Virgin's Hit FM falls silent after dispute over fees.

(From The Standard)

Byline: Zach Coleman

Virgin Radio has gone off the air in Beijing after falling out with its local partner over the financial terms of their relationship.

Escalating financial demands by Virgin's mainland partner scotched the deal when the price to maintain the relationship quickly went up eightfold despite earlier agreements. Virgin Radio Asia, part of billionaire Richard Branson's Virgin Group, entered China's radio market last year through an agreement to relaunch a station owned by government broadcaster China Radio International (CRI) as Hit FM, replacing a staid mix of Western-language programmes with contemporary …