'News: Ofcom Advertises New Local Commercial FM Radio Licence For Swindon' by Grant Goddard
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News story about the advertisement by UK media regulator Ofcom of a new local commercial FM radio licence for the Swindon market, written by Grant Goddard in March 2005 for The Radio Magazine.
![News: Ofcom Advertises New Local Commercial FM Radio Licence For Swindon Page 1
©2005 Grant Goddard
Ofcom has advertised a new Swindon FM local commercial radio licence that
will cover an adult population of 150,000, including the towns of Cricklade,
Highworth, Purton, Wootton Bassett and Wroughton, using a single 200-watt
transmitter. The closing date for applications is 2 June 2005.
Swindon remains one of the most ownership-concentrated commercial radio
markets in the UK, with only two local stations – 'GWR FM' and 'Classic Gold'
– both of whose advertising is sold by GWR. Despite its policy of promoting
increased competition in local markets, former regulator The Radio Authority
had seemed strangely reluctant to license any additional stations in the
Swindon market.
Swindon was a pioneer in community media when local TV station 'Swindon
Viewpoint' was launched on the town’s Radio Rentals cable network on 11
September 1973, financed by EMI. A cable radio station was soon added to
the operation, but both closed in 1981, leaving similar new-town stations in
Milton Keynes and Thamesmead as the only surviving examples from those
pioneering 1970s cable radio experiments. Some of the original Swindon
Viewpoint staff are now involved in 'Swindon FM', created in the 1990s as a
temporary RSL station and now broadcasting full-time on DAB and the
internet.
[First published in 'The Radio Magazine' as 'Swindon FM Advertised', #674, 9 March 2005]
Grant Goddard is a media analyst / radio specialist / radio consultant with thirty years of
experience in the broadcasting industry, having held senior management and consultancy
roles within the commercial media sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Details at
http://www.grantgoddard.co.uk](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
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'News: Ofcom Advertises New Local Commercial FM Radio Licence For Swindon' by Grant Goddard
- 1. NEWS: OFCOM ADVERTISES NEW LOCAL COMMERCIAL FM RADIO LICENCE FOR SWINDON by GRANT GODDARD www.grantgoddard.co.uk March 2005
- 2. News: Ofcom Advertises New Local Commercial FM Radio Licence For Swindon Page 1 ©2005 Grant Goddard Ofcom has advertised a new Swindon FM local commercial radio licence that will cover an adult population of 150,000, including the towns of Cricklade, Highworth, Purton, Wootton Bassett and Wroughton, using a single 200-watt transmitter. The closing date for applications is 2 June 2005. Swindon remains one of the most ownership-concentrated commercial radio markets in the UK, with only two local stations – 'GWR FM' and 'Classic Gold' – both of whose advertising is sold by GWR. Despite its policy of promoting increased competition in local markets, former regulator The Radio Authority had seemed strangely reluctant to license any additional stations in the Swindon market. Swindon was a pioneer in community media when local TV station 'Swindon Viewpoint' was launched on the town’s Radio Rentals cable network on 11 September 1973, financed by EMI. A cable radio station was soon added to the operation, but both closed in 1981, leaving similar new-town stations in Milton Keynes and Thamesmead as the only surviving examples from those pioneering 1970s cable radio experiments. Some of the original Swindon Viewpoint staff are now involved in 'Swindon FM', created in the 1990s as a temporary RSL station and now broadcasting full-time on DAB and the internet. [First published in 'The Radio Magazine' as 'Swindon FM Advertised', #674, 9 March 2005] Grant Goddard is a media analyst / radio specialist / radio consultant with thirty years of experience in the broadcasting industry, having held senior management and consultancy roles within the commercial media sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Details at http://www.grantgoddard.co.uk