GCap Media's recently appointed CEO Fru Hazlitt is under increasing takeover pressure from media heavyweight Charles Allen, ex-ITV CEO now chairman of Global Radio, and tried to shore up her defences by announcing plans to back out of digital radio, but her presentation to shareholders was termed "far from compelling" by Peter Thal Larsen (FT, 12 Feb).

With a limited listener base, Planet Rock and theJazz will be closed down and GCap's stake in the Digital One platform sold. Positive sounds came in the form of GCap's "global first" deal to stream radio to iPod Touch and Nokia handsets.
The BBC and C4's 4Digital both responded strongly with positive statements about their commitment to DAB and intention "to maintain radio's popularity in the digital world" (Guardian, 11 Feb). However, the dreaded "new Betamax" tag has started being applied to digital radio (Daily Mail, 12 Feb) as listeners find more radio sources via broadband. DAB radio sets are still selling well, but "if they should start to stall, DAB risks unravelling at the seams" (Times, 11 Feb). Meanwhile Hazlitt must contend with the seasoned Allen who said "You can't shrink your way to growth. The announcement lacked the passion that's needed to win people over" (Times, 11 Feb).

Based on 44 items from 9 - 12 February 2008