Fourth National Radio Station Planned

The Radio Authority has announced that it is considering allowing a fourth national commercial radio station to broadcast in the UK.

The move has come about after the Department of National Heritage said that a defunct long wave frequency previously assigned to the BBC for use in Scotland would be given back to the Authority to advertise if desired. If coverage could be enhanced by the use of a number of medium wave frequencies in parts of the country where reception would be poor the service should be able to reach most parts of the country.

The Authority will now examine the technical feasibility of moving ahead with the advertisement of the licence and try and determine the level of interest from potential applicants. The licence would be advertised on a competitive basis and awarded, if other statutory requirements are met, to the applicant offering the highest cash bid. Applicants can propose any form of programme service which would cater for tastes and interests different from those already offered by Virgin Radio, Classic FM and Talk Radio.

Radio Authority: 0171 430 2724