No reprieve for theJazz

Digital radio station theJazz will close at midnight on Monday 31 March, parent company GCap has confirmed.

There were hopes of a reprieve after sister station Planet Rock was given a month's stay of execution pending talks with potential bidders.

But a message on www.thejazz.com confirms that the station - whose programmes have already been replaced by continuous music - will close barely a year after its launch on Christmas Day 2006.

"As you may be aware, theJazz is due to close at the end of March. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support of theJazz over the past 15 months.

"We will remain on air until March 31, and we remain committed to supporting jazz music and the musicians who make it."

Sister station Classic FM has introduced a nightly jazz show from midnight till 2am, and a rolling jazz music stream is available online at myclassicfm.com to registered users of the website.

Meanwhile rival radio group GMG has offered to relaunch Jazz FM on digital radio in London and North West England, on condition that regulator Ofcom agrees to drop the remaining requirements to broadcast jazz on its former Jazz FM stations - now known as Smooth Radio - in those areas.

In response, Ofcom says it'll consider the request to change the station formats on their own merits, without any reference to new stations which it says have yet to be formally proposed.

The regulator is inviting public comment on the Jazz FM proposals until April 11 - full details can be found at www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/smoothfmformat/