Radio broadcast update May 2020

• Analogue Commercial Radio
• Digital radio
• Analogue Community Radio

Analogue Commercial Radio

Licence renewals granted in this period

A seven year renewal has been granted to the following:

A five year renewal has been granted to the following:

Services which have ceased to be licensed (handed back or revoked) in this period

Analogue station Format Changes

Each station has as part of its licence, a ‘Format’ which outlines what the essential nature of the service is and details any specific expectations of that service.
Any changes to a format can only be made by following the correct procedure and with the appropriate permission from Ofcom.

Isle of Wight Radio (PDF, 318.5 KB)
Published 29|05|20

More Radio (Eastbourne) (PDF, 321.0 KB)
Published 29|05|20

More Radio (Hastings) (PDF, 297.5 KB)
Published 29|05|20

More Radio (Haywards Heath) (PDF, 274.4 KB)
Published 29|05|20

More Radio (Worthing) (PDF, 317.7 KB)
Published 29|05|20

Wave FM (Dundee) (PDF, 367.7 KB)
Published 29|05|20

Wave FM (Perth) (PDF, 367.8 KB)
Published 29|05|20

Digital Radio

Commencement of small-scale DAB licensing

Following the publication of our Statement in April on Licensing small-scale DAB (PDF, 6.0 MB), Ofcom is today announcing that we plan to advertise the first (‘Round One’) small-scale radio multiplex licences on Tuesday 1 September 2020. This will also be the date from which applicants will be able to apply for a Community Digital Sound Programme (‘C-DSP’) licence to broadcast a C-DSP service on any of the multiplex services for which licences are being advertised in Round One.

In light of the ongoing coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, and its impact on stakeholders, we sent a short questionnaire to those people who had previously expressed an interest in applying for a small-scale radio multiplex licence in one or more of the Round One locations before going ahead with publishing the advertisements. The planned date of 1 September is a result of the feedback we received, and may be subject to change as the coronavirus situation and its impact on stakeholders and Ofcom develops in coming months. Once we advertise the multiplex licences, applicants will have 12 weeks to prepare and submit their applications before the closing date.

The list of multiplex licence areas we plan to advertise on 1 September is as follows:

Digital sound programme service (DSPS) licences issued during in this period

DAB multiplex variations

The following multiplex variations were agreed during this period:

Analogue Community Radio

Licences awarded in this period

Ofcom has announced, and published the reasons for, the award of 6 community radio licences:

The full statement (PDF, 176.7 KB) can be viewed on our website.

Licences issued in this period

Invitation to apply for community radio licences in Northampton

Ofcom is inviting applications for FM community radio services in Northampton. The closing date for receiving applications is 3pm on Monday 13 July 2020.

The full invitation can be viewed on our website.

Licence extensions granted in this period

A five year extension has been granted to the following:

Key Commitments changes

Each station has as part of its licence, ‘Key Commitments’ which outline what the essential nature of the service is and details any specific expectations of that service. Licensees may request changes to a station’s Key Commitments. Information about the process, as well as an application form, are on our website.

Changes to Key Commitments agreed in this period:

Wey Valley Radio (PDF, 257.4 KB)
Published 01|05|20

Hailsham FM (PDF, 242.1 KB)
Published 01|05|20

Coverage improvement and extension requests

During 2018, Ofcom invited community radio stations to submit requests for coverage improvements and extensions if they wished. During the last month the services listed below have had their requests provisionally agreed, subject to the new technical arrangements going through our usual formal clearance process (this includes Ofcom liaising with a number of outside agencies before changes can be implemented). We have considered the following requests to constitute coverage improvements.

Coverage improvements agreed: