suede and many more.
Mike Cass, Content Director of Virgin Radio UK, says: “The second coming of Britpop is truly here – from the Oasis reunion to so many seminal British albums celebrating their 30th anniversaries this year. So it’s the perfect time to celebrate the Britpop renaissance and give it the reverence it deserves with its own pop-up station at Virgin Radio.”

Radiodays Europe is happening in March 2025 – use code RTY25ATH to get a discount and join us in Athens! More..

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