Radio First To Launch Football Club Stations Next Season

Radio First this morning said it will launch all four of its planned football club digital radio stations during the 2001/2002 football season. The group has secured £3.5 million of funding through a private placing and has signed a five year carriage deal with BSkyB for the digital stations (see Radio First Confirms 5-Year Deal With BSkyB).

Radio First has so far signed deals with Aston Villa, Chelsea, Derby County and Southampton. Club-oriented digital stations will be broadcast, regionally, to Sky Digital’s subscribers, currently totalling 4.7 million homes.

In the year to September 30 2000, the company showed a retained loss before and after tax of £926,000 and a loss per share of 3.87p. It said that administrative costs of £624,000 are in line with expectations.

However, the company says that results have been adversely affected by the introduction of ‘UITF 25 – National Insurance contributions on share option gains’, which requires provision for employer’s national insurance contributions on notional share option gains.

Chairman Keith Harris, said: “This year has been an exciting one for Radio First, with the development of our strategy continuing apace … The launch of stations on the Sky Digital platform will provide immediate access to the BSkyB’s growing subscriber base, in each of the relevant regions, and allow the stations to start marketing their “Hot Music: Hot Football”, and make the ‘Fan Radio Network’ a reality.”

Radio First: 01273 384260