UK

talkSPORT has been granted permission from Ofcom to turn off seven of its 18 transmitters.

The move will reduce its national AM radio coverage from 92% to 88.9% of the UK adult population.
The transmitter sites talkSPORT will close are; Clipstone (Nottinghamshire), Duxhurst (Surrey), Lisnagarvey (in County Antrim, Northern Ireland), Lydd (Kent), Stockton (Durham/North Yorkshire), Southwick/Brighton (West Sussex) and Rusthall (Tunbridge Wells).
During the consultation on whether or not to allow the request, Ofcom said it received one response agreeing with the proposal, one response questioning the rationale for the switch off of one specific transmitter and suggesting an amendment to one other, and two neither agreeing nor disagreeing to the specific proposals.
The reasons given by talkSPORT for these changes include declining listenership to its AM service as people turn to alternative platforms, considered against the ongoing viability of each transmitter site.
The 11 sites which remain consist of the following sites: Brookman’s Park (Hertfordshire), Droitwich (North Worcestershire), Moorside Edge (West Yorkshire), Westerglen (Falkirk), Washford (Somerset), Fareham (Hampshire), Dartford Tunnel (Kent), Wallasey (Cheshire), Boston (Suffolk), Wrekenton (Newcastle) and Postwick (Norfolk).
The station will remain available nationally on DAB and other platforms.
Absolute Radio, which held the only other national AM licence for commercial radio, switched off all its transmitters in January 2023 and was fined £25,000 for doing so.

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Two radio programmes from BBC Radio Solent are enjoying new leases of life as weekly television shows.
Alex Dyke’s Bubblegum & Cheese, with an hour of bubblegum pop and cheesy classics including The Sweet, The Monkees, MUD, Suzi Quatro, The Turtles, is now airing on Rewind TV via Sky and Freeview.
In addition, Richard Latto introduces Stereo Underground with indie and alternative anthems, Stranglers, Sex Pistols, The Jam, Buzzcocks, plus viewers requests.
Both programmes were once part of the schedule on local radio stations, broadcast from BBC Radio Solent.
They are now on Saturday nights from 4pm and 5pm for an hour each.
Alex Dyke told RadioToday: “I could never understand why Bubblegum & Cheese, a show that was so popular a large part of people’s Saturday mornings, was cancelled.
“But like all of us I work hard on ratings because at the end of the day great listening figures meant that you had a happy audience and a happy boss.
“As the BBC is no longer interested in audience numbers it’s very hard to know what they want. I glad it’s found a home at Rewind TVand they are nice people to work for.”
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Kay Wright has been appointed Head of BBC Midlands to lead all of the BBC’s local services for radio, TV and online across the West and East Midlands.

She will be responsible for BBC Radio WM, BBC CWR, BBC Radio Stoke, BBC Radio Shropshire, BBC Radio Hereford & Worcester, BBC Radio Derby, BBC Radio Leicester and BBC Radio Nottingham.
In addition to Midlands Today, East Midlands Today, two Sunday Politics programmes, and the region’s digital output.
She takes over from Hayley Valentine who became Director of BBC Scotland last year.
Kay joined the BBC in 1999 and went on to lead BBC Radio Leicester and BBC CWR in the Midlands as Executive Editor before joining the BBC worked in regional and national newspapers.
Most recently she has been heading up TV and digital news output in the North East of England and before that headed up the BBC in the Midlands on an interim basis in 2023.
Kay Wright says: “Having spent much of my career in Leicester, my heart truly belongs in the Midlands. I can’t wait to get back to work with the enormously talented, creative and committed news and programme-makers this region boasts. It will be a huge privilege to work with BBC colleagues as well as regional stakeholders to deliver the highest quality content for our audiences.”
Jason Horton, Director of Production for BBC Local, says: “Kay is a hugely experienced editorial leader who has led a number of teams across the Midlands over the past few years. Her relentless focus on our audiences, understanding what they want from BBC Local, her creativity and her leadership, are qualities that I am sure will make her time leading the BBC across the Midlands a huge success. I am excited to see what she achieves.”
Kay will take up her new role as Head of BBC Midlands from Monday 17 March.

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Olivia Attwood and Pete Wick are getting together to host their own show every weekend on KISS.
The pair are known for appearing on reality television programmes, including The Only Way is Essex
The news was revealed this morning on the KISS Breakfast Show with Jordan and Perri. Pete said: ‘I don’t know why they’ve trusted us with this, but we’re going to have our own show on Sunday’s, 2 til 5. We’re part of the KISS family baby!
Olivia agreed: ‘We’re learning on the job so bear with us, but there’s going to be LOLs, us being mean to each other. The not swearing is going to be tricky…’
‘We signed the contract and clearly didn’t read it,’ points out Pete. ‘But I promise you it’s going to be good and we’re having loads of fun doing it.
Sunday Roast is set to launch the day after the BRIT Awards and Liv reveals that it was a decision that KISS bosses may come to regret as she usually needs ‘two to three working days off grid after a night out so we might just have to go straight through…’
Olivia Attwood: ‘I’d like to say that having my own show on KISS was a dream come true, but then I’d be saying I dream about Pete Wicks and that is definitely not something I’d be admitting too. However, I will enjoy getting the chance to wind him up every week because annoyed Pete always makes me laugh, so make sure you’re with us every Sunday for chat, celebrity guests and no doubt too much information about what we’ve been up to over the last seven days.’
Pete Wicks said: ‘Not entirely sure who thought it was a good idea to let me loose on the radio or how I feel about having to see Liv every Sunday, but other than that I am obviously delighted to be joining KISS and enjoying a Sunday Roast with anyone who wants to listen in. See you Sunday 2nd March – hopefully we’ll have made it back from the BRIT Awards in time for the show…’
KISS Content Director, Rebecca Frank said: ‘Having been a fan of both Liv and Pete for a long time I knew they’d be a brilliant partnership on the radio, and in The Sunday Roast we’ve found the perfect show for them.
“Have I had second thoughts about putting them live on-air the day after the BRIT Awards? Honestly, yes. But where’s the fun in knowing your presenters will show up?! I can’t wait to listen in and find out what they’ve been up to! Welcome to Team KISS Liv and Pete.”

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WorldDAB is marking World Radio Day by releasing its latest infographic, which highlights the ongoing global growth of DAB+.
The updated graphic shows device sales now nearing the 150 million milestone, with the fast-growing markets of France and Australia leading the way with sales of receivers now over 10 million each, alongside the well-established DAB+ auto market.
Sales in eleven core markets now total 145,195,000, and almost all new cars across Europe come with DAB+ as standard.
In France, this is coupled with DAB+ coverage now exceeding 60% of the population, and in Spain, public broadcaster RTVE is heading towards the goal of 50% coverage with the recent addition of transmitters covering the metropolitan areas of Valladolid and Zaragosa.
WorldDAB President Jacqueline Bierhorst said: “13 February is an important day in the global calendar for anyone as passionate about broadcast radio as me and the members of the WorldDAB family. Today we can share new data showing how DAB+ continues to grow in both new and established markets around the world. This, coupled with our new DAB+ Automatic Safety Alerts, which can provide life-saving warnings of environmental emergencies such as storms and flooding, demonstrates the critical role of broadcast radio.”
Other highlights from WorldDAB’s infographic, which incorporates newly released data from across 2024, include:

Significant broadening of choice for listeners with over 60 national stations now on DAB in the United Kingdom, against five on analogue; and growth also in Belgium, Czechia and Italy where listeners can enjoy over 50 national DAB+ stations.
New data on DAB+ coverage in markets such as Croatia (98.4%); Slovenia (92%), Poland (87.9%); Serbia (80%) and Slovakia (72%).

WorldDAB’s infographic details the rollout status in 25 emerging markets, as well as a comprehensive overview of DAB receiver sales, road and population coverage, household penetration and the number of national stations on DAB/DAB+ compared to FM.
Data from the new infographic will be highlighted in WorldDAB keynote sessions at the Saudi Media Forum on 19 – 21 February in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union Digital Broadcasting Symposium in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 24 – 27 February.

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The nominations for the 2025 Commercial Radio News Awards in association with IRN and Sky News have been announced.

Sky News Daily podcast presenter Niall Paterson revealed the shortlists for the 13 categories which recognise quality journalism, presentation and production in commercial radio news and sport.
The winners – including the recipient of the Gold Award – will be announced at Sky Cinema at Sky’s west London HQ on Wednesday 26th March 2025.
And the nominees are…

NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR
Joseph Draper – Global’s Newsroom South
Sophie Green – Hits Radio North East, Bauer Media Audio
Ellie Tutt – Global’s Newsroom South 
Bronwen Weatherby – Global’s Newsroom Wales
Poppy Lindsey – Global’s Newsroom South

BEST INTERVIEW
Red Rooms – Global’s Newsroom North West  
Kate McCann interviews Kemi Badenoch at Conservative Party Conference – Times Radio
Southport Stabbings – Global’s Newsroom North West
Clare’s Law: Maddy’s Story – Manchester’s Hits Radio, Bauer Media Audio
Knife Crime on the Coast – Global’s Newsroom South

REPORTER OF THE YEAR (NATIONAL)
Charlotte Lynch – LBC and LBC News
Alice Faulkner – Hits Radio Network Scotland, Bauer Media Audio
Nick Ellerby – News UK Broadcasting, Times Radio, TalkRADIO and talkSPORT
Henry Riley – LBC and LBC News
Victoria Glover – Hits Radio UK, Bauer Media Audio

SPECIALIST REPORTER OF THE YEAR
Natasha Clark – LBC
Georgie Prodromou – Bauer Media Audio
Max Scott – talkSPORT
Alan Smith – Hits Radio Network Scotland, Bauer Media Audio
Fraser Knight – LBC and LBC News

REPORTER OF THE YEAR (REGIONAL)
Charlotte Linnecar – Greatest Hits Radio Lincolnshire, Bauer Media Audio
Heather Cartwright – Global’s Newsroom West
Katie Lyons – Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire, Bauer Media Audio
Chris Chambers – Global’s Newsroom North West
Liam Ross – MFR, Bauer Media Audio

BEST SPORTS COVERAGE
The Great North Run 2024 – North East News Team, Bauer Media Audio
Olympic Games Paris 2024 – talkSPORT
The Life and Legacy of Rob Burrow – Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire, Bauer Media Audio
2024 Sports Coverage – LBC News and Global’s Newsroom, London
Ipswich’s Promotion to the Premier League: 22 years in the making – Greatest Hits Radio Suffolk, Bauer Media Audio

BEST NEWS STORY OR COVERAGE
Benwell Explosion – Hits Radio North East, Bauer Media Audio
Murdered Yards From Home: The Knowle West Killings – Global’s Newsroom West
RAAC and Ruin: Torry’s Concrete Crisis – Northsound 1 News Team, Bauer Media Audio
Southport Stabbings – Global’s Newsroom North West
The 2024 ‘Genny Lex’ – Kiss

NEWSREADER OF THE YEAR (NATIONAL)
Lottie Morley – Global’s Newsroom London
Steve Forbes – talkSPORT
Simon Conway – LBC and LBC News
Emma Kirwan – talkSPORT
Alice Young – Global’s Newsroom London

NEWSREADER OF THE YEAR (REGIONAL)
Chloe St John – Downtown Radio and Cool FM, Bauer Media Audio
Sophie Adams – Global’s Newsroom Scotland
Owen Arands – Hits Radio Liverpool, Bauer Media Audio
Collette McGonigle – Clyde 1, Bauer Media Audio
Micky Welch – Hits Radio North East, Bauer Media Audio 

BEST NEWS SPECIAL 
Banged Up in Boro – Karen Liu, Hits Radio Teesside, Bauer Media Audio
Bump on the Road: Scotland’s 100 mile baby dash – MFR News Team, Bauer Media Audio
Mass Graves – Chris Chambers, Global’s Newsroom North West
The Lighter Side of News – Micky Welch, Hits Radio North East, Bauer Media Audio
Paying Through the Nose: an investigation into nasal tanning sprays – Alice Faulkner, Clyde 1, Bauer Media Audio

NEWS TEAM OF THE YEAR (hubs or stations under 1.5 million TSA)
South Yorkshire News Team – Bauer Media Audio
MFR – Bauer Media Audio
Hits Radio Teesside News Team – Bauer Media Audio
East of England News Team – Bauer Media Audio
Forth 1 News Team – Bauer Media Audio

NEWS TEAM OF THE YEAR (hubs or stations over 1.5 million TSA)
Clyde 1 Glasgow News Team
Global’s Newsroom North West
Hits Radio North East News – Bauer Media Audio
Global’s Newsroom South
West Yorkshire News Team – Bauer Media Audio

STUDENT JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR – supported by the BJTC
Gabriella-Mae Mitchell – Bournemouth University
Lucas Zanarotti – City, University of London
Daniel Macleod – Glasgow Caledonian University
Ellie Hayns – The University of Salford
Geetanjali Kaushal – Bournemouth University

IRN Editor and Chair of Judges, Dave Terris said: 
Commercial radio journalists continue to provide engaging and impactful coverage of local, national and international news for a record number of listeners. The shortlists prove that teams are prepared to invest in stories that matter to their audiences and deliver them with quality and creativity. Congratulations to all the nominees and thank you to all the judges for their expertise in reaching their decisions. 

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