[kev]

Originally Posted by OFCOM

Ofcom today announces the award of the new FM local commercial radio licence for Preston.

...the Ofcom Radio Licensing Committee has decided to award the licence to:

Proud FM Limited

Proud FM Limited is wholly-owned by UTV Radio (GB) Limited. It will provide: “a local speech and music station for Preston and the surrounding area, featuring local news, information and community-orientated programming and a broad, varied and engaging mix of music from the 1960s to today”.

Not too surprising UTV got it - Wave, Tower, Wish, Juice and Imagine pretty much sew up most of the North West

No doubt the LEP will have a fair bit about it tomorrow...

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/media/news/2006/12/nr_20061207a

106.5FM in Preston
96.3FM in Leyland & Chorley
from some point within the next two years.

[derek_marks]

you can but only congratulate Laser Broadcasting on a nice round 20 now !

Interesting to see that they appear, according to Ofcom in the Q&A's to have falsified research and were never really sure who was and wasn't a board member for their bid

[4-4-2]

What a poor name! It sounds like it's a gay radio station.

Surely PLC FM would have been better?

Originally Posted by 4-4-2

What a poor name! It sounds like it's a gay radio station.

Surely PLC FM would have been better?

Yeah when I saw the thread that immediately sprang to into my mind.

I think a name change will occur prior to it coming on air though.

The 106.5 frequency is a good one - it will get out a fair way I think. There's nothing near that - only Galaxy from Bilsdale on 106.4 that leaks through into parts of the Ribble Valley.

96.3 is overused in the area. There's Wave 96.5 which might cause some problems and Coast 96.3 which I thought had a reasonable signal into that area?

[kev]

Originally Posted by 4-4-2

What a poor name! It sounds like it's a gay radio station.

Surely PLC FM would have been better?

Preston's Motto is "Proud Preston" so it is a fitting name. PLC FM - sounds like some tacky company name... Shame Prlech isn't a word otherwise UTV could repeat the Wish theme (WIgan St Helens) Wave and Tower are both connected to their own towns, not sure where Wire and Imagine come from though! I wonder what price Emap would accept for Red Rose ?

As for 96.3 - Coast FM gets into Preston well, but I imagine Chorley is shielded a bit better thanks to Merseyside getting in the way - but only 0.1MHz from The Rev Any signal from that that gets into Preston really will be a mush - A nice mix of BBC Cumbria, Radio Wave and North Wales' Coast 96.3. Surprisingly lucky on the 106.5 though - I think the nearest I ever got in Preston was The Bee on 107fm. (In fact, what is in the 106's in the NW? - I can only think of The Rocket and Silk FM)

[dpb]

Originally Posted by kev

Preston's Motto is "Proud Preston" so it is a fitting name. PLC FM - sounds like some tacky company name... Shame Prlech isn't a word otherwise UTV could repeat the Wish theme (WIgan St Helens) Wave and Tower are both connected to their own towns, not sure where Wire and Imagine come from though! <snip>

The name Wire originates from one of Warrington's biggest industries in the past - producing wire. I believe the rugby team was once called the Warrington Wires as well.

I don't think Imagine has any local significant and is just a good name.

<snip> (In fact, what is in the 106's in the NW? - I can only think of The Rocket and Silk FM)

Dee 106.3 is another one, plus various RSLs and in the future Manchester FM4.

Originally Posted by kev

As for 96.3 - Coast FM gets into Preston well, but I imagine Chorley is shielded a bit better thanks to Merseyside getting in the way - but only 0.1MHz from The Rev Any signal from that that gets into Preston really will be a mush - A nice mix of BBC Cumbria, Radio Wave and North Wales' Coast 96.3. Surprisingly lucky on the 106.5 though - I think the nearest I ever got in Preston was The Bee on 107fm. (In fact, what is in the 106's in the NW? - I can only think of The Rocket and Silk FM)

I thought about The Revolution on 96.2 - can that be received in Preston now? I though Winter Hill would be in the way and you'd have to be a few miles south of Chorley to get it? Forgot about BBC Cumbria as well on 96.1, that does get south a fair way.


The Rocket (which I forgot about too ) will hamper transmission south, Silk on 106.9 is well out of the way in location and frequency. I think 106.5 will cover a large part of Lancashire with The Rocket & Dee 106.3 getting too strong to the south of Ormskirk and Skelmersdale. It will be patchy or non-existent to the north by Morcambe & Lancaster & east in Rossendale. Other places should get it though like Blackpool, Fleetwood, Garstang, Blackburn and maybe Clitheroe, Accrington, Burnley, Nelson and Colne. Galaxy 106.4 does filter through into the eastern areas and is particularly strong on the hills.

[kev]

Originally Posted by dynamoe88

I thought about The Revolution on 96.2 - can that be received in Preston now? I though Winter Hill would be in the way and you'd have to be a few miles south of Chorley to get it? Forgot about BBC Cumbria as well on 96.1, that does get south a fair way.

No idea about in Preston as my radio's only ever give you BBC Cumbria on 96.2

The Rocket (which I forgot about too ) will hamper transmission south

I think that's the plan - hence Juice and Dune being just 0.3MHz from each other, dispite the former getting into Preston easily.

[Bluenile]

Any signs of this getting on air? UTV originally said around 9 months and that was last December

I'm about 10 miles from Chorley here and get Coast 96.3 with full RDS and stereo so 96.3 should be a mushy mess once Proud comes on.

106.5 may mess up my reception of KCR 106.7 as well...