The Network Chart Show
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| ''The Network Chart Show'' | |
| Genre | Chart |
|---|---|
| Running time | 5pm to 7pm, later 4pm to 7pm |
| Country | England (London) |
| Languages | English |
| Home station | Capital FM |
| Starring | David Jensen |
| Air dates | September 30, 1984 to July 25, 1993 (Rebranded) |
The Network Chart Show was a radio programme launched across Independent Local Radio in the UK on September 30, 1984.
Contents |
[edit] Background
The main presenter was David Jensen (known then as "Kid Jensen"), however Pat Sharp would often provide holiday cover in its later years: in its earlier years Timmy Mallett and Alan Freeman also filled in. The show originally ran from 5pm until 7pm in direct competition to BBC Radio One's Top 40 chart show and was broadcast from Capital Radio's studios on Euston Road in London.
It networked, hence the name in the UK on a number of ILRs using the transmission circuits of Independent Radio News, which meant it was originally in mono on most radio stations. Later, the programme was upgraded to be broadcast in stereo.
The programme used to start 10 seconds after the end of the 5pm IRN bulletin, allowing each local station to play their own 10 second ident before linking up with the national feed. The final song faded out shortly before the 7pm news bulletin, each radio station would opt-out at various times depending on the length of their news in jingle. Eventually the programme was extended starting an hour earlier at 4pm; not all of the stations took the extra hour to begin with.
Programme features included "Network Chart Mastermixes" - where two songs adjacent to each other in the chart were professionally mixed together.
David Jensen would record trailers to run on radio stations during the week which famously started "Hi Chart Fans!!".
In later years the programme was sponsored by coffee company Nescafe.
[edit] The Chart
The data was compiled by MRIB, a different company to the BBC chart (compiled by Gallup), and was notable for factoring in airplay in addition to sales (the Gallup chart was entirely sales-based). For its first three years, the Network Chart was more up-to-date than the BBC chart broadcast simultaneously (which had been around since the previous Tuesday), with many singles entering before they had made the official chart and reaching their peak earlier, but from October 4, 1987 the official chart was brand new on a Sunday afternoon and was more up-to-date, with singles now usually entering it before they made the Network Chart. Even when the Network Chart was more up-to-date, though, the Gallup chart was always considered the "official" Top 40, and indeed was promoted as such by the BBC.
In compiling the chart MRIB employed a sliding scale, meaning that for the lower reaches of the Top 40, airplay counted almost as much as sales. This often meant that the 40-to-20 positions could be very different between the Network and BBC charts. The weight given to airplay diminished the higher one went in the chart, and the Top 10 was meant to be entirely sales-based, although due to the fact that the Network Chart did not include sales from the previous day (Saturday, the single most important record-buying day), it was not unusual for the MRIB and Gallup charts to have different songs at Number One.
[edit] Spin Offs
A TV version launched in 1987 called The Roxy - presented by David Jensen and Kevin Sharkey using the chart data from The Network Chart. The show itself tried and failed to compete with the BBC who had the long established Top of the Pops. It ran for just over a year and was produced by Tyne Tees Television, but was often beaten in the ratings by rival programs on other channels such as EastEnders. The TV show was axed after industrial disputes saw the end of live performances.
[edit] Re-Branding
From August 1, 1993, Neil Fox took over the rebranded Pepsi Network Chart which later became the Pepsi Chart and then hit40uk.
