Eldest First In Battle For East Midlands Radio

Saga Radio has seen off competition from fourteen other applicants for the new Independent Local Radio (ILR) FM licence for the East Midlands. Among the other proposals put to the Radio Authority, which awarded the licence today, was a joint application from Capital and Disney, to become the first major radio operation targeted solely at children.

Richard Hooper, chairman of the Radio Authority, commented: “This was a very closely fought decision between applications proposing to serve the youth audience and those targeting an older listenership, both of which would widen choice.”

The licence will give access to a potential audience of around 1.6 million adults, based in areas including Leicester, Derby and Nottingham. Saga proposes launching a service which will feature “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.”

Radio Authority: 020 7430 2724 www.radioauthority.org.uk

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