Radio Authority Awards New Local Licence for Glasgow To Saga 105.2 FM

115/03

6 November 2003

Radio Authority awards new local licence for Glasgow to Saga 105.2 FM

The Radio Authority announced today (6 November) that, after considering the proposals submitted by the thirteen applicants, it is offering the new Independent Local Radio (ILR) licence on the FM waveband for Glasgow and surrounding parts of west Central Scotland to:

SAGA 105.2 FM (SAGA RADIO [GLASGOW] LTD.) - The Saga Building, Enbrook Park, Folkestone, Kent, CT20 3SE (contact: Ron Coles, 0115 943 5050; or Tim Bull, 01303 771003); a full service format of easy, familiar, melodic music, mixed with news and lifestyle oriented speech designed to cater for the tastes and interests of listeners aged 50 years and over.

The adult population of the area within which this new service should be received is over 1.6 million.

Commenting on today's award, David Witherow, Executive Chairman, said:

"This was the last FM licence to be awarded by the Radio Authority before its responsibilities are transferred to the new regulatory body, Ofcom. The unusual diversity of the thirteen proposals presented for this licence reflected the success of the existing commercial local and regional radio services in catering for good range of mainstream listening. As with the West Midlands award last month, it was a close and difficult decision. We felt that Saga had presented a very well-rounded proposal which would appeal to its substantial target audience of those aged 50+ in the Glasgow area with an imaginatively constructed blend of music and speech programming."

The licence will come into effect as soon as Saga 105.2 FM begins broadcasting.

The Authority will be publishing its assessment of Saga 105.2 FM's application shortly.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

Throughout its thirteen year history, the Authority has been committed to facilitating the provision of high quality services which offer a wide listening choice. With the award of this new licence, there is a total of 272 analogue ILR licences in issue across the UK, as well as 3 national analogue licences. The Authority also awarded a digital multiplex licence today, bringing the total of local digital multiplex licences across the UK to 46, in addition to the one and only commercial national multiplex.

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.
At the end of this year, the Radio Authority will cease to exist, and its responsibilities for licensing and regulating Independent Radio will pass to Ofcom, the new converged regulator for the communications sector. See the Ofcom transitional website at www.ofcom.org.uk for more details.

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