Tindle Radio Scoops Latest FM Licence

Media regulator Ofcom has awarded the new FM licence covering Ipswich to Tindle Radio following a closely fought battle with seven other applicants.

The new licence, which will be issued for a 12-year period, covers the town of Ipswich and the surrounding area with an adult population of between 200,000 and 250,000. Exact coverage is, as always, determined by the location of the transmission site and other technical characteristics.

Tindle will use the new frequency to air Town FM, providing a “distinctive speech and music led radio station,” with independent local news and information.

The new station must begin broadcasting no later than two years from the award date, although Ofcom expects the new station to be on air “at the earliest opportunity.”

The new licence is the latest in a string of FM allocations from Ofcom, although several industry heads speaking at MediaTel INSIGHT’s Digital Radio and Beyond seminar last week expressed concern that too much attention is being given to analogue licences, rather than the UK’s “digital future.”

According to Ralph Bernard and Simon Cole, of GCap Media and UBC Media, a clearer focus is needed on the radio industry’s digital evolution, rather than the continuing “distraction” offered by analogue audiences (see Radio Heads Urge Focus On Digital Future).

Ofcom: 020 7981 3040 www.ofcom.org.uk