Ofcom Puts Norwich Radio Licence Up For Grabs
Commercial radio broadcasters will soon be competing for a new broadcasting licence in the city of Norwich, as media-regulator Ofcom advertised the rights to transmit to the south eastern city and the surrounding area.
Ofcom estimates that the winning bid could provide the licence holder with a potential adult audience of 240,000, however, exact coverage will be determined by the location of the transmission site and other technical characteristics.
The proposed frequency for the new licence is subject to international agreement on radio spectrum usage, although the proposed spectrum space at 99.9 MHz is currently part of Ofcom’s advertisement.
The closing date for the submission of applications is 5:00pm on 9 March 2005, with interested parties required to pay a non-refundable fee of £1,500 for each application submitted.
The licence will be issued for a twelve year period and Ofcom has welcomed the views of the public on the needs of local listeners and the types of services required.
The Norwich licence is the latest in a stream of broadcast rights to be offered by Ofcom. Last month saw the regulator close its door to applications for the last remaining FM licence in Manchester, with Kelvin MacKenzie’s Wireless Group amongst the last applicants, with proposals for a talk-based local radio station chaired by ex Manchester Police boss and TV presenter, John Stalker (see Wireless Group To Bid For Manchester Radio Licence).
More recently, Ofcom has been inundated with applications for community radio licences, allowing small non-profit making organisations to set up low-power broadcast services to their local areas. The watchdog is understood to have received over 190 applications for licences, although continued resentment from commercial radio operators could yet derail the licence allocation process (see Ofcom Inundated With Community Radio Requests).
Ofcom: 020 7981 3040 www.ofcom.org.uk
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