Radio Plymouth - Ofcom Licensing

RADIO PLYMOUTH
2. Financial and business plan
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
David Rodgers first became interested in a new radio licence for his home city back in 1995 whilst
chief executive of Orchard Media. Accordingly he helped establish the Armada Broadcasting
Company applying for the re-advertised AM & FM licences operated by Plymouth Sound.
There was a feeling then that much of the adult audience was not being offered the sort of local
radio that really appealed to them and research at that time confirmed this. As in the overwhelming
majority of cases however, The Radio Authority re-awarded the licences to the incumbent. Things
went quiet for a few years until Ofcom decided that some markets with available spectrum would
now be robust enough to support an additional local service.
In early 2003 Radio Plymouth was formed and the founding shareholders decided to support two
trial broadcasts and lobby Ofcom for an additional station in Plymouth. A station which we believed
would complement Plymouth Sound by appealing to a different audience, featuring a more mature
style of presentation with a greater emphasis on the quality of speech and a broad spectrum of
music that would engage our target audience.
Following RSLs in 2003 and 2004 we now felt that we understood the local market place much more
comprehensively so set out to test and develop our assumptions with robust and detailed research.
During the trials, extensive advertising and marketing attracted a high level of interest from other
potential local investors. We wanted a tightly controlled, well funded company with a range of media,
business and community skills and resolved to limit the number of shareholders to a maximum of
ten and by early 2004 we were fully subscribed.
More recently, the board also decided that we may consider a corporate partner but for one reason
only: to forge a link with neighbouring Devon stations so that regional and national sales could be
maximised and some non on-air services combined, whilst protecting the dedicated output of our
station for Plymouth.
Three existing radio groups approached us but only LMC, as the major shareholder in Palm FM in
Torbay, ticked the right box for Radio Plymouth. Diluting one’s shareholding is never an easy thing
to consider. Our consortium, however, took the strategic decision that a qualified partner with
current radio operating experience would enhance the potential success of the station.
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