Magic DJ hits out at Capital
- Published: 31 July 2008 08:12
- Author: Rob Shepherd
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- Last Updated: 31 July 2008 08:12
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Magic 105.4 breakfast DJ Neil Fox has criticised Capital 95.8's decision to reunite Johnny Vaughan and Denise Van Outen for its breakfast show, claiming it was too backward looking.
Fox, whose rival breakfast show took the number one slot in London among commercial radio stations in last week's second quarter Rajars, accused the GCap Media-owned broadcaster of chasing "column inches" and living off past glories.
"Bringing back Johnny and Denise was a disaster, because times have changed," Fox told Broadcast. "At some stations there is this obsession with 'let's get a celebrity' to host the show and it just doesn't cut through. It gets column inches but you need to know your audience. Chris Tarrant knows that and that's why he wasn't trying to recreate the same thing when he came back to radio [on GMG] and instead chose a different model. He is a fantastic communicator and one of the very best at his job, but his success at Capital wasn't just down to that. Much was down to the content policy at Capital at the time."
Fox also warned Capital was in danger of losing its elite status in London. Referring to the latest Rajars, he said: "Johnny and Denise were [third] behind myself and Jamie [Theakston] and Harriet [Scott] at Heart, but [in terms of influence] I would put Capital in fourth - it's not big like it was. I'd put Kiss in third."
Vaughan and Van Outen's breakfast show regained third spot from Kiss in the second quarter, but did not generate significant audience gains.
This week, uncertainty mounted over Van Outen's future at Capital. Broadcast understands reports this week that she had quit were premature, but her contract is being discussed because of difficulties juggling her TV commitments.
Capital declined to comment.
