Plans entered for unified Surrey DAB mux

MuxCo has applied to operate a single local DAB multiplex across Surrey and Northern Sussex.

An initial eight stations, including BBC Southern Counties Radio, would broadcast on the service which covers a population of about 1,500,000, the second largest of all the local DAB multiplexes so far sanctioned by Ofcom.

MuxCo's licence still has to be approved by the regulator but it is the only applicant.

The multiplex would carry two stations currently offering similar music services in neighbouring areas - Guildford's 96.4 Eagle Radio and GCap's Mercury FM, which centres on Crawley.

Initially Guildford (in the west) and Reigate and Crawley (further east) were advertised as separate multiplexes but Ofcom has now decided to treat them as one.

Matt Deegan, creative director at MuxCo, a partnership between National Grid Wireless and Folder Media, said it intended to keep them together though technically it could change in future.

"The multiplex will operate on two separate frequencies, broadly speaking an 'east' and a 'west'," he said. "We therefore do have an option of splitting the multiplex in two, so, in theory, one half could be different from the other.

"What we've said in the application is that whilst we recognise the opportunities in doing this, at the moment, we intend to broadcast all programming on both 'sides'. So, whilst there are two frequencies it will be the same content on both."

The unified multiplex could see Eagle and Mercury competing for listeners and advertisers in the area previously dominated by the other. However, Deegan said the stations did not see it as a problem.

Eagle managing director Paul Marcus agreed. He said in the short term it was unlikely to have a big impact on Eagle or Mercury, while in the future he was confident in his station's strength.

"If it provides more choice for people and keeps radio stations on their toes then it is a good thing," he said. "You have got to have confidence in your service... I don't think it will make a huge difference to Eagle or Mercury in the short term, but at least we are there at the table."

> Paul Marcus: "I have confidence in DAB"

The MuxCo application would also see County Sound, operated by Eagle's owner UKRD, make a jump from being medium wave-only to also being available on DAB. Marcus said the move would give the station, which this year celebrates 25 years on air, a new opportunity to develop.

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