Who wants to be a millionaire? Chris Tarrant, clearly….

So, several years on, Chris Tarrant is returning to radio, earning £1m a year on the GMG stations. Makes sense really, as he’ll still be able to continue with his TV work (which has had mixed success in recent times). He’s one of only a handful of DJ’s who actually have a real name for themselves. Most people know the music on stations, but how many people would know the names of more than a handful of DJ’s on their favourite station?

The real interesting development is the GMG isn’t paying jack shit for him, his salary is being paid by Nissan who will be sponsoring the show. Interesting development in a number of ways.

Firstly, what sort of knock-on effect will it have on the stations advertisers of competing products? I can’t imagine Honda adverts being allowed during a Nissan sponsored show. In that respect, it may actually hit revenues, although the guess is that GMG have factored this in and expect increased revenue for higher audiences to offset the loss of a couple of advertisers.

Secondly, will it boost the stations audience beyond the single show? Tarrant is able to set his own playlist, unlike the tighly programmed selections on most of the remaining shows. Can’t really see it; in this respect the station is just acting as an outlet for the talent, there would be nothing to stop him heading to Virgin name TBC or Planet Rock in a year’s time, and when he heads, the listeners will follow. And what if he slates Duffy’s new single (understandable), only for it to follow a couple of songs in on the next show, it hardly adds credibility to the station.

Thirdly, could it start to shift the balance of power away from the actual stations and towards the individual DJ’s? I can’t see this happening on a widescale basis; most of the time people tune to a station because they know what they’re getting; most people aren’t going to keep switching stations from show to show.

I imagine the show will have the ‘Take That’ effect. People who used to hear him on Capital many years ago will feel a sense of nostalgia and tune in. Still, interesting times…

~ by dodgyreception on July 3, 2008.