PaddyBoy
02-12-2005, 12:39 PM
Here (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,3604,1410441,00.html)
Station bidders get stars in their eyes
Julia Day
Friday February 11, 2005
The Guardian
The chance to run a new radio station in Manchester has attracted a huge number of bids, with backing from celebrities as diverse as US rappers The Beastie Boys and Chris Tarrant.
Ofcom had received 19 bids for the new station by last night's deadline, the largest number for any licence yet offered by the media regulator.
Manchester's reputation as a trend-setting, youthful city makes the new FM licence an attractive proposition for radio companies. The area covered by the new licence will encompass an audience of around 1.3 million people aged over 15 - fewer than the 1.6 million listeners able to tune in to Chrysalis's existing dance and R&B station, Galaxy 102, in Manchester.
It is estimated to be worth about £20m in advertising revenue with radio big guns Emap, Virgin Radio and the Wireless Group as well as Capital Radio and its future merger partner, GWR, all submitting bids alongside smaller and local groups such as Saga and TV company Celador. Guardian Media Group recently pulled out of the race, saying it could not justify the expense of its planned talk-only station for a licence that covered half the population it had initially thought would be involved.
Capital is hoping to win the licence with its alternative music brand, Xfm, which is available on analogue in London and on digital nationwide.
Who Wants to be a Millionaire? maker Celador has submitted a bid through its radio arm called 97.7 The City, geared towards a 35-plus age group. The former controller of BBC Radio 2, Jim Moir, and television and radio presenter Chris Tarrant back the bid.
Emap has enlisted the help of The Beastie Boys to back its bid to launch Kerrang! Radio.
Kelvin MacKenzie's Wireless Group is submitting a bid for a speech-only station called allTalk backed by John Stalker, the former deputy chief constable of Manchester.
Station bidders get stars in their eyes
Julia Day
Friday February 11, 2005
The Guardian
The chance to run a new radio station in Manchester has attracted a huge number of bids, with backing from celebrities as diverse as US rappers The Beastie Boys and Chris Tarrant.
Ofcom had received 19 bids for the new station by last night's deadline, the largest number for any licence yet offered by the media regulator.
Manchester's reputation as a trend-setting, youthful city makes the new FM licence an attractive proposition for radio companies. The area covered by the new licence will encompass an audience of around 1.3 million people aged over 15 - fewer than the 1.6 million listeners able to tune in to Chrysalis's existing dance and R&B station, Galaxy 102, in Manchester.
It is estimated to be worth about £20m in advertising revenue with radio big guns Emap, Virgin Radio and the Wireless Group as well as Capital Radio and its future merger partner, GWR, all submitting bids alongside smaller and local groups such as Saga and TV company Celador. Guardian Media Group recently pulled out of the race, saying it could not justify the expense of its planned talk-only station for a licence that covered half the population it had initially thought would be involved.
Capital is hoping to win the licence with its alternative music brand, Xfm, which is available on analogue in London and on digital nationwide.
Who Wants to be a Millionaire? maker Celador has submitted a bid through its radio arm called 97.7 The City, geared towards a 35-plus age group. The former controller of BBC Radio 2, Jim Moir, and television and radio presenter Chris Tarrant back the bid.
Emap has enlisted the help of The Beastie Boys to back its bid to launch Kerrang! Radio.
Kelvin MacKenzie's Wireless Group is submitting a bid for a speech-only station called allTalk backed by John Stalker, the former deputy chief constable of Manchester.