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08|02|07

Ofcom awards new FM commercial radio licence for Manchester

Ofcom today announces the award of the new FM local commercial radio licence for Manchester.

By the closing date of 5 October 2006, Ofcom received 11 applications for the Manchester licence. After giving careful consideration to each of the applications submitted, the Ofcom Radio Licensing Committee has decided to award the licence to:

RockTalk 106.1, GMG Radio, 1 Sterling Court, Capitol Park, Leeds WF3 1EL.
Contact: Jeff Stephenson Tel: 07710 073021
Email: jeff.stephenson@gmgradio.com

RockTalk 106.1 is wholly-owned by The Guardian Media Group. It will provide “a speech and rock music service for 35-64 year-olds, which contains a strong commitment to local news, current affairs and interactive debate for the Manchester area. Comprehensive local, national, world news and information is included, with a wide variety of rock music played during off-peak and Bank Holidays”.

The licence is for a service to cover Manchester and the surrounding area which has an adult population (aged 15+) of around 1,450,000. However, the exact coverage will be determined by the location of the transmission site and other technical characteristics. The proposed frequency, 106.1 MHz, is subject to international agreement on radio spectrum usage.

Ofcom expects RockTalk 106.1 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 this licence shortly.

The licence will be issued for a twelve year period.

Ends.

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