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16|12|04

Ofcom awards new FM commercial licences for Edinburgh and Blackburn

Ofcom today announces the award of the new FM local commercial radio licences for Edinburgh and Blackburn .

Edinburgh

By the closing date of 23 September, Ofcom received twelve applications for the Edinburgh licence. After giving careful consideration to each of the applications submitted, the Ofcom Radio Licensing Committee has decided to award the licence to:

Dunedin FM Limited - contact: David Mathewson, Dalveen, 7 Barnton Park, Edinburgh EH4 6JF, tel: 0131 336 3214, email: dopey@blueyonder.co.uk.

Dunedin FM Limited is wholly-owned by The Wireless Group plc. It will provide a 24-hour speech radio station with prominence of local news, national and international news and information for the people of Edinburgh and the surrounding areas.

The licence is for a service to cover the city of Edinburgh and the area surrounding the Firth of Forth which has an adult population (aged 15+) of around 940,000. However, the exact coverage will be determined by the location of the transmission site and other technical characteristics. The proposed frequency (107.0 MHz) is subject to international agreement on radio spectrum usage.

Ofcom expects Dunedin FM to begin broadcasting at the earliest opportunity and no later than two years from this award date.

Blackburn

Ofcom received four applications for the Blackburn licence by the closing date of 23 September. After giving careful consideration to each of the applications submitted, Ofcom has decided to award the licence to:

Blackburn Broadcasting Company Ltd. (The Bee) - contact: Amanda Bell, Unit504, Glenfield Park , Blakewater Road , Blackburn BB1 5QH, tel: 01254 776106, email: amanda.bell@the-bee.com.

The owners of the Blackburn Broadcasting Company Ltd. are Two Boroughs Radio Ltd (32.5%) and The Radio Business Ltd (32.5%), with the balance of the shares held by eight individuals. The Bee will provide a full service radio station for Blackburn, Darwen, Accrington and surrounding areas with a high profile and significant resources given to local news and information.

The licence is for a service to cover the town of Blackburn and the surrounding area, including the population centres of Darwen, Accrington , Clayton-le-Moors, and Great Harwood.

Ofcom estimates this licence could achieve coverage of an area with an adult population (aged 15+) of around 150,000. However, the exact coverage will be determined by the location of the transmission site and other technical characteristics. Up to two frequencies are being made available for this licence.

Ofcom expects The Bee to begin broadcasting at the earliest opportunity and no later than two years from this award date.

Ofcom will publish a statement setting out the key determining factors for the award of each of these licences shortly.

Each licence will be issued for a twelve year period.

Ends.

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