A round-up of Ofcom’s broadcast radio licensing activity in March 2024.
Local/national DAB multiplex variations
The following multiplex variations were agreed in this period:
| Change |
Multiplex |
| Addition of The Voice 2 |
Exeter, Torbay & North Devon |
| Addition of V2 Radio |
South Hampshire |
| Addition of Hits Radio Pride |
Bradford & Huddersfield, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Humberside, Lancashire, Leeds, Liverpool, Stoke-on-Trent, Swansea, South Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear, Tayside, Teesside, Manchester, Birmingham, Wolverhampton & Shropshire, Berkshire & North Hampshire |
| Removal of Mellow Magic |
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Tayside |
| Removal of Absolute 90s |
Manchester |
| Removal of Planet Rock |
Wolverhampton & Shropshire,
Berkshire & North Hampshire |
| Removal of Hits Radio UK |
Humberside, Lancashire, Leeds, Liverpool, Stoke-on-Trent, Swansea, South Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear, Teeside, Birmingham |
Local radio multiplex licence renewals
The following radio multiplex licences have been granted a renewal during this period:
| Multiplex |
Licensee |
New expiry date |
| London 2 |
Switchdigital (London) Limited |
31 December 2030 |
| Cambridge |
Now Digital Limited |
31 December 2030 |
| South East Wales |
Now Digital (Southern) Limited |
31 December 2030 |
| Plymouth and Cornwall |
South West Digital Radio Limited |
31 December 2030 |
| Oxfordshire |
Now Digital Limited |
31 December 2030 |
| Wolverhampton and Shropshire |
Now Digital Limited |
31 December 2030 |
| Bristol |
Now Digital Limited |
31 December 2030 |
| Coventry |
Now Digital Limited |
31 December 2030 |
| Herts, Beds, Bucks |
Now Digital Limited |
31 December 2030 |
| Northamptonshire |
Now Digital Limited |
31 December 2030 |
| Gloucestershire |
MuxCo South Midlands Limited |
31 December 2030 |
| Hereford and Worcestershire |
MuxCo South Midlands Limited |
31 December 2030 |
Grant of small-scale DAB multiplex licences
The following small-scale radio multiplex licences were granted during this period:
| Licence area |
Licensee |
Transmitters licensed |
Date from |
| York |
York Digital Radio CIC |
York Hospital; University of York |
10 April 2023 |
| Rutland and Stamford |
Creativity Media Services Limited |
Rutland – Brooke; Stamford – Tinwell Business Park |
15 April 2024 |
| Hull |
Hull DAB Limited |
Hull – Royal Infirmary |
16 April 2024 |
| Oxford |
OxDAB Limited |
Oxford – Evenlode Tower; Oxford – Plowman Tower |
17 April 2024 |
| Milton Keynes |
MK Digital Media Limited |
Milton Keynes – YMCA; Leighton Buzzard – Page’s Park station |
22 April 2024 |
Digital sound programme service (DSP) and digital additional sound (DAS) licences issued during this period
| Licensee |
Service name |
| Ian Starling |
Diamond Radio UK |
| Atlantic Radio Group Ltd |
Atlantic 252 |
| WBC Meda CIC |
Coast Radio |
| Jonathan Sheldrake |
FunkyCorner R.UK |
| The Wittas Wireless Telegraphy CIC |
WRFM |
| GreekBeat Radio Ltd |
GreekBeat |
Digital sound programme service (DSP) and Digital additional sound (DAS) licences which have ceased to be licensed (handed back or revoked) in this period
| Licensee |
Service name |
| Jazz FM Ltd |
Jazz FM |
Community digital sound programme (C-DSP) licence applications received during this period
| Licensee |
Service name |
Area |
| Jorvik Radio Limited |
Jorvik Radio |
York |
| The Eye FM Limited |
103 The Eye |
Nottingham |
| Roch Valley Radio CIC |
Roch Valley Radio |
Oldham & Rochdale |
| Leicester Community Enterprise Services CIC |
RADIO UTSAV |
Leicester |
| Peterborough Community Radio Ltd |
PCRFM |
Peterborough |
Community digital sound programme (C-DSP) licences issued during this period
| Licensee |
Service name |
Area |
| Legacy 901CIC |
Legacy 90.1FM |
Manchester |
| Roch Valley Radio CIC |
Roch Valley Radio |
Bolton & Bury |
Analogue commercial radio
Local radio licence transfers
Ofcom has granted consent to the transfer of the following local commercial radio licences:
| Area |
Service name |
Previous Licensee |
New Licensee |
| Peterhead |
Waves Radio |
Waves Radio Limited |
WBC Media CIC |
Analogue commercial radio licences which have ceased to be licensed in this period
| Licensee |
Service name |
Reason |
| Global Media & Entertainment Limited |
Smooth Radio (Kent) |
Surrender |
| Global Media & Entertainment Limited |
Gold (Manchester) |
Surrender |
| Global Media & Entertainment Limited |
Smooth Radio (Hampshire) |
Surrender |
Licence extensions granted in this period
A five year extension has been granted to the following:
| Service name |
Licensee |
Location |
New expiry date |
| Glastonbury FM |
Glastonbury FM Community Interest Company |
Glastonbury |
29 April 2029 |
| Bolton FM |
Bolton FM Community Interest Company |
Bolton |
19 June 2029 |
| Ambur Radio |
Ambur Community Radio Limited |
Walsall |
30 June 2029 |
| Revive FM |
Minhaj-ul-Quaran International |
Newham |
18 July 2029 |
| Sine FM |
Higher Rhythm Limited |
Doncaster |
18 September 2029 |
| KCR |
Keith Community Radio Limited |
Moray |
9 October 2029 |
| Penistone FM |
Penistone Community Radio Ltd |
Penistone |
5 June 2029 |
| North Manchester FM |
North Manchester FM Community Interest Company |
Manchester |
5 July 2029 |
Analogue community radio licences which have ceased to be licensed in this period
| Service name |
Licensee |
Location |
Reason |
| Flame CCR |
Wirral Christian Media Limited |
The Wirral |
Surrender |
Coverage improvement and extension requests
Coverage extensions received:
During the last month the services listed below have requested an extension to their licence area. The application(s) are published on the community radio page of our website. Ofcom will accept representations up to one month following publication before we make a formal decision. Representations can be sent to broadcast.licensing@ofcom.org.uk
| Service name |
Location |
| Thornbury Radio |
Thornbury |
