News story about five applicants to UK radio regulator The Radio Authority for a new local commercial radio licence for the West Dorset market, written by Grant Goddard in September 1992 for Broadcast magazine.

1. NEWS: FIVE APPLICANTS TO
THE RADIO AUTHORITY FOR
NEW LOCAL COMMERCIAL
RADIO LICENCE IN WEST
DORSET
by
GRANT GODDARD
www.grantgoddard.co.uk
September 1992

2. Five groups are bidding for The Radio Authority's West Dorset licence,
including two backed by owners of neighbouring commercial stations 'Orchard
FM' and '2CR'.
The new FM licence will serve 80,000 adults in the Weymouth and Dorchester
areas of Dorset presently unserved by any dedicated local radio. The BBC's
decision last year to abandon its planned 'Radio Dorset' service will
significantly make this licensee the area's only radio source of local news and
information.
 HARDY FM's £200,000 capital is subscribed by GWR Group (30%), owner
of nearby'2CR', Mike Powell's Infinity Radio (20%), Radio Trust (10%) and
Southern Newspaper Group (10%). Bill Ludlow, former High Sheriff of
Dorset, is Chairman designate and Tony Biles, former Mayor of Weymouth,
is a Non-Executive Director. Biles says the group's eventual hope is to
"create a county-wide station", a move that would consolidate GWR's
holdings in adjacent Wiltshire and Hampshire.
 REGENT RADIO is backed by 'Orchard FM' (30%) and Radio Investments
(25%), owner of Kettering incremental 'KCBC', with the remainder of the
bid's £200,000 share capital subscribed by local investors, including Chris
O'Dell, MD of independent TV production company Screenlife. The station's
16 hours/day local output is comprised of 70% Top 40 music, 7% specialist
music programmes and 5% speech, with 'Orchard FM' providing traffic and
commercial production services. Ex-'Devonair' MD David Cousins is likely
to be the group's launch MD, following his involvement in INBC's failed bid
for the INR2 licence.
 RIDGEWAY RADIO is a community bid evolved from hospital radio groups
in Weymouth and Dorchester. The consortium includes Community Radio
Association Vice-Chairman Michael Law, who lives in Weymouth, and its
£50,000 funding will be raised through grants, donations and advertising.
12 hours/day live programming will initially comprise 75% music and 25%
speech, produced by two full-time staff and a team of volunteers from a
new Weymouth studio and an adapted hospital radio studio in Dorchester.
 WDFM RADIO will combine middle-of-the-road music with local news
provided by the Dorset Evening Echo. Its £200,000 capital has been raised
from the Southern Newspaper Group (10%), EJ Radio Developments
(5.5%) and local business interests. Seven full-time staff will produce
programming modelled on Kettering's 'KCBC', and Programme Controller
designate is 'Essex Radio' presenter Andy Jackson.
 WHITE HORSE RADIO aims to "revitalise the best of the old fashioned
values which formed the foundation of Independent Local Radio in the UK".
The bid's £200,000 capital is subscribed entirely from local sources, and the
station's 18 hour/day output combines middle-of-the-road music with strong
local news and specialist programmes during evenings and weekends. The
consortium is led by former '2CR' MD David Porter and ex-'2CR' Founder
Director David Spokes who says it has "deliberately kept a low profile."
News: Five Applicants To The Radio Authority For New Local Commercial Radio Licence In West Dorset page 2
©1992 Grant Goddard

3. News: Five Applicants To The Radio Authority For New Local Commercial Radio Licence In West Dorset page 3
©1992 Grant Goddard
Yeovil-based 'Orchard FM' and Bournemouth's '2CR' are both audible in
Weymouth and Dorchester, though the towns fall outside these stations'
editorial coverage. The Radio Authority will announce the winner within two
months.
[First published in 'Broadcast' magazine as 'Five Bids Go In For Dorset Licence', 18 September 1992]
Grant Goddard is a media analyst / radio specialist / radio consultant with thirty years of
experience in the broadcasting industry, having held senior management and consultancy
roles within the commercial media sector in the United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. Details at
http://www.grantgoddard.co.uk