BBC Radio 1 is to launch a new Sunday Official Chart Show to “build anticipation” ahead of the final singles chart the following Friday.
The station is partnering with the Official Charts Company on the show in the historic Sunday teatime slot. It will be competing with commercial chart shows on Bauer’s Hits Radio and Global stations including Heart and Capital.
The Official Chart: First Look will air from 6pm to 7pm, providing the earliest indications of the Official Singles Chart based on early sales and streaming reports. The regular weekly Friday rundown, hosted by Scott Mills, will continue to be broadcast as normal.
The station dropped its Midweek Chart Update Wednesday show when the OCC moved the chart day from Sunday to Friday in 2015.
The aim is build anticipation for all of the new music released that week
Martin Talbot
The new Radio 1 chart show is billed as the “fastest aggregated picture of the new week’s biggest hits for the UK”, reflecting popularity across the full spectrum of the Official Charts Company’s sales and streams panel, including all of the UK’s key download and streaming services – Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music, iTunes, Deezer, Google/YouTube and YouTube Music, among others.
The show will launch on Sunday (July 14), hosted by Cel Spellman and Katie Thistleton live from Salford, and focus on the Top 20 biggest tracks from data collected on Friday and Saturday. The latest Top 10 will be played in full, although the move comes at a time of increasingly static singles charts.
Official Charts Company chief executive, Martin Talbot, said: “This is a fantastic new show on BBC Radio 1, giving a very first glance at the data we have collected at this early stage in the chart week - raising profile of new tracks which are making a move ahead of the full, Official Singles Chart rundown every Friday. The aim is build anticipation for all of the new music released that week and provide a running commentary using our most preliminary streaming and sales.”
Thistleton said: “The Official Chart is such iconic radio and we know that during that slot our listeners love to hear the best chart tunes and get shout outs. I love listening to the official chart with Scott and love that we get to be a part of that buzz!”
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