Smooth FM.(THE INSIDER)

London's 102.2 Smooth FM is hoping the arrival of David Prever at breakfast will help it to pull off a similar spike in its listening figures as that experienced by its sister station in Manchester.

Just 18 months after being rebranded from Jazz to 100.4 Smooth FM, the north west station has become the number one player in the region in its targeted 35 to 54-year-old market. Now, with former Heart 106.2 breakfast presenter Prever on board, the brand's managing director Roy Bennett is confident of similar progress in the capital, which changed in June from Jazz to Smooth.

"We believe David will help us achieve the position we are aiming for, of becoming a top five London station," says Bennett. "His heritage in the region will enable us to stand out in the fiercely-competitive London market."

Looking to differentiate themselves from the competition with a commitment to fewer commercials, both stations have an intensive music policy which appeals to mature, affluent women. As Bennett notes, "You won't find screaming callers or endless ad breaks."

To achieve this difference, the brand includes fewer ads per hour and airs them in fewer break slots than average. "Commercial radio's biggest challenge in the UK is not to lose sight of serving both the listener and the advertiser," says Bennett. "It's a lesson stations in the US didn't learn, who, in a bid to drive up shareholder values, cut costs--mainly programming, and piled in the revenues--mainly lots of ads and lost their listeners in the process."

While citing Radio Two as the brand's biggest competitor, ...