Programming chief leaves Capital FM

Capital FM's programming chief Jeff Smith has departed the station as part of a shake-up of its music strategy.

In the face of increased competition from Heart, Kiss FM and Radio 1, the station intends to appeal to London's diverse community by including more dance, rock and R&B music on its playlist, which is currently dominated by pop music.

As part of the changes, Capital have introduced album chart and rock music shows into its programming, and will appoint a dedicated music scheduler to oversee the two current schedulers at the station. Group programming director Keith Pringle will fill the role until a permanent successor can be found.

Mr Smith, who joined Capital in 2000, was understood to have been left without a viable remit after the station created two other programming roles in a shake up last year. Both sides stated that the departure was amicable.