Ofcom today announces the award of the new FM local commercial radio licence for Ballymena in Northern Ireland.
By the closing date of 6 April 2005, Ofcom received four applications for the Ballymena licence. After giving careful consideration to each of the applications submitted, the Ofcom Radio Licensing Committee has decided to award the licence to:
Seven Towers FM, DCL, 2 Donegall Square East, Belfast, BT1 5HB
Contact: Paul McErlean Tel: 028 9033 9949
Email: paul@dclmedia.com
Seven Towers FM is owned by Alpha Newspaper Group (22%), Irish News Ltd (16%), with the balance of the shares held by eight individuals. It will provide a full service music and information station aimed at all adults in Ballymena and the surrounding area with significant resources devoted to local news and information.
The licence is for a service to cover the town of Ballymena and the immediately surrounding area which has an adult population (aged 15+) of around 56,000. However, the exact coverage will be determined by the location of the transmission site and other technical characteristics.
Ofcom expects Seven Towers FM to begin broadcasting at the earliest opportunity and no later than two years from this award date.
Ofcom will publish a statement setting out the key determining factors for the award of this licence shortly.
The licence will be issued for a twelve year period.