Ofcom has announced the winners in Round 2 of the small-scale DAB process.
Eight of the areas only had one applicant, meaning the winning applicant was the only bid, with the exception of Southport where the single bidder did not get the licence. These areas are Wrexham, Congleton & Leek, Cheshire Mid, Cheshire East, and Buxton and Glossop.
The other ten had at least two applicants, with two having three.
Of note, the applicant currently running the Trail Manchester multiplex (Niocom Associates) has not been granted the permanent licence, and Ofcom requires the winners of the Liverpool multiplex to change its corporate structure or alter its transmission plans to satisfy ownership rules.
Ofcom has also published all 32 applications for Round 3, and has confirmed applications for Round 4 will be welcomed in the Autumn, when the areas for Round 5 will also be announced.
Ludlow, Cleobury Mortimer & Tenbury Wells areas have also been added to the list of Round 4 licence areas.
The winners’ list is below, and you can see all applicants and winners here.
Blackburn, Burnley and Darwen
Blackpool
Bolton and Bury
Buxton and Glossop
Cheshire (east)
Cheshire (mid)
Congleton & Leek
Crewe, Nantwich & Whitchurch
Liverpool
Manchester
Oldham & Rochdale
Preston
Stoke & Newcastle-under-Lyme
Warrington, Widnes & Runcorn
Wigan
Wrexham
This story first appeared on radiotoday.co.uk