Radio bosses to bring Galaxy vibe to Scotland.

Plans by Galaxy to rebrand Xfm Scotland to include music policy shift

Galaxy network programme director Mike Cass and GCap managing director of music brands Darren Henley are visiting staff at Xfm Scotland this week to explain Global Radio's plans to rebrand the station under the Galaxy brand.

The company announced last week that it was to rebrand Xfm Scotland as Galaxy Scotland before the end of the year, as part of its strategy to expand the style and sound of Galaxy across the UK.

In a short statement Global Radio's executive director Richard Park said that the prospect of the output from the Glasgow studios "is an exciting one". Park did not wish to comment further on the changes, telling Music Week that, "It is too early to say anything."

However, a leaked email from Park to Global staff suggests that the music policy at the rebranded station will be changing to fit in with Galaxy's more mainstream pop approach, an impression reinforced by the decision not to renew the contract of award-winning Xfm DJ Jim Gellatly, renowned as a champion of new music. Any change to the format, however, would have to be approved by Ofcom.

"A major part of the Global radio strategy has centred around the desire to spread the sound and style of Galaxy to as many areas of the UK as possible," Park writes in the email. "These are exciting times for the Galaxy Network as we expand into central Scotland."

Henley wrote an email to Xfm Scotland staff explaining that he would be visiting the office today (Monday) to answer any questions staff had about the change.