96.2 The Revolution

The Revolution, a local commercial radio station in the North West, is using all the creative energy of its owner and fun-loving frontman to pull through tough times.

The man behind The Revolution is veteran broadcaster and controversial DJ, Steve Penk. Like Chris Evans, Penk is both an entrepreneur and a showman. On the one hand, he is the sole backer and business brain behind The Revolution. On the other, he is a colourful broadcasting personality – the prime creative force and public face of the station.

Behind the microphone, Penk is famous for his pranks. His trademark is the ‘wind-up', including spoof phone calls to the likes of Tony Blair and Michael Winner. Inevitably, some of his stunts have courted controversy.

But wearing his business hat – as opposed to his carefree on-air persona – Penk is soberly aware of the tough economic climate in which 96.2 The Revolution (to give it its full title) is trying to survive and grow. He has been grappling with the recession from the moment his company, Wind-Up Media Ltd, bought 100% ownership of the Oldham-based station in September 2008. "Literally the day after I signed the purchase agreement Lehmann Brothers collapsed," he says. "My timing couldn't have been worse."

"... Literally the day after I signed the purchase agreement Lehmann Brothers collapsed ... My timing couldn't have been worse ..."

- FPB member Steve Penk,

96.2 The Revolution

The financial crisis has hit the media as hard as any sector. Radio advertising and sponsorship – on which The Revolution depends for its survival – has collapsed over the past two years to less than half its pre-recession levels. But Penk has remained undeterred. Despite having had to cut costs ruthlessly, he has successfully relaunched the station, reawakening local awareness of it and sending audience figures soaring. Now, the key to commercial success is an upturn in the economy and a resurgence in advertising revenues.

The business challenge at The Revolution was a tough one even before the recession took hold. Launched in 1999, it had initially succeeded as a ‘full-service' local station, clocking up over a million listener hours and £1m in advertising revenues. But by the time Penk took over, it had fallen into decline. In 2004 its previous owners had made a catastrophic error, changing its music format to ‘indie' rock and abandoning locally relevant content. The result was a disastrous fall in its audience from a high of 90,000 regular listeners to just 17,000 by 2008.

The ‘Penk Plan' was to flip the format back to a mainstream music policy aimed at a broad audience of 25- to 54-year-olds, and restore The Revolution's local feel. Then there was the power of Penk's own personality, with the man himself fronting ‘Steve Penk at breakfast', weekdays from 6 to 10am; the key part of the broadcasting day where commercial stations live or die.

Despite Penk's celebrity, the Revolution is far from a one-man operation. He has a team of 14 full-time and freelance staff and between them they made the formula work. Recent audience figures show The Revolution's best result for four years, with listening hours up an astonishing 290% since the relaunch.

The Revolution has boosted its output with two new online radio stations – The Steve Penk Wind-Up Channel and Revolution Plus, a music service for the multi-cultural communities of north east Manchester. Further revenues should come from ‘Revolution Events', a new business based around the hire of a large function room on the station's premises.

But for now, commercial success remains frustratingly elusive. With The Revolution's original business plan in tatters, only a revival in advertising and sponsorship will put the station in profit and lay the foundations for expansion. "Advertisers and sponsors have to drive the company's success – and they will," says Penk bullishly. "Most companies had a terrible 2009, but a lot will soon start to spend more on marketing – they have to."

Legal advice to lean on

In battling the recession, The Revolution has had to take some hard-nosed business decisions. Cost-cutting measures have ranged from halving its advertising and sponsorship sales force to dispensing with daily newspapers and even the water cooler.

John Evington, the Station Director, says that the business has benefited hugely from the practical advice available from the Forum, which has been particularly supportive and understanding over the difficult issue of staff cuts. "When we've had difficult decisions to make, we haven't had the luxury of an HR department or the money to appoint legal counsel," he says. "For example, we had to totally restructure the sales force – losing 50% of it – and review all our contracts. Having access to the Forum's legal helpline has been hugely reassuring, and it continues to be very useful."

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