Planned timetable for the re-advertisement of local analogue commercial radio licences and the advertisements, applications and awards

Licence area	Station name	Expiry date of existing licence	Licence 'pre-advertisement'¹	Licence re-advertisement (if required)²
Perth	WAVE FM	04 November 2020	September 2019	October 2019
Warminster	THE BREEZE	04 November 2020	September 2019	October 2019
Bradford and Huddersfield*	PULSE 2	03 December 2020	September 2019	October 2019
Bradford and Huddersfield*	PULSE 1	03 December 2020	September 2019	October 2019
Peterhead*	WAVES RADIO	05 December 2020	September 2019	October 2019
Glasgow and West Central Scotland*	CLYDE 1	30 December 2020	September 2019	October 2019
Glasgow and West Central Scotland*	CLYDE 2	30 December 2020	September 2019	October 2019
Coventry	TOUCH FM	31 December 2020	November 2019	December 2019
Mid Ulster	Q RADIO	31 January 2021	October 2019	November 2019
Birmingham*	ABSOLUTE CLASSIC ROCK	17 February 2021	November 2019	December 2019
Birmingham*	FREE RADIO	17 February 2021	November 2019	December 2019
Omagh and Enniskillen	Q RADIO	18 March 2021	December 2019	January 2020
Liverpool*	CAPITAL	26 March 2021	December 2019	January 2020

* Each of these licences currently qualifies for renewal under the Broadcasting Act 1990 and thus may not be pre-advertised.

The dates in the above table (apart from the expiry date of the existing licence) are subject to revision, as circumstances dictate.

In accordance with Ofcom's published policy (PDF, 252.0 KB), any licence whose existing holder does not commit to maintaining its current Format will be fully re-advertised in accordance with the above timetable.

Footnotes:

1. Licence 'pre-advertisement' involves Ofcom inviting declarations of intent to apply for the licence. A declaration of intent must be accompanied by a cash deposit. If no declaration of intent is received from anyone except the existing licensee, Ofcom can proceed with a 'fast track' re-licensing of the existing licensee. If more than one declaration of intent is received, the licence will be re-advertised.

2. There will be at least a three month period between advertisement date and closing date for applications.

Pre-advertisements and re-advertisements

Notes of guidance for applicants

Introduction

1.1 This document provides guidance for those wishing to apply for re-advertised local analogue commercial radio licences. For both the existing holders of those licences and others who may wish to apply for them, it explains the licensing process that Ofcom will follow, the main statutory requirements we will consider and the licence conditions that will need to be met.

General disclaimer

1.2 Information is supplied on a wide range of matters in this document, many of which depend on interpretation of the law. The information given is not an exhaustive account of the statutory and licensing requirements and should not be regarded as a complete and authoritative statement of the law. Nor does any information issued by Ofcom, whether in this document or elsewhere, imply any judgement by Ofcom as to commercial prospects for licences, or that licensed services will be profitable.

1.3 Prospective applicants for local analogue commercial radio licences must make their own independent assessment after taking their own professional advice and making such further investigations as they deem necessary on all relevant matters. Ofcom makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, with respect to information contained in this document or with respect to any written or oral information made or to be made available to any potential applicant or its professional advisors. Any liability therefore is expressly disclaimed. Ofcom reserves the right to alter or correct any part of this document.

1.4 Prospective applicants should be aware that certain features of the licensing process, such as fees, sanctions procedures and the drafting of relevant content codes, may change in the future as various public consultations are carried out and their results assessed.

Local analogue commercial radio licence re-advertisement - Notes of guidance for applicants (PDF, 183.4 KB)

Financial template for licence applications (XLS, 28.0 KB)

Planned timetable for the re-advertisement of local analogue commercial radio licences and the advertisements, applications and awards

See also...