Radio Ceredigion
| Broadcast area | Ceredigion |
|---|---|
| Frequency |
96.6 MHz (Lampeter) 97.4 MHz (Cardigan) 103.3 MHz (Aberystwyth) |
| First air date | 14 December 1992 |
| Format | Adult Contemporary |
| Audience share | 5% (December 2015, ) |
| Owner | Nation Broadcasting |
| Website | radioceredigion.com |
Radio Ceredigion (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈradjɔ kɛrɛˈdɪɡjɔn]) is a Independent Local Radio station serving Ceredigion. It is owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting and broadcasts on 96.6, 97.4 and 103.3 FM from studios in Narberth in neighbouring Pembrokeshire.
The station plays chart music from the 1980s to the present day, alongside local news, travel, Welsh language programming and community information.
History
From its launch on Monday 14 December 1992, the station broadcast a bilingual schedule with roughly half-and-half proportion of English and Welsh output, much of it community-orientated, from studios and offices at the Old School in Aberystwyth.
On 9 March 2010, Radio Ceredigion's owners Tindle Newspapers announced the station would be sold off to the Welsh radio group Town and Country Broadcasting.[1] At 9am on 19 April 2010, broadcasting ceased from its Aberystwyth studios and switched to Town and Country's West Wales studios in Narberth, Pembrokeshire (also the base for Radio Pembrokeshire, Radio Carmarthenshire and Scarlet FM).[2] Following a short transition period, a daytime programming service was launched.[3]
A proposal to reduce Welsh language programming on the station from 50% to 10% was rejected by the broadcasting regulator OFCOM in 2011[4][5] but subsequently permitted following further requests. As of March 2016, Radio Ceredigion airs a two-hour Welsh language music show on Monday - Thursday evenings, simulcast with Radio Carmarthenshire.[6]
Coverage
Radio Ceredigion has a TSA of 74,000 people, and can be heard from Bangor through to Cross Hands, including parts of Powys, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire. The main transmitter is located at Blaen Plwyf near Aberystwyth on 103.3FM, with relay stations at Mynydd Pencarreg near Lampeter on 96.6FM and Penwaun near Cardigan on 97.4FM.
Programming
The majority of Radio Ceredigion's output is produced and broadcast from Nation Broadcasting's Narberth studios. All programming and presenters - including music - is shared with sister stations Radio Carmarthenshire and Scarlet FM.[7] Most output is also shared with Radio Pembrokeshire - split transmission is used to allow the stations to broadcast local content relevant to their area.
Presenter-led shows air from 6am - 9pm on Monday - Thursdays, 6am - 7pm on Fridays, 7am - 6pm on Saturdays and 8am - 7pm on Sundays. The station's main presenters are Jay Curtis (weekday breakfast), Ollie Cole (weekday mornings), Toby Ellis (weekday afternoons, West Wales Sport) and James Southon (weekday drivetime, Saturday mornings).
Specialist programming includes a Welsh language music show on Monday - Thursday evenings and a weekly farming affairs programme on Sunday mornings. The Vodafone Big Top 40 is produced by Global Radio at its Capital studios in London for broadcast on 145 commercial radio stations in the UK every Sunday afternoon.
News
Local news bulletins, produced from Nation Broadcasting's newsroom in St Hilary, air hourly from 7.02am - 6.02pm on weekdays and 8.02am - 12.02pm at weekends with headlines on the half hour during the weekday breakfast and drivetime shows. Radio Carmarthenshire also airs national Sky News Radio bulletins 24 hours a day and detailed local weather forecasts on the half hour.[8]
The station's journalists are Mike Hughes, Brogan Hubber, Natalie Beer and West Wales correspondent Jim Hughes.[9]
References
- ↑ Radio Today - Changes planned for Ceredigion, 9 March 2010
- ↑ Radio Today - Changes planned for Ceredigion, 9 March 2010
- ↑ Radio Ceredigion public file
- ↑ Language row erupts over radio station's bid to cut Welsh broadcasting, Wales Online, 13 May 2011
- ↑ Ofcom rejects local radio station’s bid to cut Welsh language programming, Wales Online, 7 July 2011
- ↑ Radio Ceredigion public file
- ↑ Radio Ceredigion public file
- ↑ Radio Ceredigion public file
- ↑ Radio Ceredigion public file
External links
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