UK

Two groups have announced plans today to apply for the upcoming Poole, Purbeck and Wimborne small-scale DAB multiplex licence in Dorset.

Poole based telecommunications company, Wide FM, has teamed up with Poole’s Hot Radio and Bournemouth’s Hope FM to create a bid, who together are also applying for the nearby Bournemouth and Boscombe licence.
Wide Digital LTD says it has received support from ‘Wimborne FM’, AIR 107.2 in Weymouth, Unity 101 in Southampton and More Radio based in Sussex.
Wayne Simpson, Director of Wide Digital comments: “We are pleased to be working with local community radio stations to enable them and many other small stations to broadcast on DAB. This new platform will not only allow the local community radio stations to be enjoyed in crystal clear digital stereo, it will also increase choice for listeners in Poole, The Purbecks and Wimborne, by bringing new types of radio stations to the area for the first time.”
Kevin Scott and Daniel Withey, representatives of Poole and Bournemouth community radio stations Hot Radio and Hope FM respectively, say: “We’re so lucky to have such a wide range of community radio and local interest stations in our area. This SSDAB licence could finally give our community the best access to all local radio has to offer.”
See more at widedigital.net or email info@widedigital.net to get involved.
In addition, P&P Digital Media describe themselves as a team of committed broadcast professionals, many of whom are based in the local area.
P&P Digital Media’s Operations Director is Paul Sutton, who says DAB listening is higher than FM so now is a great time for the application, which is supported by local and regional stations including Radio Wimborne.
Glen Fowler, Director of Radio Wimborne commented: “The philosophy of P&P Digital Media is also Radio Wimborne’s philosophy – of providing radio services for our local communities here in Dorset. We are also confident in their experience, and that we believe they will run and maintain the SSDAB multiplex for the benefit of the community.”
Paul Sutton adds: “Poole Radio have also contacted us. They are applying for their own community licence to broadcast and will also be part of the P&P Digital Media multiplex, assuming we are successful with our OFCOM application.”
Forest FM, which broadcasts to the adjacent communities of Ferndown and Verwood, also say they would like to expand their service across the Poole area. Station Manager Steve Saville says they’re “interested in the possibility of broadcasting Forest FM on P&P Digital Media’s SSDAB Multiplex as proposed for Poole, Purbeck and Wimbome” and “We intend to apply for an OFCOM licence for this purpose”.
Salisbury Radio Station Manager Craig Hicks adds: “The fact that there is so much interest in the SSDAB applications for Bournemouth and Poole only goes to show what a passion there is from the listening public for more local, and more specialist, radio stations.”
Other stations who are supporting the bid include Bournemouth One, Hospital Radio Bedside, Gaydio, Sunrise Radio, Sunrise Radio Gold, FG Chic Radio, London Music Radio, and many more.
Contact Paul Sutton on 07736 283973 / admin@ppdigital.media or via ppdigital.media if you are interested in getting involved.
Elsewhere in Dorset, RadioToday understands there will also be three applications for the Bournemouth and Boscombe licence, but is not aware of any for the Weymouth, Dorchester and Bridport licence in the west of the county.
Photo: Sandbanks, Poole, with Purbeck in the background. […]

BBC Radio 2 is putting the spotlight on Folk Music once again with a week of programming with five folk artists writing five songs.

As the RNLI marks its 200th anniversary in 2024, this year’s theme is about people whose lives are intertwined with the sea.
Each of the listeners have been paired with five folk singer-songwriters who will write original songs based on their lives and tales of the water.
Mark Radcliffe says: “I’m so proud to be part of the return of the award-winning 21st Century Folk and genuinely so proud of Radio 2 for putting so much behind the project. It is a wholly noble endeavour.
“It adheres to the age old tradition of telling the stories of peoples’ lives in folk song whilst simultaneously highlighting experiences that chime with many of us. In addition it showcases the work of some of our finest contemporary folk artists and gives them the lifeblood of mainstream exposure.
“I couldn’t be prouder, and especially in the year RNLI celebrates its 200th anniversary. As I said, it is a wholly noble endeavour.”
Helen Thomas says: “Radio 2’s commitment to specialist music is unsurpassed on UK radio and, following last year’s award-winning 21st Century Folk, I’m proud that it is returning later this month. Once again, we’ll be putting beautifully crafted British story-telling through the prism of folk music at the heart of our daytime output and on BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer with five new songs about five extraordinary people from across the UK.”
21st Century Folk in 2023 put the focus on five people who live and work in the North East of England and won Gold for Best Music Special at the ARIAs, Silver for Best Music Special and Bronze for Best Original Music at the 2023 New York Festivals Radio Awards, and won ‘Audio Production of the Year’ at the Prolific North Champions Awards.
The contributors and singer-songwriters will also be interviewed on The Jeremy Vine Show on Radio 2 across the week (from Monday 29th July – Friday 2nd August, 12-2pm) where each song will be played on air. Friday’s edition of the show will be an outside broadcast from the Sidmouth Folk Festival, where Seth Lakeman and Fisherman’s Friends will perform their song live.
Radio 2’s Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe will also feature the songs and interviews with the artists (Wednesday 31st July, 9-10pm), and the following week it will feature music from some of the artists who performed live at Sidmouth Folk Festival (Wednesday 7th August, 9-10pm). […]

YourFM has confirmed it will be applying for the Portadown & Craigavon small-scale DAB multiplex licence.
The community radio station has been broadcasting on FM since June 2015 and now says it wants to expand onto DAB.
It has partnered with a neighbouring community radio station in Newry to create a not-for-profit multiplex offering low-cost carriage and free carriage for the four C-DSP services it would host.
The team has already recruited a wide variety of services which will join the two community stations including pop-rock station Eirewave, youth station Blast106, Christian station Sunshine 1049, a new American Country station ABC Country and a local pop-up station Bannside Radio to be used by local schools and community groups to broadcast for themselves.
Director Niall O Corrain said: “We have worked hard to build a dedicated listenership to YourFM and now we wish to go digital to future-proof the station while at the same time facilitate a transformation in the local broadcast offering.
“We have brought in experienced people with a proven track record in delivering SSDAB projects in Northern Ireland to ensure the multiplexes success.”
ABC Community SSDAB has ambitious plans to launch as early as six months if it is awarded the licence due to the preparations made in the last three months.
Sean Og Mac Braoin, who launched the Lagan DAB serving the cities of Belfast and Lisburn, has been brought on-board to assist with the application and bring the multiplex to launch. He commented: “Portadown & Craigavon is a great location for a DAB+ multiplex.
“It is a vibrant ambitious community with some of Northern Ireland’s largest employers in the Carn & Seagoe industrial complexes and despite political tensions in the past has come through that with a positivity that deserves a better offering of radio stations to serve a very diverse demographic.
“If awarded the licence we are ready to go with our sites and infrastructure and would envisage launching within 6-9 months.”
ABC Community SSDAB are keen to hear from other stations which may wish to join the Mux – email abcssdab@email.com for details. […]

Community station Corby Radio has announced plans to apply for the small-scale DAB digital radio multiplex for Corby and Kettering.
The area is part of Round 6, which has a closing date of tomorrow, July 18th at 5pm.
The station says it would like to hear from anyone before 2pm today who is interested in being part of the application.
Des Barber, Founder and Station Manager of Corby Radio said: “From my days on AM with KCBC, I’ve seen progress to FM, and now to Digital Technologies.
“Corby Radio has always harnessed these developments for the enrichment of our community.
“It is hoped that the result of the application will be known by the end of the year and the service will go on-air in 2025.”
Contact des.barber@corby.radio for more details about being involved in the Corby and Kettering bid. […]

Hospital station WWL Radio is re-applying for the Wigan small-scale DAB licence.

A licence for the town was awarded by Ofcom to Wigan & St Helens Community Media CIC, but was revoked after it failed to launch within 18 months.
It was backed by a local arts centre which had a change in financial circumstances and pulled the plug on the DAB project.
Now, Wigan DAB, which was the ‘runner up’ for the original licence, is applying again under the consortium made up of Kevin Riley of WWL (previously known as Wrightington Hospital Radio) with the help of Niocast Digital, local broadcasters Darren Ofsarnie and Phil England plus long-standing senior radio executives Chris Hurst and Ron Smith.
WWL has been broadcasting to the area’s three hospitals since the 1970s with initial sports broadcasts dating back to the early 50s.
Kevin Riley, station secretary says: “We are looking forward to developing a DAB platform for the residents of Wigan and St Helens. WWL has for some time recognised its community of interest goes beyond the hospitals themselves as outpatient services have expanded significantly over the years.
“small-scale DAB gives us a great opportunity to broadcast to that wider community and develop our service not least in the provision of positive health messaging we already hold the necessary CDSP licence. Alongside our own station we aim to deliver a rich and diverse range of radio services for the area.”
With a population of nearly 600,000, anyone interested in adding a radio service to the Wigan Multiplex is invited to make contact via the website WiganDAB.co.uk. […]

Walsall community station Ambur Radio is leading an application for the small-scale DAB multiplex in Walsall.
Walsall DAB Ltd has been established by Ambur Radio station director Priya Singh with the help of Niocast Digital, West Midlands community radio station WCR fm, and long standing senior radio executive Chris Hurst.
The collaboration brings together a unique combination of skills, local knowledge, radio experience and a real passion for Walsall.
“Ambur Radio launched in 2009 and has been a very popular multicultural station ever since broadcasting in English, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujrati amongst other” says Priya.
“And we’ve been planning the move to DAB for some time now. We’re looking forward to the quality that DAB will deliver and being able to reach lots more listeners.”
With a population of nearly 400,000, anyone interested in adding a radio service to the Walsall Multiplex is invited to make contact via the website WalsallDAB.co.uk […]