31/01

9 March 2001

The Radio Authority announced today (9 March) that it has decided, after considering the proposals submitted by the three applicants for the local digital multiplex service licence for the North-West region, to award the licence to:

The licence is designed to deliver digital radio programming and data services potentially to an area with an adult (aged 15+) population of up to around 5.3 million, in the former metropolitan counties of Greater Manchester and Merseyside, the county of Lancashire and some neighbouring districts.

The shareholders in MXR are:

Chrysalis Group plc 39.1%

Capital Radio plc 16.7%

Guardian Media Group plc 13.1%

Jazz FM plc 11.2%

UBC Digital Ltd. 7.5%

Soul Media Ltd. 7.4%

Ford Motor Co. Ltd. 5.0%

MXR is proposing to broadcast a total of nine programme services, all of them, apart from DNN (which initially will be broadcast from 06.00 to 19.00), on a round-the-clock basis:

MXR proposes to commence broadcasting its programme services by the end of September 2001, using eight transmission sites (at Winter Hill, Moel y Parc, the Sunley Building (Manchester), Blackpool Tower, Lancaster, Pendle Forest, Sutton Common and St. John's Beacon), which it estimates will provide 'outdoor coverage' of 94.5%, and 'indoor coverage' of 90.3%, of the adult population of the PPA.

The licence will run initially for a period of twelve years from the commencement of broadcasting.

The Authority will shortly be publishing its assessment of MXR's application for the North-West licence.

ENDS 

1. The services will be transmitted on the VHF band III frequency block 12C (centre-frequency 227.360 MHz).
   
   
2. There is no reservation of digital capacity on this multiplex for any BBC service as the BBC local stations, GMR, Radio Merseyside and Radio Lancashire, already have capacity reserved for them on the local multiplexes for Manchester, Liverpool and Central Lancashire respectively.
   
   
3. The application for the licence was considered according to factors specified in section 51 of the Broadcasting Act 1996, which are: the extent of coverage proposed, within the permitted maximum; the timetable by which this will be achieved; the ability of the applicant to establish the proposed service and maintain it throughout the licence period; the extent to which the proposed programme services will cater for the tastes and interests of listeners in the area; the broadening of local digital radio choice; local support for the applicant's proposals; and whether the applicant has been fair in contracting with the prospective providers of programme and data services on the multiplex.
   
   
4. Digital radio is a new transmission system which provides the listener with bundles (called multiplexes) of audio services to new portable and vehicle receivers, and personal computers, with unprecedentedly clear reception. Being digital, it can also broadcast data services which may or may not be related to the radio programmes; e.g. traffic information, electronic publishing, and internet-type information.
   
   
5. The Authority has already awarded a national digital radio multiplex licence, to Digital One Ltd., and local multiplex licences for Manchester, to CE Digital Ltd., and Liverpool and Central Lancashire, both to Emap Digital Ltd., whose services are also available in this region.
   
   
6. The Radio Authority is responsible for licensing and regulating Independent Radio in accordance with the statutory requirements of the Broadcasting Acts 1990 and 1996. It plans frequencies, awards licences, regulates programming and advertising, and plays an active role in the discussion and formulation of policies which affect the Independent Radio industry and its listeners.