It's been an eventful summer! I hope you've found some time to relax - it would be great to see your holiday pics if you have any that can help us chill! I'm just back from a short break, and can see there's a lot to update you on.
First, the big news that I'm sorry many of you only found when we dropped off DAB in your area. As you may know, our parent company Global Radio decided to swap Chill for other stations new to DAB in much of the UK. Many people have asked why, and are asking what's going to happen to Chill. We've not explained this well enough, or given you enough notice about the changes, and I'm sorry for that. There are some things about the future which are works in progress, so we don't have news to share about everything, but here is where we are now.
I started writing some history and context here to explain more about how Chill came to be on air in the first place, why it has been sustained without the need for too much commercial activity, and why this is changing. It's turning out to be a longer read than I expected, so I'm going to put it into a separate post - "A brief history of Chill" - for those of you who are interested. Suffice to say here, Chill's parent company has reached a point where it's no longer beneficial for them to keep running Chill on DAB in much of the UK.
We announced a number of areas in which dates had been set to swap Chill for other stations. Unfortunately this was at very short notice. I would have preferred to give you much more notice. The reason I could not is that such swaps require the approval of radio regulator Ofcom, this approval had not been given until shortly before the swap and, for understandable business reasons, the discussions any company has with Ofcom about changes like this are sensitive and never publically shared until approval is given for changes. Once approval was given, Global decided to make the change very quickly, again for understandable reasons. The stations which replaced Chill make more money. It's a company's job to make money, so management was simply living up to its responsibilities.
Since we announced the list of areas in which Chill was being swapped over, there were further discussions with Ofcom, and approval has since been granted to swap Chill out in Wolverhampton and Coventry (where the switch has now happened) and in Scotland (where it has not yet happened). Although I would prefer to be able to tell you a date for the Scotland change, it's not yet been set, so I have no specific news - it's likely to be very soon, however.
There are no current plans to remove Chill from DAB in Birmingham or London. In fact, the London coverage area should improve slightly as the plan is to move from the London 3 multiplex to London 1, but at the same time it will start broadcasting in mono. Most DAB radios only have one speaker, so you might not notice much change, but you'll probably find better sound quality on internet radio if you compare. Again, I don't yet have a date for this change but will let you know when I do.
Chill has been extremely fortunate to have had carriage on digital cable and satellite recently, for much longer than we had expected! Just so you know, and as we've said many times, these have always been temporary arrangements, and are subject to change at short notice. So please don't be too shocked if we move from here - though we'll stay for as long as we can.
Now for the understandable questions many have asked - will Chill disappear completely, and what can I do to help it stay on or get it back on DAB?
I've always believed (as I've heard many of you believe) that Chill can and should develop into a business which fully covers its costs while helping you chill. That strikes me as common sense in a stressful time - there are businesses that have paid, and more that will want to pay, to associate with the station and help listeners chill. This is the long term way to keep Chill going.
But it's not easy to do this on DAB. For one thing, we can't just flick the switch back to where we were. Global can only run a limited number of stations in each area (due to monopoly restrictions) and it has made its choice. If another company wanted to run a new chillout station in those areas, it would have to negotiate a licence as well as carriage costs, it would find a lack of available space in many areas, and the overall cost would probably work out too high to bear.
There is a possibility instead of running Chill nationally on DAB. This would obviously be amazing. Cost estimates run to the best part of a million pounds a year at the moment, without any kind of marketing budget (which never had anyway, mind you!). Just so you know, this has always been a considered option, but a difficult one.
While we can't plan to get back on your DAB radio right away, we are continuing to help you chill online. You will carry on hearing new mixes every night, and new tunes as we discover them through the day. Your suggestions and requests are, as always, vital for this. We've always been about swapping tune ideas, just as Chill was born from the idea of swapping chillout compilations, and the listener community really appreciates the time you spend on this and our other sites, investigating music and sharing what helps you chill.
Finally, let me offer a personal point of view on the business discussions about Chill's future. The station is owned by Global. I'm very appreciative of the support Global has given Chill over the years. I feel very privileged that being on has meant we could form a relationship with you, and we've worked to give you this space to share what helps you chill. As you continue to take part, shape and share it, I think this is a really important question:
Who really owns chill? (Note I'm talking about "chill" as an idea, not "Chill" the station with bills to pay to stay on air.)
If we've been helping you chill, and you can share this with your friends, please do. Find some shareable music (we're growing our collection at
www.helpyouchill.com), make a playlist, pass it on. Or grab one of our free downloadable shows, pop it on a CD, give it to a mate. Look around our track listings and make a compilation of your favourite chilled tunes. Or just use the track ideas to make a free YouTube compilation and send the link around on email. You choose.
Most radio stations are about "listen to us, lock it in, don't listen to anything else." We've never been about that. Instead we have a mission - to help you chill. That means pointing outwards at the things you've recommended. We've always worked to give you the power to create your own chilled mix, playlist or station, and help people chill with it. Technically, that's not just possible now, it's easier than ever, and I'd encourage you to have fun and give it a go.
The point is, Global owns "Chill", but it's your chill to share.
I'll be talking with Global about Chill with that in mind.
Thanks again for making it all happen here. Please keep sharing what helps you chill.
Best wishes,
Bern