Radio 1 boss to leave station after 13 years

Image caption, In 2003 Mr Parfitt introduced Radio 1's Big Weekend and oversaw the launch of 大象传媒 Radio 1Xtra

大象传媒 Radio 1 controller Andy Parfitt is to leave his current role after 13 years, it has been announced.

Parfitt, who also oversees 大象传媒 1Xtra and the Asian Network, will leave at the end of July to pursue new opportunities.

The 大象传媒 said that Parfitt, who has been in the job since 1998, had helped bring record audiences to Radio 1 and 1Xtra.

His 13 years in the role make him the longest-serving controller Radio 1 has had since its launch in 1967.

"I am immensely proud to have held this position and I leave with all three stations in great shape, with their listening figures at record highs and following a great 大象传媒-wide Glastonbury event," Parfitt said.

"I'm most proud of the incredible teams I'm leaving behind - a group of talented, hard-working, creative and inspirational people who are a credit to the 大象传媒."

'Supportive'

Zane Lowe paid tribute to his boss saying he "literally changed my life", and breakfast show presenter Chris Moyles called him "incredibly supportive".

Parfitt is seen as a strong supporter of Moyles, and has frequently defended him in the face of criticism.

Earlier this month it was announced that Moyles' contract had been extended until 2014.

Last year he spoke out in defence of the DJ, who criticised his employers on air because he had not been paid in two months.

At the time the controller said: "For me, it was a question of deciding whether he had overstepped the red lines or not. In my judgement, he hadn't."

In 2003 Parfitt introduced Radio 1's Big Weekend and oversaw the launch of 大象传媒 Radio 1Xtra.

However, in April 大象传媒 Trustee David Liddiment criticised Radio 1, saying it had failed to reduce the average age of its listeners, two years after the 大象传媒 Trust put forward its review.

Speaking at the Voice of the Listener and Viewer conference, Mr Liddiment acknowledged the station had "made a number of changes to the schedule and line-up", but their target demographic had still not been reached.

In June a report commissioned by the 大象传媒's director of audio and music, Tim Davie, suggested that management at Radio 1 needed to be streamlined.

The report said the two stations should examine operating under a "single-tier management structure" within a single building and remove "all mirrored departments".