KCFM - Ofcom Licensing

In tune with the heartbeat of the City
An application to Ofcom
for an independent local radio licence
for Kingston upon Hull
and the surrounding area
Planet Broadcasting Company Limited

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
General Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
SECTION 105 (A): ABILITY TO MAINTAIN PROPOSED SERVICE
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
1. OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL OF COMPANY
(a) Board of Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
(b) Proposed Investors and Shareholding Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
(c) Involvement of Applicant in Specified Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
2. FINANCIAL AND BUSINESS PLAN
(a) Overall Financial Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
(b) Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
(c) Financial Forecasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
(d) Audience Projections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
3. TRANSMISSION PROPOSALS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
SECTION 105 (B) AND (C):CATERING FOR TASTES AND INTERESTS/BROADENING CHOICE
4. PROGRAMMING PHILOSOPHY
(i) Programming Strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Catering for Local Tastes and Interests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Broadening the Range of Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Provision of Local Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Proportion of Locally-Made Programming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
(ii) Typical programme-by-programme weekly schedule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
5. PROPOSED FORMAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
SECTION 105 (D): EVIDENCE OF LOCAL DEMAND OR SUPPORT
6. EVIDENCE OF DEMAND
(i) Key Objectives of the Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
(ii) Specific Questions KCFM 99.9 Sought To Answer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
(iii) How the Research Was Conducted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
(iv) Size and Composition of the Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
(v) Where and When Research Was Conducted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
(vi) Summary of Main Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
7. EVIDENCE OF SUPPORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
DECLARATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
page number | 2

PLANET BROADCASTING COMPANY LIMITED
KCFM 99.9
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Section 105 (A) – Ability to Maintain Proposed Service
• Directors who are entrepreneurial individuals of integrity and repute with a broad mix of business
and broadcasting skills who really understand this unique area and its people
• Chairman Ian Blakey has been a visionary for commercial radio in the Hull region and Yorkshire
for the last 25 years with vast experience of radio station ownership and operations
• Plan to reach 92,400 adults within three years generating 831,600 listening hours
• Solid business plan based on robust foundations and conservative financial projections in order to
sustain station over the licence period
• Fully funded from shareholders with no overdraft
Sections 105 (B) and (C) – Catering For Tastes and Interests / Broadening Choice
• Truly local, full service radio station providing genuine alternative listening for Hull and the
surrounding area
• Hull’s first 24-hour local news service with sports, information, interviews and features –
including a daily sports phone-in and discussion show
• Wide variety of classic hit music from the last four decades
• Broad appeal catering for a wide age range of mature listeners from 30 and over - an older
audience than is usual with commercial radio
• Satisfying demand for a new radio advertising medium in Hull and the surrounding area
• Distinctively different service from existing local commercial stations, broadening audience choice
and winning audience share back from BBC services, in particular the popular BBC Radio
Humberside.
• Live and local 24 hours a day. No voice tracking, networking or automated programming
Section 105 (D) – Evidence of Local Demand and Support
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
• Trial RSL broadcast in spring 2005 followed up by research among 502 listeners and advertisers
showing high level of support and demand
• Quantitative research among 439 adults and ten key local advertisers shows considerable demand
for a more localised service for Hull than existing commercial stations
• Qualitative research using focus groups tests and shows approval for detailed format proposals
including detailed speech and music content
• Letters of support from potential listeners and prospective local advertisers
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GENERAL INFORMATION
(a) Name of Applicant, Address, Telephone and Fax Nos., E-mail address
This must be a single legal entity: either a body corporate or a named individual
person. If the former, a copy of the certificate of incorporation must be included with
the application.
Name: PLANET BROADCASTING COMPANY LIMITED
(company number 5219149)
Address: Kingston Communications Stadium
The Circle, 1 Walton Street, Anlaby Road, Hull, HU3 6HU
Telephone: 01482 304762
Fax: 01482 304881
Email address: info@kcfm.co.uk
(For Certificate of Incorporation, please see Appendix)
(b) Main Contact (For Public Purposes)
Please nominate at least one individual to deal with any press or public enquiries, stating:
Name: Ian Blakey
Telephone (daytime): 07970 436471 or 07985 780831
Address: Fleet House, Woodhouse Street, Hedon Road, Hull, HU9 1RJ
E-mail address: ijb@ijblakey.co.uk
(c) Proposed Station Name (if decided)
KCFM 99.9
(d) Brief Description of Programme Service
Provide a one-sentence statement summarising the type of programme service or format proposed.
A truly local, full service radio station for Kingston upon Hull playing a wide variety of classic hit
music from the last four decades with 24-hour-a-day local news, sport, information, interviews and
entertaining features of particular relevance to the city and surrounding area
(e) Main Contact (For Ofcom Purposes)
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Please nominate one individual to whom questions of clarification and/oramplification should be sent, stating:
Name: Ian Blakey
Telephone (daytime): 07970 436471 or 07985 780831
Address: Fleet House, Woodhouse Street, Hedon Road, Hull , HU9 1RJ
E-mail address: ijb@ijblakey.co.uk
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Section 105(A): Ability to maintain proposed service
1. Ownership and control of company which will operate the licence
Kingston upon Hull is a geographically isolated – and in many ways, parochial – place which creates
its own unique culture. In assembling our Board of Directors, we have sought to include individuals
with a extensive mix of business and broadcasting skills who really understand this area and its
people. This is an unrivalled group of colleagues who know and love Hull with an outstanding record
of local radio experience, directly opposed to ‘others’ wanting to establish another satellite station
of an existing radio group.
(a) Board of Directors
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
i) Provide the name, occupation, other Directorships, other media interests, background and relevant
media experience of each Director (executive and non executive), including the proposed chairperson.
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Name: IAN BLAKEY, FCIT, FRSA
Occupation: Non-executive Chairman, KCFM 99.9
Other Directorships: Rediffusion Services (Pte) Ltd, Singapore
NISA Today’s Distribution Ltd
NISA Today’s Holdings Ltd
Other Media Interests: None
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Background and relevant media experience:-
Ian Blakey has been a visionary for commercial radio in the Kingston upon Hull and Yorkshire area
for more than 25 years.
He campaigned for local commercial radio for the city in the early 1980s and was the founder
Shareholder and Director of Viking Radio. He was its deputy Chairman when it went on the air in
1984 and became deputy Chairman of the Yorkshire Radio Network (Viking, Hallam and Pennine)
and subsequently Chairman of Minster Sound Radio plc.
Ian was born in North Ferriby in East Yorkshire and attended Hull Grammar School. After National
Service in the Royal Navy, he became involved in the road haulage industry and formed I.J. Blakey
Haulage Co Ltd followed by other subsidiary companies in warehousing and property. He is a former
Chairman of the Yorkshire (Hull) area of the Road Haulage Association and a former Chairman of
the Humberside branch of the Institute of Traffic Administration.
As well as his business and media interests, Ian is a highly respected figure in the city’s community
and civic life, particularly the National Health Service. He is a former Chairman of the Hull and East
Yorkshire NHS Trust, a former non-executive Director of the East Yorkshire Health Authority and a
former Chairman of Humberside Ambulance Authority.
Among his many local charity and community appointments, Ian was Humberside county Chairman
of the Wishing Well Appeal for Great Ormond Street Hospital which raised £250,000 in one year. The
Blakey family founded an organisation called HELP – Help Every Local Paediatric – which has raised
more than £300,000 since 1990 for children’s wards in North Humberside. Ian was Chairman,
finance and administration for St John Ambulance in Humberside.
Other local charitable organisations helped by Ian include the Hull and East Riding Cardiac Trust Fund,
the Royal Hull Hospital Charitable Trust and as a trustee of the Health Scheme Charitable Trust.
Ian was a member of OFWAT, Yorkshire and Humberside; a Council member of Humberside Training
and Enterprise Council; and is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Carmen.
Ian is married to Pamela and they have two children, Jeremy and Zelda (a former senior BBC radio journalist).
In 2000, Ian was asked by the Hull City Corporation to chair a project board to create a new sports
and community stadium for Hull which was built in two years at a cost of more than £40 million on
time and within budget. He was instrumental in recruiting Adam Pearson as Chairman of both Hull
City AFC and the Stadium Management Company and the two men realised the media opportunities
offered by the stadium and its further involvement in sporting and community activities. They then
began investigating the possibility of a new commercial radio licence becoming available for a local
radio station for the city and formed the company Planet Broadcasting Co Ltd
Ian brings to KCFM 99.9 vast experience of senior radio station management, ownership and operations
as well as excellent personal connections with business, civic and community organisations in Hull
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Name: HILARY BARKER
Occupation: Chartered Accountant
Non-executive Director, KCFM 99.9
Other Directorships: BUPA Hospital Ltd (resigned 2000)
(plus subsidiary & associate companies)
Other Media Interests: None
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Background and relevant media experience:-
Hilary Barker is a highly experienced and respected Finance Director in the health and retail
sectors. With a high level of determination, tenacity and energy, she has been successful in building
and improving businesses.
Hilary was born and raised in Hessle and, after having lived and worked in various parts of the
country, now resides in Kirkella.
After training as a graduate chartered accountant with Peat Marwick Mitchell and Co and working
as an accountant for chemicals company Croda International plc, Hilary was invited to join Ernst and
Young in 1985 as part of a new corporate advisory team based in Hull,
From 1987 to 1992, Hilary was the Business Planning and Finance Manager for electrical retailer
Comet Group plc where she had responsibility for the preparation and presentation of long range
business plans, budgets and short-term forecasts.
Along with three colleagues from Comet, Hilary joined NORWEB Retail as Finance Director in 1992
to grow its retail business so that it became a major source of non-regulated income. When she
joined, the company was a regional chain of 90 high street shops in the North West with a turnover
of £75 million. When she left five years later, NORWEB Retail was the UK’s third largest electrical
retailer with a turnover of £270 million, generated primarily from 80 out-of-town superstores
throughout England and Wales.
The NORWEB Retail business was sold to Comet in 1997 and Hilary returned as Acting Finance
Director to underwrite the acquisition and manage its integration.
After a year, Hilary was headhunted by BUPA Hospitals Ltd to be its finance and development
Director where she was actively involved in change management and led the development process
for millions of pounds worth of capital investment in the expansion and extending of hospitals.
Since leaving BUPA in 2000, with semi retirement plans in mind, Hilary has purchased and run a
busy commercial sub post office on the outskirts of Hull and undertaken ad hoc financial consulting
work. Recent clients are BUPA, Kingston Communications and iSOFT plc.
Hilary brings to KCFM 99.9 a sharp financial focus to planning and performance from her vast
experience in highly competitive customer-driven markets.
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Name: PAUL CHANTLER
Occupation: Media Consultant
Non-executive Director, KCFM 99.9
Other Directorships: Radio UK Holdings Ltd
(designate for North East and Southend licence applications)
United Radio Ltd
Other Media Interests: n/a
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Background and relevant media interests:-
Paul Chantler is an award-winning radio programmer with 22 successful years in the radio industry.
He currently runs his own radio consultancy business working with stations throughout the UK and
Europe.
Paul started his career on local newspapers in Kent before joining Invicta Radio as a reporter and
newsreader. Four years later, he became News Editor of Southern FM before moving to BBC
Wiltshire Sound as breakfast show presenter. It was in Wiltshire that he met Ian Blakey’s daughter
Zelda who was a senior journalist there.
He was then headhunted to become News Editor for the Chiltern Radio Network and became Group
Programme Director in 1991. In 1994, he was responsible for launching Galaxy 101, one of the first
regional stations.
Paul was Group Programme Director for the Essex Radio Group based in Southend from 1996 to
2000. While at Essex he was responsible for the outstanding audience success of Essex FM and the
station’s highly acclaimed “2 Smart 4 Drugs” schools road show tour. He was part of the team which
won the East of England regional licence in 1997 and went on to launch Vibe FM.
His work at Essex FM helped him win UK Commercial Programmer of the Year at the 1997 CRCA
awards.
After leaving Essex, Paul joined The Wireless Group as Group Programme Director in 2000 where he
was responsible for programming TalkSport as well as all the group’s local and regional stations.
As a media consultant in 2002, he helped successfully launched Dublin’s NewsTalk 106. Among his
many training commitments, Paul runs programming, presentation, journalism and legal seminars
for the Commercial Radio Companies Association. He has also trained journalists at Viking Radio in
Hull and worked on the development of Magic 1161 AM.
He is the co-author of the highly-acclaimed and best-selling book Basic Radio Journalism used as a
standard text by many college courses worldwide.
Paul brings to KCFM 99.9 detailed knowledge of commercial radio station operations, emphasising
programming and journalism. His expertise will be invaluable in recruiting and training both
presenters and journalists.
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Name: JAMES DICK
Occupation: Retiring President, Smith and Nephew Wound Management
Non-executive Director, KCFM 99.9
Other Directorships: Smith and Nephew Medical Ltd (resigning mid 2006)
Smith and Nephew European Distribution Ltd (resigned 2006)
Smith and Nephew Extruded Films Ltd (resigned 2006)
Smith and Nephew Healthcare Ltd (resigned 2006)
Smith and Nephew Surgical Ltd (resigned 2006)
Smith and Nephew Collagenase Ltd (resigned 2006)
Smith and Nephew Pharmaceuticals Ltd (resigned 2006)
T.J. Smith and Nephew Ltd (resigned 2006)
Hull City Image
Hull City Build
Associate Director, Hull City AFC
Other media interests: None
Background and relevant media experience:-
Jim Dick is the retiring President of the Smith and Nephew plc Wound Management Division, where for
the last seven years he has been responsible for all aspects of a £350 million business operating globally.
He was also a member of the Smith and Nephew plc group executive committee. Smith and Nephew is a
FTSE 100 company and is Hull’s biggest private employer.
Jim has extensive experience in the international healthcare sector, with particular strengths in
international marketing, innovation and change management.
Jim’s career with Smith and Nephew spans nearly 30 years. He has experienced a wide variety of jobs
within the company ranging from international marketing manager and general manager to sales and
marketing controller and managing Director of various divisions and businesses within the group.
He is a prominent and well-known member of Hull’s business and commercial community and is actively
involved in organisations helping to promote the city and its achievements.
Jim is a founder and Chairman of Hull City Image – a public private partnership which he helped establish
and is directed towards changing perceptions of Hull both externally and internally. The company has a
Board of Directors made up of leading business, civic and voluntary figures from the Hull area.
He is also a non-executive Director of Hull Citybuild, which is Hull’s urban regeneration company which he
helped establish, as well as a Director of Yorkshire Science, a new body established by Yorkshire Forward
with the aim of promoting science and technology in the region.
Jim is Chairman of trustees of the Smith and Nephew Foundation – the UK’s largest charitable donor of
funds to UK nursing. It focuses on the development of capacity and capability in nursing research in the
area of skin integrity. The other trustees are all eminent nursing professors.
He has been a member of the Yorkshire and Humber Council of the CBI for the last five years and is
currently president of the Humber branch of the Chartered Institute of Marketing as well as an associate
Director of Hull City AFC.
Jim is married with a son aged 21 and lives in North Ferriby.
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Jim brings to KCFM 99.9 superb experience of marketing at a world-class level as well as excellent local
knowledge of Hull and unrivalled local business, civic and community contacts
page number | 9

Name: TIM JIBSON
Occupation: MD of International Broadcasting & Marketing Ltd
Launch Director, KCFM 99.9
Other Directorships: International Broadcasting & Marketing Ltd
Adventures in Radio Ltd
Other media interests: None
Background and relevant media experience:-
Tim Jibson is the designated Launch Director for KCFM 99.9.
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Tim runs a company based in Hull which provides a complete service for UK radio stations to broadcast
their programmes from all over the world. He works with companies such as Walt Disney to organise and
implement outside broadcasts for a vast range of stations from Virgin Radio to Viking Radio.
Tim started his career at BBC Radio Humberside in 1979 where he was a producer, presenter and
promotions manager. He set up BBC local radio’s first promotions department, organised international
listener trips and organised summer roadshows around Humberside.
In 1985 he was appointed head of promotions at Viking Radio in Hull (his initial contact with our Chairman
Ian Blakey) responsible for roadshows, concerts, merchandise, listener trips and sponsorship events. He
was also the afternoon presenter on the station.
Three years later he was a member of the team to set up the UK’s first radio station split frequencies
between AM and FM and was a consultant on the launch team for the UK’s first gold station – Viking Gold
– where he was also a producer/presenter.
In 1990, he set up International Broadcasting and Marketing and has worked with scores of UK stations on
outside broadcasts and coverage of press events from Disneyland in California, Walt Disney World in Florida
and Disneyland, Paris. His work includes providing technical equipment, the organisation and implementation
of policies for press events and the overseeing of digital satellite broadcasting schedules to the UK.
When Virgin Radio launched in 1993, Tim became their worldwide OB coordinator overseeing live
broadcasts from, among other places, Birmingham, Blackpool, Barbados, Bahrain, Sydney, New York,
Auckland and Hong Kong.
Tim also offers advice and consultancy to organisations wanting to set up broadcasts with radio stations
such as Warner Brothers Films for the Harry Potter series. Among various other organisations he has
worked with are Elvis Presley Enterprises in Memphis, the London Motor Show, Jamaica Tourist Board,
Tennessee and Mississippi Tourism and the Arizona Office of Tourism.
Another part of Tim’s business is as an artist agency and manager. He works with radio presenters such
as Tony Blackburn, Dave Lee Travis, Paul Burnett and Emperor Rosko. He produces Emperor Rosko’s
Party Night for the Classic Gold Network.
Despite his busy international schedule, Tim still finds time to broadcast and appears on BBC Radio
Humberside weekly with his Good Times and Great Oldies show. In addition, he has organised and managed
six RSL broadcasts – three in Hull, and one each in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Doncaster and Withernsea.
Tim brings a wealth of broadcasting and managerial experience to KCFM 99.9 and organised our RSL
broadcast in 2005. He has vast knowledge of Hull and the surrounding area and has programming
experience of all three local stations – Viking, Magic and BBC Radio Humberside
page number | 10

Name: ADAM PEARSON
Occupation: Chairman & Chief Executive of KC Stadium Management Company
Non-executive Director, KCFM 99.9
Other Directorships: Chairman, Hull City AFC
Other Media Interests: None
Background and relevant media experience:-
Adam Pearson is Hull’s young, high-profile, dynamic business leader and is Chairman and Chief Executive
of the management company that runs the £45 million KC Stadium.
Adam started his career at Marks and Spencer in Hull before progressing through their head office at
Baker Street in London where he was an executive in merchandising, sales management and the
marketing department.
After ten years at Marks and Spencer, Adam then became commercial Director of William Baird plc, a
textile manufacturer supplying Marks and Spencer.
Ten years ago Adam became commercial Director of Leeds United Football Club and was the executive Director
in charge of the business, which grew from £16 million per year in 1996 to £80 million per year in 2001.
After five years at Leeds United, Adam became Chairman of Hull City AFC and recovered the club from
administration in March 2001. He then negotiated with the Hull City Council to become Chairman and
Chief Executive of the management company and build the new sporting and community stadium.
In 2004, Adam was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration by the University of
Lincoln for his services to the city of Hull.
Adam is married with two young children.
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Adam brings to KCFM 99.9 wide ranging business skills and experience coupled with knowledge and
connections in the city and surrounding area – plus unique access to the city’s key sports clubs and
major entertainment venue
page number | 11

Name: DIANE WHITE
Occupation: Non-executive Director, KCFM 99.9
Other Directorships: None
Other Media Interests: None
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Background and relevant media experience:-
Di White was born and brought up in the area. She is an experienced radio professional and has both radio
station management skills and local radio sales expertise.
She was born in Beverley and brought up on a farm in East Yorkshire. She attended Hornsea School and
then left to go to Newcastle Upon Tyne Polytechnic where she gained a BA degree in Business
Administration.
After a year travelling with a backpack around Australia, South Africa and Hong Kong, Di sold houses for a
while until she found the career she loved – radio.
In 1991 Di joined Viking FM as a trainee sales executive. She remained with EMAP for six years
progressing from local direct selling to agency sales and finally to a regional role selling for Viking FM,
Hallam FM and Radio Aire. While at Viking FM, Di was a finalist in the Media Week Awards and also had
the single highest revenue achievement in one month by a local sales person.
Di joined Minster Sound Radio in 1997. She was the Sales Manager responsible for teams at Minster FM
in York and Yorkshire Coast Radio in Scarborough. Minster FM achieved £100k locally for the first time in
history while she was at the helm. After two years with Minster, the group asked her to go to
Huddersfield as Station Manager where she gained valuable experience of ‘hands-on’ radio station
management. It was while she was with the Minster Group that Di met our Chairman Ian Blakey.
In 2000, Di was approached by TWG and offered the role of Station Director at Wish FM. During the three
years she was there, Wish FM not only went into profit for the first time in its history, but that profit was
subsequently doubled year on year. At Wish FM Di was responsible for overseeing every department
locally as well as regional accounts and traffic teams. She has a thorough knowledge of the workings of a
true, local radio station.
Returning to East Yorkshire coincided with starting a family, and a career break. Apart from the toddler
groups, Di enjoys current affairs, food, cookery and selling greetings cards from home.
Di brings to KCFM 99.9 a wealth of practical radio experience. She is an expert in forging relationships with
the local community to benefit both the commercial and programming strands in a radio station. She also has
considerable knowledge of local radio sales and of station management in small to medium sized markets
page number | 12

ii) If there are firm plans to appoint any further Directors, provide information (with details of any
specific individuals in mind). This information may be submitted in confidence.
There are no immediate plans to appoint additional non-executive Directors but the Board’s first
priority after the licence award is to recruit a suitably qualified and experienced Managing Director.
(b) Proposed Investors and Shareholding Structure
Full details of the proposed shareholding structure should be provided, including:
i) Names and addresses (the latter may be submitted in confidence) of all existing or proposed
shareholders.
Name: Address
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Hilary Barker The Stables, Church Lane, Kirkella, Hull, HU10 7TG
Ian Blakey Beech House, 191 Northgate, Cottingham, HU16 5QL
Paul Chantler 52 South Block, County Hall, Westminster, London, SE1 7GB
James Dick 16A Humber Road, North Ferriby, East Yorkshire, HU14 3DW
Tim Jibson 24 Ash Close, Sproatley, East Yorkshire, HU11 4XE
The Stadium Management Co Ltd (SMC)KC Stadium, The Circle, 1 Walton Street, Anlaby Road, Hull,
HU3 6HU
Diane White The Old School House, 76 Main Street, Brandesburton,
East Yorkshire, YO25 8RG
ii) Total number, class/classes of shares and issue price of shares (specify voting,non-voting, preference,
other etc.).
Total number of shares - 500,000 of £1 each, all A-class and voting shares.
iii) All voting shareholders and holders of 5% or more of non-voting shares and loan stock should be
named. State the number, class/classes and price of shares to be issued to each investor.
Name % of Shares No of Shares Class Price
Hilary Barker 5% 25,000 A £1
Ian Blakey 17% 85,000 A £1
Paul Chantler 17% 85,000 A £1
James Dick 10% 50,000 A £1
Tim Jibson 17% 85,000 A £1
SMC Ltd 29% 145,000 A £1
Diane White 5% 25,000 A £1
TOTAL 100% 500,000 A £1
iv) Outline any shareholders agreements or arrangements which exist.
A copy of Planet Broadcasting Company Ltd’s Memorandum and Articles of Association is available
upon request
page number | 13

v) Where a corporate body other than a current Ofcom licensee will be providing 30% or more of the
required funding, details should be given of its Directors and main shareholders, and of its activities.
Not applicable
vi) Ofcom may request additional information (e.g. a banker’s letter, statutory/management accounts)
regarding the shareholders, or any other providers of finance, listed in the application.
Available on request
(c) Involvement of the Applicant in Specified Activities
Details are required of the involvement by the applicant and its participants (including shareholders
or other subscribers of more than 5% of the applicant’s total funding requirements) in any of the
activities listed below, and the extent of the interest. For these purposes, the applicant includes
associates of the applicant (i.e. Directors and their associates and other group companies).
i) Advertising agencies;
Tim Jibson’s companies, International Broadcasting & Marketing Ltd and Adventures in Radio Ltd,
act as advertising agencies from time to time.
ii) Newspapers;
None
iii) Other broadcasting interests;
Tim Jibson is actively involved in a number of broadcasting activities with a wide range of stations in
the UK, mainly concerning international outside broadcasts. He is also a presenter of a weekly show
on BBC Radio Humberside.
Paul Chantler acts as a programming consultant and training expert to a number of UK radio
companies as well as the Commercial Radio Companies Association
iv) Bodies whose objects are wholly or mainly of a religious nature;
None
v) Bodies whose objects are wholly or mainly of a political nature;
None
vi) Local Authorities;
None
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
vii) Other publicly-funded bodies.
James Dick is chairman of Hull City Image and a Non-Executive Director of Hull City Build
page number | 14

2. Financial and business plan
(a) Overall Financial Strategy
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Provide a concise summary of how the applicant considers it is able to establish and maintain,
throughout the licence period, its proposed service, and how this licence fits in with the investors’
strategy.
Background
Our Chairman Ian Blakey first became involved with local radio at a Rotary Club lunch in 1981 when the
then manager of BBC Radio Humberside told him Hull would soon have a commercial radio station of its
own. As a result, Ian learned more about the licence application process from the Association of
Independent Radio Contractors and formed a consortium called Humber Bridge Radio. When the Hull
and Humber licence was advertised by the Independent Broadcasting Authority, Ian’s consortium was
one of three applicants and duly won. The newly-named Viking Radio went on the air in 1984 with Ian as
deputy Chairman.
Ian established good relationships with the other Yorkshire commercial stations and within four years
merged Viking into the Yorkshire Radio Network plc with Hallam and Pennine in 1987. Three years later,
there was a hostile bid for the group by Metro Radio plc and the three stations were merged into that
enlarged group.
Meanwhile through his friends Richard Whiteley and the Earl of Halifax, Ian became involved with a
group applying for the York licence which was advertised in 1990. This group won the licence as Minster
Sound Radio which went on the air in 1992 with Ian subsequently Chairman. Through Minster, Ian also
became involved with new radio licences in Scarborough and Sunderland.
In 1994, Ian resigned from all his radio interests to become Chairman of the Hull and East Yorkshire NHS
Trust. However he maintained his interest in hospital radio and commercial radio and realised another
local licence for Hull would be advertised by Ofcom.
Ian was asked by the city council in 2000 to chair a project board to build and create a new sports
stadium for Hull. The £45 million KC Stadium was built on time and on budget within two years. During
this period, Ian was instrumental in recruiting Adam Pearson as Chairman and Chief Executive of the
Stadium Management Company. Both men agreed that the media in general and radio in particular
would provide great opportunities for the stadium and its all embracing community activities.
On 1st September 2004, Ian formed Planet Broadcasting Co Ltd with Adam and a small group of people
also interested in applying for a new local radio licence – Tim Jibson, whom he knew from his days at
Viking, and Diane White from Minster Sound. In fact, Tim had been instrumental in lobbying the former
Radio Authority to put Hull on its list of areas suitable for a new local radio station. Through his daughter
Zelda and Tim, Ian was introduced to Paul Chantler who agreed to join the group as a non-executive
Director. To take care of financial planning, Ian invited Hilary Barker (whom he knew through a mutual
interest in a local art gallery) to become involved. To bolster the group’s connections with local business
leaders, Ian invited high profile Hull business leader Jim Dick to join the board.
The Planet Group operated an RSL licence call sign KC107.3FM in spring 2005 with the express purpose of
assessing tastes and interests of radio listeners in Hull and assessing and understanding the commercial
demand for a new station. KC107.3FM was an overwhelming success with listeners and its success was
measured by way of detailed research by Dipsticks, described in Section 6 of this application.
page number | 15

In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Overall Strategy
Through the RSL and quality research for this application, the group has become even more convinced
that there is a need for a new, localised radio station for Hull city region. It is becoming increasingly
apparent that the existing local stations, Viking and Magic, are serving a wider area and have become
out of touch with their core audiences. The only local broad based station which succeeds with local
people is BBC Radio Humberside and our group strongly believes it can offer a commercial alternative.
Planet shareholders are individuals of integrity and repute who will provide KCFM 99.9 with financial
stability and support. This significant experience and knowledge of Ian Blakey in commercial radio
ownership and operational terms will be supplemented by that of Paul Chantler, Tim Jibson and Di
White, all with many years of commercial radio experience and expertise. They and the team they recruit
will be able to create and market a radio station which will grow audience and sustain profitability.
As a result of our current detailed and ongoing market research, KCFM 99.9 will be well placed to
cater for the tastes and interests of people in Hull and the surrounding area, offer listener choice
and a new advertising opportunity to clients.
KCFM 99.9 has a solid business plan built on robust information and calculations combined with conservative
projections supported by a strong team of entrepreneurial Directors with operational and community
experience of all aspects of running a commercial radio station and other commercial enterprise.
Our group will create a full-service, truly local radio station specifically for people in Hull that will
draw listening share away from the BBC services in general and BBC Radio Humberside in
particular while giving local advertisers their most cost effective local media opportunity.
KCFM 99.9 will be in touch with the heartbeat of a city with a unique culture. It will be based in the
centre of a major regeneration area and make a substantial contribution to Hull’s drive to become a ‘top
ten city’ by attracting economic investment, creating prosperity and raising community aspirations.
Strategy for Hull Advertisers
KCFM 99.9 will be a true, local radio station, and as such, we expect the vast majority of our
advertising revenue to come from the local market place.
Currently, there is a lack of a dedicated radio station for Hull, and therefore local advertisers all
have to accept some ‘wastage’ with any radio advertising they choose to do. Experience tells us that
advertisers are more inclined to include a media on their marketing schedule when it provides a
footprint which more closely matches that of their own customer base.
At KCFM 99.9 we are looking forward to being able to offer competitively priced advertising packages to
encourage advertisers who think they cannot afford the large, ‘regional’ radio option, and also
companies who believe that the Hull Daily Mail is their only choice for advertising in their immediate
market place. Indeed, it is our intention to divert some of the total advertising spends available in Hull
and East Yorkshire by offering a cost effective viable alternative to small and medium sizes businesses.
The Directors are confident that our unique and distinctive programming mix will maximise
listeners and therefore revenue. Our slightly older target market will also be of benefit as we will
be able to deliver a strong audience with more disposable income to our advertisers.
KCFM 99.9 intend to develop a highly desirable Sponsorship and Promotion proposition which will
complement our programming and be a growing revenue stream in to the radio station.
Our experienced Board of Directors has the knowledge and guidance to ensure that all potential revenue
opportunities are explored. We are confident that KCFM 99.9 will be able to offer effective advertising with
enough scope and choice to make sure it becomes a ‘must include’ for any local advertiser’s marketing strategy.
page number | 16

(b) Funding
Detail the sources of finance that will be used to fund the licence, under the following
headings:
i) Share capital
£500,000
ii) Loan stock
£500,000
iii) Leasing/HP facilities (capital value)
None
iv) Bank overdraft
None as the company will be self-financing
v) Grants and donations
None
vi) Other (please specify)
None
Where relevant, provide information on:
i) Loan terms (e.g. interest rate, repayment terms, redemption/conversion terms);
The Loan Stock will be totally subscribed for by shareholders at an interest rate of 8% over three
years
ii) Assets leased
None
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
(c) Financial Projections
The purpose of this question is to allow the applicant to demonstrate its understanding of the market.
Kingston upon Hull
The following is an illustration of our group’s intimate understanding and comprehensive knowledge of
the community we seek to serve.
page number | 17

In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Geography
The city of Hull and the adjacent areas of the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire have a total
population of over 420,000. The city and these adjacent areas are inextricably bound both economically
and socially with increasingly complex journey to work patterns reflecting their mutual interdependence.
The other principal settlements within the area are the expanding market town and administrative centre
of Beverley (25,000), the port and industrial centre of Goole ( 20,000) and the North Lincolnshire town of
Barton on Humber(11,000). The swathe of expanded villages which form the suburban settlements to the
west, north and east of Hull have a combined population of approximately 110,000. The opening of the
Humber Bridge in 1981 brought Barton upon Humber and other settlements in North Lincolnshire within
20 to 30 minutes travel time of Hull City Centre and therefore well within the city’s sphere of influence.
Smaller settlements such as Cottingham, four miles north of Hull, once the largest village in England, and
Brough, originally founded as Petuaria at the point where the Roman road from York to Lincoln crossed
the Humber via a small ferry, are now an integral part of the Hull journey to work area.
Origins
The origins of Hull can be traced back to a settlement called Wyke, located on the lower reaches of the River Hull,
which belonged to the Cistercian abbey of Meaux near Beverley. The settlement was purchased by King Edward I,
who recognised its potential as a site for a harbour in 1293, and the town was renamed Kingston upon Hull and
granted its first charter in 1299. The Hull Grammar School was founded in 1320 close by the Holy Trinity Church.
The harbour at Hull expanded rapidly following the abandonment of an earlier harbour at Hedon, some six miles
further east. Hedon has survived as a small market town and more recently as a commuter settlement.
The Port of Hull
The strategic importance of the port of Hull was recognised during the English Civil War, when it became the first
place to be openly hostile to King Charles I. The King was on his way from Beverley to Hull in 1642 when the gates
of the town wall were closed to him by the Town Governor, who had been won over by the Parliamentarians.
Hull has traded with northern and southern Europe for centuries and it is at the hub of a trading network
which stretches from Reykjavik in the north to Le Havre in France in the south. The port’s key position on
the E20 trans-European corridor trade route linking Limerick with St. Petersburg means that it is ideally
placed to take advantage of the opening up of the accession states and the Russian and former East
European markets. The port of Hull already handles over 12 million tonnes of freight per year and the
port operator Associated British Ports has recently received Government approval for the Quay 2005
project which will create a new state-of-the-art deep water terminal. The port is also a key European
passenger node with more than one million passengers per year using the daily overnight sailings to
Rotterdam and Zeebrugge. Goole, 30 miles west of Hull, is a thriving inland port linked to the inland
waterway network of industrial South Yorkshire
Industries
Hull has a long entrepreneurial tradition with the origins of major international companies such as Smith &
Nephew and Reckitt Benckiser closely associated with the city. Today Hull is home to Smith & Nephew’s
Global Business Unit for it’s Wound Management Business. Other major companies operating in the city
include Reckitt Benckiser, Seven Seas, Hazelwood Foods, ARCO, Comet, Kingston Communications and
American Standard. Hull’s traditional associations with the fishing industry disappeared in the 1980s although
many of the food producers and allied industries which still operate in the city today were the product of
diversification away from fishing related activities. New high technology activities are rapidly growing in the
city with the presence of research facilities at the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside and of
telecommunications companies such as Kingston Communications providing a valuable supporting
infrastructure. BP Chemicals and BAE Systems are both long established major employers in the East Riding
of Yorkshire, whilst recent major inward investments have included the glass maker Guardian Industries £115
million development at Goole. In North Lincolnshire the USA based multi-national Kimberly Clark chose
Barton on Humber ahead of forty other rival European sites for its £100 million, 750 job inward investment.
page number | 18

In tune with the heartbeat of the city
University
The University of Lincolnshire and Humberside in Hull, with more than 20,000 students, is at the
forefront of many scientific developments including LCDs (Liquid Crystal Displays), laser technology and
robotics. The University rose 27 places in the National League Table published by the Guardian in 2005.
The Hull-York Medical School, opened in 2003, was ranked second best in the UK in 2004.The Hull
campus of the University of Lincoln swells the city’s higher education student population to over 25,000
whilst Hull College offers general and vocational programmes and is the largest further education
provider in the Humber sub-region.
Social Deprivation
In common with all major cities, Hull has some areas, chiefly in the inner city and on some its peripheral
housing estates, which experience severe problems of multiple economic and social deprivation. Levels
of educational attainment in the city’s schools, which given the tightly bounded nature of the city are
effectively comparable to inner city schools in any larger conurbations, have been poor and Hull has
lingered very close to or bottom of the national league tables in secondary education. However
significant improvements have been recorded in levels of attainment at primary school level in recent
years and these are now flowing through into secondary school performances so that the city has now
begun to climb the national league tables. Hull City Council, the East Riding of Yorkshire Council and
their public, private and voluntary sector partners are investing substantial resources to tackle economic
and social deprivation and to generate new economic opportunities for local residents both within the
city and in the surrounding area. A prime example of this co-operation is the bringing forward of
development sites located in East Yorkshire but within easy reach of Hull residents seeking employment.
Arts and Culture
The Hull city region has a thriving and expanding cultural scene. Hull Truck Theatre, shortly to be rehoused
in a new state-of-the art theatre as part of the St. Stephen’s development, is internationally
known for ground-breaking productions including many by its director and playwright John Godber,
whilst Hull City Hall and Hull New Theatre stage a wide range of concerts and performances ranging
from musicals, rock and pop concerts to world class opera and ballet. The city’s jazz, sea shanty and
literature festivals have a growing reputation and Hull has produced leading pop groups such as The
Beautiful South, the Housemartins and the Fine Young Cannibals. Other Hullensians include stage and
TV actress Maureen Lipman, the playwright Alan Plater and the actor/Director Barry Rutter. Other
leading local events include the annual Beverley Music Festival, which has a growing reputation in the
field of folk and traditional music. The famous 17th century English poet and politician Andrew Marvell,
the novelist Winifred Holtby and the 20th century poet Philip Larkin are all closely associated with the
Hull area, the latter having served as the librarian of the University of Hull for many years.
Sport
Hull has a longstanding sporting tradition in both amateur and professional sport, particularly in football and
rugby league. Hull City Association Football Club is enjoying a renaissance with back to back promotions
gaining a place in the Coca Cola Championship. The football club, together with Hull FC, the city’s Engage
Super League rugby league club, is based at the iconic 25,000 seat Kingston Communications Stadium,
opened in December 2002. The football club’s average home attendance has grown from 9,000 in 2002 to
over 19,000 in 2005 following the move to the new stadium. Hull FC’s average home attendance grew by 60
per cent during its first season at the new stadium and the club has also enjoyed major success at its new
home culminating in victory in the 2005 Challenge Cup Final. The stadium has already staged 3 England
Under 21 football internationals and three Rugby League international fixtures and hosted major concerts by
top stars including Elton John, Bryan Adams, Neil Diamond, REM and Westlife. The £45 million Kingston
Communications Stadium complex also includes a multi-purpose indoor Arena and outdoor pitches catering
for a variety of community sports activities and is used by more than 200,000 people annually. The Gemtec
Arena also hosts international events in hockey, badminton, netball and other indoor sports.
The River Hull has traditionally been a sporting divide for rugby league in the city. To the west of the river
Hull FC are the dominant club, whilst the east of the city is the bed rock of support for the city’s other club,
page number | 19

In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Hull Kingston Rovers. During the 1980s both clubs dominated the rugby league, winning all of the
competitions major trophies and contesting many all Hull finals. Hull KR are currently in the LHF Healthplan
National League One of the Rugby league but have high hopes of gaining promotion in 2006 to join their local
rivals in the Super League.The area is also home to many other professional and amateur sports. Hull’s
international standard Ice Arena is home to the Hull Stingrays ice hockey team.
Tourism
Hull, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire’s blend of historic and modern attractions have made the area
one of the UK’s up and coming tourism destinations. Statistics published by Hull City Council indicated that
tourism generated around £45 million per year into the local economy in the mid 1990s but by 2003,
shortly after the opening of The Deep, tourism was worth over £200 million per year to the local area. At
the confluence of the Rivers Hull and Humber, The Deep, the world’s only submarium, has welcomed over
2 million visitors since it opened in early 2002. Nearby Hull’s historic Old Town boasts many buildings
which illustrate the city’s 700 year history. The recently refurbished £5.1 million Museum’s Quarter,
consisting of four linked museums is another major visitor attraction in the Old Town area which also
includes Wilberforce House, home of the anti-slavery campaigner William Wilberforce. The City Council
and other local partners are organising a major programme of events in 2007 to commemorate the 200th
anniversary of the abolition of slavery. Hull’s principal museums attract in the region of half a million
visitors per year. With its overnight ferry links to mainland Europe, Hull is a major UK point of entry and
egress and its major attractions are benefiting increasingly from the influx of European visitors.
Beverley Minster, eight miles north of Hull, is another major visitor attraction in the local area. The
beautiful 12th century parish church of St. Mary’s actually pre-dates the Minster. In addition the Beverley
Racecourse hosts several horse race meetings which attract a total of over 100,000 spectators annually.
Beverley is the gateway to the attractive countryside of the Yorkshire Wolds and to the major routes to the
seaside holiday resorts of Hornsea and Withernsea. The Humber Bridge, which celebrates its 25th
anniversary in 2006, is itself a major visitor attraction. Towards the western boundary of the licence area,
the small market town of Howden boasts an impressive Minster dating from the 13th century. The manor of
Howden belonged to the Prince Bishops of Durham.
Road, Rail and Air Links
Road, rail and air links are vital to the licence area and the broadcasting of regular traffic and timetable
information updates will be a key function for the new radio station. The A63, which links Hull Docks in
the east of the city via the city centre to the eastern end of the M62 at Gilberdyke is the key east-west
artery for the area and regular updated information for this route is absolutely vital. In addition, traffic
circulation in Hull is complicated by the presence of bridges over the River Hull which open on a regular
basis to allow the passage of river vessels. Broadcasting of advance warning of these bridge closures is
crucial to maintaining the flows of traffic within the city, especially during peak periods. Elsewhere in the
area, both the Humber Bridge and the Ouse River M62 motorway bridges can be closed to high sided
vehicles during adverse weather conditions and again advanced warnings need to be broadcast.
Humberside International Airport, located some 15 miles south of the Humber Bridge and only 30 minutes
drive from the centre of Hull has an expanding network of scheduled and holiday charter flights. Regular daily
direct flights between Humberside Airport and Amsterdam Schipol provide ready access to European and
intercontinental services. The recently opened Robin Hood Doncaster-Sheffield international Airport, located
some 45 minutes drive from the centre of Hull, now offers an additional option for international flights. Hull
Trains now offers six direct rail services between Hull and London every weekday with a journey time of two
hours 45 minutes and there are other fast services to Leeds and Manchester and to the Midlands via Sheffield.
The Hull- Beverley-Driffield-Bridlington rail line is an important commuter link which also serves the East
Yorkshire coastal resort during the summer period.
page number | 20

In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Investment
The city of Hull and the surrounding area is undergoing a major renaissance and is becoming a focus for
inward investment by companies who have recognised its undoubted economic potential. The city centre
skyline is already changing rapidly. The £200 million St. Stephens city centre project to regenerate a 30
plus acre site adjacent to the main railway station is now underway. St. Stephens will incorporate a host
of new retail and leisure activities, a new 120 bedroom hotel, a new auditorium and backstage facilities
for Hull Truck Theatre, and a 21st century bus-rail interchange for the city. Already major retailers such
as Tesco, Next, River Island, TK Maxx and HMV have signed up to occupy space in the new centre which
will open in 2007. Hull’s ranking as a retail centre will improve still further when plans for a £ multimillion
extension to the existing Princes Quay shopping centre a brought to fruition in 2009. Moreover a
major US based casino and leisure operator has also announced plans for a £150 million, 1600 jobs
regional casino, hotel and leisure development next to the Kingston Communications Stadium subject to
changes in UK gaming legislation. Elsewhere in Hull partnership working between Hull Citybuild, the
urban regeneration company, the City Council and the private sector is set to progress masterplans for
the regeneration of both the city centre and inner city west Hull.
Economic Renaissance
East Yorkshire is also enjoying an economic renaissance. Its villages and towns have become increasingly
attractive dormitory settlements for middle and upper income groups and also focal points for the growth
of new high technology activities. Beverley’s reputation as a market town and retail centre has been
enhanced by the influx of stores such as Marks & Spencer and other nationally known fashion retailers.
In short the Hull city region is undergoing a massive transformation with rapid and substantial
investment in urban regeneration and rapidly expanding retail, leisure and cultural facilities. Problems
of economic and social deprivation are being tackled through partnership working and the combination
of public and private sector funding to create sustainable regeneration. With its lively social scene and
the rapid expansion of tourist attractions and visitor numbers, the Hull area offers a ready and willing
market place for a new radio station franchise.
Radio and Other Media in Hull
Hull and the surrounding area is covered by two large commercial radio stations, 96.9 Viking FM and
Magic 1161 and a regional music service, Galaxy 105.
Viking plays chart and adult contemporary music for people aged 15 to 44 and covers East Yorkshire and
North Lincolnshire. There is very little local speech content. The station is part of Emap Radio’s Big City
Network. Magic 1161 plays softer music aimed at the over 30s in the Humberside area and is also owned
by Emap Radio. Only eight hours of programming on Magic comes from the Hull studios each weekday,
the rest being broadcast from the Magic studios in Newcastle or Manchester. Galaxy 105 is the regional
dance music station based in Leeds and owned by Chrysalis Radio. BBC Radio Humberside, based in
Hull, also covers the area.
In addition, Lincs FM based in Lincoln has a very powerful transmitter that can be heard across Hull and
the surrounding area.
The main local newspaper is the Hull Daily Mail, owned by Northcliffe Newspapers which is part of the
Daily Mail and General Trust Group.
page number | 21

Financial Forecasts
The forecasts should be based on reasonable assumptions, that are logically
applied and justifiable. The applicant should provide financial projections on an annual basis for the
licence. The projections must include:
i) Profit and loss accounts
See Confidential Financial Appendix
ii) Balance sheets
See Confidential Financial Appendix
iii) Cash-flow forecasts
See Confidential Financial Appendix
This section must include a full listing of the underlying assumptions on which the financial projections are
based, relating such assumptions clearly to other parts of the application (e.g. proposed format, extent of
coverage area). The applicant should detail how revenue figures were derived, distinguishing between local,
national and sponsorship revenue.
(d) Audience Projections
Provide the following information:
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
i) The projected adult (aged 15+) population of the Total Survey Area (TSA) within which it is intended to
measure the listenership of the service;
Based on projections from our transmission provider Arqiva and using our own local knowledge
together with guidance from Ofcom, we estimate the population aged 15+ of the Total Survey Area is
approximately 420,000.
ii) Projections for listenership ratings (e.g. weekly reach, average weekly hours of listening) over the
first three years of the service, with detailed demographic breakdowns as appropriate;
YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3
Population 420,000 420,000 420,000
Weekly Reach 18% 20% 22%
Weekly Listeners 75,600 84,000 92,400
Average Listening Hours 7 8 9
Total Weekly Listening Hours 529,200 672,000 831,600
Estimated Market Hours 9,931,556 9,960,402 9,992,641
Market Share 5.3% 6.7% 8.3%
The above market share is based on an assumed existing base for the KCFM 99.9 TSA of approximately
9.8 million total hours listened at Year 0.
We have estimated this using the existing Viking FM TSA which covers a TSA and marketing area of
approximately 1.1 million adults 15+. This TSA currently produces a “total hours listened” figure of
approximately 25.7 million listening hours (Source: Rajar Q4 05). Therefore pro rata, a Hull area TSA
should produce a total hours listened figure of approximately 9.8 million hours.
We have assumed KCFM 99.9 will add new listening hours to the TSA in the proportion of 20.2% of its total
hours added each year. We believe this gives a Year 3 market share in line with existing market shares in
the proposed TSA based on results from the Dipsticks Research survey conducted in January 2006. This
market share is also comparable with market shares achieved in the Viking FM TSA as per Rajar Q4 05.
page number | 22

iii) The expected impact of the proposed service on existing services, in listenership terms;
iv) The basis on which the estimates above have been calculated, and any assumptions taken into
account.
Our consumer research shows that a very large proportion of the respondents surveyed (82.2%) said
they would be likely (extremely, very or quite) to listen to a new radio station for the Hull area. The
launch of KCFM 99.9 would have an impact on radio listening by bringing new listening to radio in the
Hull area, by truly increasing radio choice.
We have predicted the impact of KCFM 99.9 on the existing radio market place in the Hull area, by
analysing the results of those respondents who said they “would be extremely, very or quite likely” to
listen to the proposed new radio station in the research conducted by Dipsticks Research. This
represents a base of 361 respondents, (82.2% of the sample).
Their responses as to whether they would listen longer to radio, stop listening or listen less to some stations
in order to listen to KCFM 99.9 have been used to forecast which stations would lose most audience.
Of respodents likely to listen to KCFM 99.9, we estimate that 20.2% of listening to this station would come
from new listening and a further 32.6% from the BBC stations – a total of 52.8% from either the BBC or new
listening.
When asked which radio stations respodents would stop listening to completely or less often, the
potential audience who” would be likely” to listen to this new radio station said the following:-
Which radio station would you stop listening to or listen to less often, if you began to listen to this
new radio station for the Hull area? Base: 266 (Source: Dipsticks Research January 2006)
STATION %
Viking FM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37.1%
Galaxy 105 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19.7%
BBC Radio Humberside . . . .17.9%
BBC Radio 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12.1%
BBC Radio 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11.2%
Magic AM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.7%
BBC Radio 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5.5%
Lincs FM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4.1%
BBC Radio 5 Live . . . . . . . . . . .3.8%
talkSport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.7%
BBC Radio 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.3%
Classic FM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.2%
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
The Quarter 4 2005 RAJAR results for the Viking FM TSA (population 1.1 million adults 15+) have
been used to provide a comparison to the potential KCFM 99.9 TSA of 0.42 million adults 15+.
It should be noted that the smaller KCFM 99.9 TSA gives more emphasis to the local stations (such
as Viking FM and BBC Radio Humberside) and that the Dipsticks Research survey was conducted
amongst 16 to 64 year olds, giving less weight to the older appeal radio stations (such as BBC Radio
2) and more weight to the younger appeal stations (Galaxy 105).
We have therefore assumed that the stations’ RAJAR percentage share and average hours figures in the
Viking FM TSA, will also apply in the KCFM 99.9 TSA. This has been given as a base for Year 0 to
estimate the hours that each station will lose and how this will impact on % reach and % market share.
page number | 23

In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Estimated % Weekly Reach (Source: Viking FM TSA RAJAR Q4 2005 and Dipsticks Research January 2006)
Weekly Reach (%) Qtr 4 2005 Dipsticks Research
RAJAR 15+ 16 to 64 Q1d
BBC Radio 2 27% 20.7%
Viking FM 22% 53.1%
BBC Radio 1 22% 20.6%
Galaxy 105 22% 32.9%
BBC Radio Humberside 19% 26.7%
Magic 1161 (AM) 6% 11.5%
Estimated % Weekly Market Share (Source: Viking FM TSA RAJAR Q4 2005 and Dipsticks Research January 2006)
% Market Share Qtr 4 2005 Dipsticks Research
RAJAR 15+ 16 to 64 Q1e
BBC Radio 2 16.3% 8.9%
Viking FM 8.8% 30.4%
BBC Radio 1 10.0% 8.9%
Galaxy 105 8.1% 17.8%
BBC Radio Humberside 12.4% 9.1%
Magic 1161 (AM) 2.2% 6.1%
Estimated TSA of KCFM 99.9 in Year 0(Source: Viking FM TSA RAJAR Q4 2005 and Dipsticks Research January 2006)
% Weekly Reach Total Hours Average Hours % Share
BBC Radio 2 27.6 1,601,419 13.8 16.3%
Viking FM 22.6 864,570 9.1 8.8%
BBC Radio 1 22.3 982,466 10.5 10.0%
Galaxy 105 22.0 795,797 8.6 8.1%
BBC Radio Humberside 19.5 1,218,258 14.9 12.4%
Magic 1161 (AM) 5.8 216,142 8.9 2.2%
The above estimated data for the KCFM 99.9 TSA has been used as a guide to the makeup of the
TSA, in terms of market share and average hours for a 15 plus audience.
The two following tables, showing the impact of KCFM 99.9 on other stations, are based on a TSA
size of 420,000 adults 15+ with a Year 0 Total Listening Hours of 9.8 million.
Estimated Impact of KCFM 99.9 on Listening Habits within the KCFM 99.9 TSA – % Reach
(Source: Dipsticks Research January 2006)
% Weekly Reach Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 3 Year %
Change in
Listeners
BBC Radio 2 27.6 27.0 26.8 26.6 -3.6
Viking FM 22.6 19.5 18.6 17.6 -22.1
BBC Radio 1 22.3 21.4 21.2 21.0 -5.8
Galaxy 105 22.0 20.3 19.8 19.3 -12.3
BBC Radio Humberside 19.5 18.5 18.3 18.0 -7.7
Magic 1161 (AM) 5.8 5.3 5.2 5.0 -13.8
KCFM 99.9 - 18 20 22 -
page number | 24

Hours in 000's
Estimated Impact of KCFM 99.9 on Listening Habits within the KCFM 99.9 TSA – % Share
(Source: Dipsticks Research January 2006)
% Share Year 0 Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 3 Year %
Change in
Hours
BBC Radio 2 16.3 15.7 15.6 15.4 -3.8
Viking FM 8.8 7.5 7.1 6.7 -22.0
BBC Radio 1 10.0 9.5 9.4 9.3 -5.9
Galaxy 105 8.1 7.4 7.2 7.0 -12.6
BBC Radio Humberside 12.4 11.7 11.5 11.3 -7.6
Magic 1161 (AM) 2.2 2.0 1.9 1.9 -13.3
KCFM 99.9 - 5.3 6.7 8.3 -
20.2% of our potential base of 361 respondents (those who would be likely to listen to the proposed new
radio station) said that they would ‘listen to the radio for longer in order to listen to the new station as well
as my current radio stations’. Therefore we have assumed this would be new listening added to the TSA’s
total weekly listening hours.
The remainder of total listening hours to KCFM 99.9 will come from the stations as illustrated below.
Stations that will contribute listening hours to KCFM 99.9 in Year 1 (Source: Dipsticks Research January 2006)
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Viking
FM
Galaxy
105
BBC
Humb.
Radio 2 Radio 1 Magic
AM
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Radio 4 Lincs FM Radio 5 Talksport Radio 3 Classic
FM
Audience movements to KCFM 99.9 (Source: Dipsticks Research January 2006)
We expect Viking FM to be one of the main donors of hours, as this station
is currently appealing to a broad range of respondents amongst the 16 to
64 age group in the Hull area. Aside from BBC Radio Humberside, Viking
FM is currently the only real “local” commercial option for the Hull area.
We anticipate a considerable proportion of listening would also come
from the BBC, namely BBC Radio Humberside, BBC Radio 2 and Radio
1 – listeners looking for a local alternative with the right music mix.
Indeed the majority of radio listeners felt that a new radio station for
Hull would offer something different to that which is already available
in terms of commercial radio.
We also anticipate approximately one fifth of radio listening will be
new listening, where existing radio listeners in the Hull area will listen
to the radio for longer, as they are being served with a new music
format with a clear local focus for which there is a real demand.
page number | 25

3. Transmission proposals
(a) Provide details of the transmission site you propose to use, under the following headings:
i) Name and National Grid Reference of site;
High Hunsley
NGR – SE 945350
ii) Height of site above Ordnance datum (in metres);
164 metres
iii) Height of transmitting aerial above ground level (in metres);
64.5 metres
iv) Radiated power in either or both planes of polarisation, and aerial radiation pattern (if no aerial
radiation pattern is submitted, it will be assumed without exception to be omni-directional).
500 watts vertical + 500 watts horizontal
Antenna pattern directional
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
The applicant should confirm whether he believes that his intended mast aperture will be available, and whether,
where required, planning permission can be obtained. Where appropriate, evidence to support this belief should
be provided. Details of any negotiations which have been entered into with the site owner should also be provided.
Arqiva have informed us they share the antenna system at High Hunsley and have accommodation
available for the transmitter and combiner.
The information provided above must take into account any requirements set out in Section 2 of this
Notice. In the event of minor non-compliance, Ofcom may revisit an applicant’s proposals with a
view to modest adjustment following award and closer scrutiny. Significant non-compliance may
render the application liable to disqualification.
We have chosen the site at High Hunsley. This provides excellent coverage for the area and in our
opinion meets the Ofcom restrictions for this licence.
page number | 26

(b) Please provide a detailed computer predicted map (in colour) of the coverage anticipated using
the transmission site and parameters described above.
See below
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
(c) Describe proposed arrangements for transmission provision (installation, maintenance and
repair). The transmission system and equipment must comply with the Engineering Code
originally published by the Radio Authority, which represents Ofcom’s current policy and is
available at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rbl/commer/ar/
Our transmission provider Arqiva is well resourced to install the complete system and subsequently
Arqiva will maintain and monitor transmission parameters. Telemetry and remote monitoring
systems provide information back to their control centre on a 24 hour basis, e.g. carrier power, lack
of modulation etc. Their maintenance personnel are highly trained with the necessary spares and
test equipment to resolve any problem quickly.
(d) What is the anticipated time-lapse between the award of licence and start of broadcasting?
Applicants should note that failure to commence broadcasting the service within two years of the date
on which the licence is awarded is likely to lead to the offer of a licence to the successful applicant
being withdrawn. In these circumstances the licence would be advertised afresh and a new competition
would be held to award the licence.
KCFM 99.9 expects to be on the air within approximately nine months from the award of the licence.
page number | 27

Section 105(B) and (C): Catering for tastes and interests/broadening choice
4. Programming Philosophy
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
(a) This sub-section of the application should take the form of a statement setting out the
applicant’s overall programming philosophy and vision for the radio service.
• KCFM 99.9 will be a truly local, full service radio station for Hull and the surrounding area. We will
offer listeners in the area a unique local voice, a comprehensive local news, sport and information
service together with a wide variety of music.
• KCFM 99.9 will provide a significant commitment to news and full service information to satisfy a
demand for more localness from listeners to existing stations
• KCFM 99.9 will offer Hull and the surrounding area its first 24-hour-a-day news service
• KCFM 99.9 will provide comprehensive sports coverage including exclusive football commentary
not heard on any existing commercial radio station
• KCFM 99.9 will include relevant and meaningful speech features and interviews catering for the
interests of people in Hull and the surrounding area
• KCFM 99.9 will play a wide variety of familiar and popular music from across the decades from the
60s to today catering for the tastes of people in Hull and the surrounding area
• KCFM 99.9 will provide a localised “one stop shop” for listeners in Hull and the surrounding area
who currently switch between existing stations to satisfy their music, sport and information needs.
• KCFM 99.9 will be of broad appeal and cater for a wide age range of mature listeners aged 30 and
over to satisfy a demand from advertisers, make the station financially viable and attract
audiences away from BBC services including the popular BBC Radio Humberside.
• KCFM 99.9 will have quality presenters who will appear mature and who are able to make the
station sound uncluttered.
• KCFM 99.9 will always put Hull first ahead of existing stations which have a regional focus.
“I’d probably listen to that because at the moment you’ve got Radio Humberside which is for people
about 40 years older than me. And you’ve got Viking which is aimed at the young, which I’m not
anymore… so something a little bit more middle-of-the-road where you get a nice mix of sport and
talk and local info.” (Male 25-44)
“We don’t have a station like that, so I’d probably listen to a station that was a little bit more aimed at
the more discerning listener.” (Male 25-44)
“At the moment, we all seem to listen to several stations to get certain things. One for sport, another
for music of some type. But what you are saying about this new station seems to be that it gives us a
bit of everything – and I don’t think I’d be looking for anything more than that is going to give me….
This seems to be giving it all” (Male 45-64)
page number | 28

In tune with the heartbeat of the city
“I think it sounds like Viking and Humberside mixed. You are going to get it all together and you
won’t have to change it over. And I think that’s a good thing!” (Female 45-64)
“I think it seems like a nice balance. I wouldn’t find anything to dislike about it.” (Male 45-64)
“Local. What I like best is that feeling” (Female 25-44)
Source – Dipsticks Research Focus Groups, January 2006
(b) The strategies which the applicant proposes to implement in regard to:
i) catering for the tastes and interests, general or particular, of persons living in the area;
Catering for Local Tastes and Interests – Full Service Speech
Our programming plans are built upon detailed market research – more than 400 consumer
interviews and two focus groups as well as reaction to our trial period RSL broadcast in spring
2005. We have also monitored existing local stations and studied stations operating successfully in
similar sized markets elsewhere in the UK.
Hull News
Our consumer research shows there is an overwhelming demand for Hull news on any new local
radio station with a massive 81.3% of people saying they “definitely” want this.
KCFM 99.9 will be the voice of Hull and as such will provide a local news service that listeners can
trust and rely upon. Our news bulletins will contain more Hull content than any other existing station.
We recognise the importance of short, relevant, compelling and high quality news bulletins – and
KCFM 99.9 intends to take the commitment to news and information seriously.
We carefully considered the way in which our potential audience would like to hear their local news.
Based on successful similar stations operating elsewhere, we decided to schedule concise bulletins
of up to three minutes throughout the day with more detailed extended bulletins of up to ten
minutes at lunchtime and teatime.
KCFM 99.9 will therefore commit to hourly bulletins mixing local, national and international news of at
least three minutes duration from 0600 to 2200 daily (four minutes at breakfast). From 2200 to 0600 daily,
local news bulletins of up to 2 minutes will follow a national news bulletin. At peak times in breakfast
and afternoon drive, we will also schedule headlines of one minute. At 1300 and 1800 weekdays, we will
schedule extended bulletins of ten minutes duration called Hull at One and Hull at Six.
All our bulletins will be live in order to react to fast-moving and last-minute news stories. Unlike
other stations, we do not believe in the concept of pre-recorded news bulletins either locally
produced or from a centralised regional news ‘hub’. We also think that local output is compromised
even if a local station is the hub of a centralised news operation.
Our experience is that listeners expect their local news to be presented live and feel cheated when
told there is an element of pre-recording or regionalisation simply to achieve an around-the-clock
24-hour news service.
page number | 29

To clarify, here is KCFM 99.9’s weekday schedule of live news bulletins:-
Time Duration
0600 4 mins
0630 1 min
0700 4 mins
0730 1 min
0800 4 mins
0830 1 min
0900 4 mins
1000 3 mins
1100 3 mins
1200 3 mins
1300 10 mins
1400 3 mins
1500 3 mins
1600 3 mins
Time Duration
1630 1 min
1700 3 mins
1730 1 min
1800 10 mins
1900 3 mins
2000 3 mins
2100 3 mins
2200 3 mins
2300 2 mins
2400 2 mins
0100 2 mins
0200 2 mins
0300 2 mins
0400 2 mins
0500 2 mins
At weekends and on public holidays, KCFM 99.9 will provide three minute live news bulletins hourly
from 0700 to 1300 inclusive. At other times, local news will follow a national bulletin.
Of course, if a major news story breaks we will always interrupt music programming for a
newsflash to reinforce our ethos that KCFM 99.9 will always be first with Hull news.
We intend to employ a dedicated news team of five full-time journalists led by a Head of News and
Sport. These journalists will take a feed of national and international news and mix it with locally
produced news from Hull. Unlike the existing local stations in the area, each day we will roster a
reporter whose job it will be to go out “on the road” to gather audio and interviews for news bulletins.
Our journalists will live in Hull and the surrounding area and generate local stories through the
creation and development of key local news contacts as well as civic, community and business leaders.
“(I would like) a radio station that … was a genuinely local based radio station that genuinely
discussed local issues like asylum seekers and the like problems with anti social behaviour in the area.
All those kinds of things.” (Male 25-44)
“They (the existing station) don’t go into much depth. It is just little bits. And then they move onto
something else” (Female 25-44)
“You’d have to dwell more on local news. If it is a local station then it is local news you want
to hear.” (Male 45-64)
“I am very nosy and I like to know what’s going on around the area” (Female 25-44)
“It’s all important really. All local issues” (Male 45-64)
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
“(I’d like to know) if someone has knocked John Prescott off his bike!” (Male 45-64)
Source – Dipsticks Research Focus Groups, January 2006
page number | 30

In tune with the heartbeat of the city
As the other local commercial stations take their national and international news feed from
Independent Radio News, KCFM 99.9 proposes to take its news feed from Sky News Radio in order
to broaden choice and offer an alternative editorial mix.
Hull Sport
There is enormous interest in sports news and results in the Hull area. Our research showed 45.1%
of people questioned in our survey “definitely” wanted to hear local sports news and results. This
figure rises to two thirds (66.4%) among males.
When our research probed which local sports attracted the most interest, football came out top with
37.8% of the overall sample and more than half (57.8%) of men definitely wanting to hear it on the
radio. Coming a close second was local rugby news and results with 36.3% of the overall sample
wanting to hear it on the radio and 51% of men. National sports news was also popular.
KCFM 99.9 intends to become well-known for its comprehensive local sports coverage and
commentaries.
Our sports coverage will centre around football in general and Hull City AFC in particular. The
Tigers play at the KC Stadium and, because of our relationship with the club and the location of our
studios in the stadium building – players such as captain and England International Nick Barmby
and England Under 21 manager Peter Taylor will be regular live guests on our shows. We will have
the exclusive commercial radio commentary rights for Hull City AFC matches and all games will be
featured as a priority. Two of our journalists will be local sports experts and focussed on sports
output as a priority, although they will also perform general news duties.
During our RSL trial broadcast in spring 2005, KC107.3FM broadcast live commentary by Richard
Hoare and Darren Letham on four of Hull City AFC’s matches, three at home (Port Vale, Barnsley
and Swindon) and one away (Bradford City).
On Saturdays, our flagship sports show called Score will feature up to date news, information and
gossip about all Hull teams as well as live match reports from our reporters at various grounds.
There will be extensive pre and post match discussion on games.
During the football season, there will be a football discussion phone-in and chat show after Hull At
Six every evening from 1810 to 1900. Regular guests will include Hull City players and management.
Discussion will focus not only on the local games but also national and international football.
“I like the fact that it is going to be more local. I like the sports thing too. Probably would do a lot
of Hull City coverage I guess. That’d be good” (Male 25-44)
“It’s a good thing to have the sport. That is a definite good thing to do. If you have phone-ins for
people to call in as well, that’s good too.” (Male 45-64)
“If you want to listen to a programme about Hull City, you’ve got to listen to Humberside and it’s
rubbish and boring. Viking don’t really touch the City.” (Male 25-44)
“There is a huge place in the market for sport” (Male 25-44)
“I listen at the weekend. You want specialist match coverage.” (Male 45-64)
“You don’t get the sort of genuine fans on (BBC Radio Humberside’s sports phone in) because they
trap you into what they want you to say. You are not given free reign to say what you think so you need a
station that is going to allow you to give a genuine opinion and the sports fans will love that” (Male 25-44)
Source – Dipsticks Research Focus Groups, January 2006
page number | 31

In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Rugby too will be featured – in particular Hull Rugby League Football Club who play at the KC
Stadium in the Super League as well as Hull Kingston Rovers who play at the Craven Park Stadium.
Results and news from other sports will also be featured including the Hull Vikings Speedway team,
The Ionians Rugby Union Club, Hull Cricket Club, the Hull XL Stingrays ice hockey team and the
Chevrons netball team who play at the Gemtec Arena.
We also plan to cover events such as WWE wrestling – which we know is of particular interest to
younger listeners – by way of interviews, previews and possibly commentary.
Hull Traffic and Travel
There is an overwhelming demand for traffic and travel news for the Hull area. Our research shows nearly
three quarters of our potential audience (73.5%) want to hear this information on any new radio station.
During weekday drive times, KCFM 99.9 will provide a comprehensive travel and traffic information
service every 20 minutes, concentrating mainly on major road hold-ups and well-known traffic hotspots
such as Castle Street, the Clive Sullivan Way, the A63 Garrison Way, the A1079 Beverley to Humber
Bridge and of course the M62 motorway. We will also ensure that information about bridge closures
due to bad weather is given a priority on air.
“Traffic and travel every 20 minutes… that is quite up to date really. Sounds quite informative.”
(Male 25-44)
Source – Dipsticks Research Focus Groups, January 2006
In conjunction with Humberside Police, we will promote road safety including a twice daily update
on the location of speed cameras.
We will focus on getting the information out to Hull listeners first. This means that we will interrupt
music programming for urgent traffic or travel news. Information will be sourced from TrafficLink
and be supplemented by information from our own journalists as well as tips from listeners phoned
into our KCFM Jamline.
We will also keep our listeners updated on the latest information on the running times of Hull
Trains and GNER as well as delays and cancellations to flights from Humberside International
Airport at Kirmington
Hull Weather
Local weather forecasts are always in demand from radio listeners generally and those in the Hull
area are no exception with more than three quarters (77.2%) of those questioned wanting to hear
frequent weather information.
KCFM 99.9 will schedule its own three-day weather forecast hourly throughout the day from 0600 to
2200 inclusive. These formal forecasts – included as part of our hourly news sequence – will be
supplemented by additional headline forecasts at peak time in breakfast and afternoon drive.
Hull School Emergencies
We recognise that many of our listeners will be parents of young children. As Hull’s local radio
station, when bad weather affects schools, KCFM 99.9 will suspend music programming to
broadcast detailed information from our news team about school closures.
Unlike existing local stations, we will focus entirely on schools in and around Hull rather than the
wider area and we will become the authoritative source for accurate, up-to-date information.
page number | 32

In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Studio Guests
Every day we plan to invite a variety of guests to the studio at the KC Stadium to appear on KCFM
99.9’s guest spots during our Daytime show. These will range from guests talking about topical local
issues to community leaders invited to talk about their roles in Hull and the surrounding area, for
example local MPs such as Alan Johnson, David Davies and John Prescott.
During our RSL broadcast in spring 2005, we had a large number of guestson air live to talk about a
wide variety of subjects including the following:-
• Mike Lister, general manager of Hull City Hall and Hull New Theatre
• Dan Bryan, Hull’s Big Brother contestant
• Peter Taylor, manager of Hull City AFC and England under-21s
• John Kear, manager and chief coach of Hull FC rugby league club
• Deb Tate, one of the executives from Hull City Image
• … and even a local dolphin expert, Dr Horace Dobbs!
Call The Expert
Every weekday at noon, KCFM 99.9 will feature a regular expert with local knowledge and
experience who will be introduced on air in our Daytime show by a brief chat with our presenter.
After talking about the chosen topic for that day, our expert will then take calls from listeners off
air for an hour and then ‘report back’ on response and issues that have arisen in discussion with the
presenter in the next hour.
Throughout the hour, our presenter will promote the phone number to call for advice and help. If
necessary, our expert will stay longer to answer calls on particularly popular subjects.
“They need to get specialists in the field, local ones, and speak about things that are relevant to people.”
(Female 25-44)
“The other subjects, the legal, emotional and health. I don’t know about that but… I mean, I think that’d
be OK because sometimes you do need some help if you don’t know where to go.” (Female 45-64)
Source – Dipsticks Research Focus Groups, January 2006
This way of working is intended to maintain KCFM 99.9’s music flow whilst at the same time
providing a much-needed service of personalised information and advice, a pattern offered
regularly on the radio in the 1970s and 1980s but which dwindled away in the 1990s with the advent
of Australian-influenced pure music programming still in evidence on existing local stations.
We will recruit a roster of Hull experts to help with this feature which we intend to be a hallmark of
KCFM 99.9’s daytime speech programming:-
Monday Legal Hull Solicitor
Tuesday Health Hull Doctor
Wednesday Property Hull Estate Agent
Thursday Parenting Hull Child Psychologist
Friday Holidays Hull Travel Agent
Topical Interactivity
We plan our Daytime show to be totally interactive with opportunities for listeners to phone or text
their views and comments about topical local issues on a daily basis. Our presenter will read these
out – and take phone calls – throughout the show on an ad hoc and discretionary basis.
page number | 33

In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Hull Event Listings
Our research shows more than half (55.2%) of potential listeners definitely want to hear what’s on
information and listings for events in the Hull area.
We believe scheduling short, hourly what’s on listings for relevant entertainment events including
cinema information is essential to underline our commitment to localness. We expect these listings
to become a premium sponsorship product on the station.
“They (Viking) don’t do much for the City Hall unless they are sponsoring it themselves. There are
lots of things going on there… things that are going on in the parks, when the kids are off school.
And they don’t do anything like that. You have got to find out about it from flyers stuck on lampposts.
They should have more stuff like that on” (Female 25-44)
“A good ‘what’s on’ guide for every generation. That varies because what is of interest to a 20 year old
differs from what interests me… Just an up to date review of stuff that you can go to.” (Female 45-64)
Source – Dipsticks Research Focus Groups, January 2006
KCFM 99.9 will therefore schedule our KCFM Billboard event listings hourly at ten to each hour
from 0650 until 2150 weekdays. These will be less than one minute and properly packaged using
music backing tracks.
Hull ‘Communicare’
KCFM 99.9 will offer charities and other non-profit-making organisations in Hull the opportunity to
publicise their events and activities through a free advertising campaign scheme called
Communicare. We will donate a 21-spot 30 second package to the organisation both assisting and
funding their Communicare ‘commercial’.
Hull Charities
Our Chairman, Ian Blakey, has a splendid reputation, both locally and nationally, for his charitable
fund-raising and support for a wide ranging variety of charitable and worthy causes. Consequently at
the request of Ian, KCFM 99.9 intends to include every week a 15 minute “Charity Stop” interview in
our programme schedule. Every known charity in the Hull City Region will be given the opportunity, on
an agreed annual rota, for their representative(s) to utilise that slot to promote their particular cause.
A designated member of the KCFM 99.9 staff, or suitably qualified volunteer, will be responsible for
the co-ordination of this activity, engaging with both our advertisers and our listeners.
Our objective will be to identify KCFM 99.9 as the community fore-runner on these charitable issues.
Hull Film and Theatre News
Our consumer research discovered there was a significant interest in hearing film and video reviews (32.4%)
on any new radio station. Even more people (43.8%) want coverage of local cultural and entertainment events.
KCFM 99.9 therefore plans to include regular weekly film reviews every Friday in our Hull Daytime
show from 10am-3pm as well as a regular weekly theatre spot every Monday, the latter featuring
news and reviews about productions at the New Theatre in Hull, Hull Truck Theatre, City Hall in Hull
and Beverley Arts Centre. Film reviews will also include listings for what’s on at the Odeon in the
city centre and Cineworld in Kingswood.
“They (existing stations) don’t do smaller venues. There are usually quite a lot of shows on but they
only really do maybe the pantomime and not the stuff that’s on all year round.” (Female 25-44)
Source – Dipsticks Research Focus Groups, January 2006
Showbiz and entertainment news will be featured in the first two hours of our Big Drive Home show
from 3pm to 5pm.
page number | 34

Keeping Fit!
In common with the rest of the UK, people in our region are becoming more interested in health and fitness.
KCFM 99.9 will schedule a daily breakfast workout song at 7.10am and there will be regular keep fit spots on
our 10am-3pm show on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday aimed at office, factory and agricultural workers.
Dedications and Competitions
Our research shows enthusiasm among potential listeners in Hull for two traditional radio features
that have become less important to listeners in other parts of the country.
Nearly half (49.3%) of people would like to hear “requests and dedications” on a new radio station
and more than one third of our sample (37.4%) are interested in “competitions and quizzes”. KCFM
99.9 will cater for both requirements in its day-to-day programming.
Catering for Local Tastes and Interests – Music
We have designed the music on KCFM 99.9 after carefully studying the results of our consumer
research interviewing more than 400 people in Hull.
The majority of respondents (46.7%) want to hear mostly music and some speech on any new station for Hull.
We also found that more than half of them (53.4%) want to hear an equal output of modern songs and oldies.
Our research found there was no one single category of music they enjoying hearing which they
could not hear on existing local commercial stations.
Therefore we concluded that, as long as respondents are hearing the right music genre for their taste, a good
balance of music from across the eras would seem to be what they want, providing them with broad music variety.
The music on KCFM 99.9 will be chosen to appeal to the widest possible audience. We plan to play a
wide variety of classic pop hit music from across a range of eras from the 1960s to today.
Our planned music mix will comprise 80% of tracks older than five years and 20% of more recent
songs from 2000 onwards. No one era will dominate the output:-
Decade %
1960s 20%
1970s 20%
1980s 20%
1990s 20%
2000s/recurrent 10%
Current 10%
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
No other existing station provides such a wide mix of new and old songs. KCFM 99.9 will be a ‘one
stop shop’ for listeners to satisfy all their musical needs on one station.
As part of our focus group research, we tested a proposed format for a new station for Hull based
on responses to our RSL and consumer research. The description read as follows:-
The new radio station will strive to be more local to Hull than existing radio stations and will feature a
wide variety of pop music from the 60s through to today’s hits. There will be hourly bulletins of news
from Hull and East Yorkshire as well as national news. Traffic and travel information will feature every
20 minutes at breakfast time and for the afternoon drive home. Sport will play an important part on
KCFM 99.9, with results and sports phone-ins at weekends and evenings. During the day there will be
interviews with local people and advice spots on subjects such as legal, emotional and health problems.
However, these will be mixed in with lots of other entertainment and music.
page number | 35

The responses to our music offering described above were enthusiastic:-
“There’s definitely a good variety there” (Male 25-44)
“Yes, you’d want to give it a go” (Male 25-44)
“I think it sounds good and it’s going to be fresh. I’d want to try that.” (Female 25-44)
“It appeals me to me. It’s what I’d look for in a radio station anyway.” (Male 45-64)
“It all sounds fine. If I tuned into it. I only tune in at work for the music really.” (Female 45-64)
Source – Dipsticks Research Focus Groups, January 2006
Our extensive music library will be more broad based and wider than those used by existing stations
with up to 2,000 songs on the KCFM 99.9 database. This will allow our track rotations to be low and
avoid the music repetition that so annoys listeners to existing stations. Songs will be selected for
their ‘singalong’ feel-good appeal with a quality benchmark rather than simply chart position.
This variety adult contemporary music position offers us the chance to compete against the area’s most popular
radio stations BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio Humberside which currently have the most varied music mixes.
During the evening, our Hull Music Factory show will have a slightly younger appeal. We will also feature a
much-needed opportunity for local bands to have their music heard on air. We featured a similar weekly
opportunity during our trial RSL broadcast in spring 2005 where the KC Rock Factory show on a Sunday
night featured live performances from local bands such as The Landaus, The Rise and The Applewhites.
We plan to extend this to five nights a week, with at least ten minutes of each weekday evening show
devoted to one or more live or recorded performances by bands from Hull and East Yorkshire.
On occasions when the KC Stadium hosts a performance by a major international artist such as
Simply Red or Bryan Adams, we are confident we will be able to negotiate the exclusive rights for a
selection of songs which can be broadcast live on KCFM 99.9.
Catering for Local Tastes and Interests – Presentation Style
The majority of our potential audience (60.9%) say that presentation and the music are equally as important as
each other. Our potential listeners have clear ideas about the qualities they like to hear in their radio presenters:-
Witty and humorous 62.8%
Friendly 59.0%
Relaxed 51.0%
Informed 51.5%
KCFM 99.9 will be guided by these requirements when recruiting presenters. Although we will recruit from
Hull where possible, we note that our potential listeners say this is not essential.
We will recruit quality presenters and ensure that they have excellent local knowledge and in particular
know how to pronounce local place names properly as our research indicates that failure to do this is
perceived as annoying and insulting.
“Individuality is important. As is knowledge.” (Male 45-64)
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
“For me, presenters need to be really knowledgeable. They have to have the knowledge because if
they are just a gimmick, then you see through that.” (Female 45-64)
“I think there are people from out of town that have made their name on local radio stations. If you
looked at the local stations round Hull, I bet there aren’t many local people on them.” (Male 45-64)
Source – Dipsticks Research Focus Groups, January 2006
page number | 36

ii) broadening the range of local commercial services available in the area;
Broadening the Range of Local Commercial Services – Analysis of Formats
None of the existing local commercial stations has a format for full service local speech and a wide
variety of adult contemporary music. Viking is a chart pop station, Magic 1161 AM is an oldies and
soft music station and Galaxy 105 is a dance music station.
The following table summaries each station’s weekday output as detailed in its format and shows
how KCFM 99.9 will fill a gap in the market and thereby broaden audience choice:-
STATION MUSIC SPEECH TARGET
Viking FM Up to 90% current chart
hits, new releases with
adult contemporary
music. Up to 50% may be
hits over three years old
Magic 1161 Soft classic pop hits more
than five years old from
time of broadcast. Hits
less than five years old
will not account for more
than 30% of music
output.
Galaxy 105 A mix of contemporary
and classic rhythmic
music including current
and recurrent rhythmic
hits, dance and club
genres, soul and r’n’b.
Classic tracks will not
account for more than
50% of output
KCFM 99.9 A wide variety of
mainstream popular
music from the last 40
years with no one era
dominating. Music from
the last five years will not
account for more than
20% of the station’s
overall music output
Source: Ofcom Formats, Ofcom website, February 2006
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Bulletins containing local
news will run at least
hourly during peak time.
Speech should account
for at least 10% of
weekday daytime output
Speech should not
normally fall below 15%
of weekday daytime
output. Hourly bulletins
containing local news will
be aired at least during
weekday peaktime
Speech will not exceed
25% of output and will
provide a reasonable
balance of news and
information for the target
audience. Local news
bulletins will run at least
during weekday peaktime
Full service. Speech is a
very important part of
this station. Daily advice
features and topical
interviews. Speech not
less than 30% of daytime
output. Hourly bulletins
containing Hull area news
24 hours a day.Football
phone-in from 1810 to
1900 weekdays in
football season
15-44 year olds in
Humberside
Over 30s in the
Humberside area
15-29 year olds in
Yorkshire
People aged over 30 in
the Hull area
page number | 37

Broadening The Range Of Local Commercial Stations – Analysis of Monitoring
We commissioned analyst Paul Easton to provide an independent assessment of the daytime output
(0600-1900) of the three commercial radio stations serving the Hull area; Viking FM, Magic 1161 and
Galaxy 105. This was carried out using recordings made by Radiomonitor of all three stations on
Wednesday 18th January 2006.
From the off-air recordings, an item-by-item log was compiled, which listed and timed all output in the
order it was broadcast. These were divided into six main category headings: Music,
Programme/Speech, Idents and Non-sponsored promotions, Advertising/Sponsorship, News and Sport.
The running times of promotions for co-promotional activities, such as concerts, contests and other
commercial activities, as well as sponsor references, have, wherever possible, been included within the
figure for advertising material in order to give the best possible estimate of total commercial minutage.
Sub-dividing material in this way also made it possible to gain an idea of ‘non-commercial’ speech
output, comprising all presenter input, station promotion, service information and news content.
Content
The following chart shows the relative percentages of Music, Speech, News/Sport and
Advertising/Sponsorship on the three stations.
58.7
Hull - % of Content - All Stations
59.9
14.0 14.0
1.9
5.0
19.8
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
6.9
0.6
2.5
0.7
3.4
1.3
0.0
Viking FM Magic 1161 Galaxy 105
Music Prog/Speech Idents/Promos News Sport Ads/Sponsorship
Both of the Emap-owned stations had similar proportions of music and speech. Viking FM had more
advertising/sponsorship, while Magic 1161 had a slightly higher percentage of news.
While Galaxy 105 had a higher percentage of both music and speech than the others, they also had a
much lower proportion of advertising/sponsorship and news.
16.0
68.1
19.4
7.8
page number | 38

Music
Music output was analysed by era, noting both tracks played and frequency of airplay. The chart
below shows the current composition of music played on each of the three stations.
0.7
22.0
29.7
% Of Music by Decade
2.2
0.0 0. 0 0.0
Viking FM played one track from the 1960s and two from the 1970s during their ‘Greatest Hits’ hour
between 12.00noon and 1.00pm, as well as a third 1970s track during the afternoon, but otherwise all of
the music on the station was from the past 25 years. 59.7% was from the present decade, with 35.3% of
all music played coming from the past 12 months.
Of 139 musical items played on Viking, 117 of them were different. 12 tracks were played more than once
during the monitored period, with two tracks being played four times and six played three times.
Magic 1161, unlike the AM services of many other ‘heritage’ ILR stations, is not a ‘Gold’ station. While much
of its music is mainly from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, it also plays tracks from the 1990s and the present
decade. Only 8.3% of the music on Magic was from the present decade, with 4.1% of the total music played
coming from the past 12 months. Of the 146 tracks played on Magic, only one was played more than once.
The majority (87.2%) of the musical output of Galaxy 105 comprised tracks from the last 5 years, with 73.8%
of the music from the past 12 months. Although Galaxy played more music than the other two stations, it
also had the highest turnover of songs. Of the 164 tracks played only 91 were different, with five tracks being
played five times, and a further six tracks played four times, during the monitored period.
There was very little crossover of music between the three stations, with 7 tracks appearing on both
Viking and Magic, and 5 on both Viking and Galaxy. There was no crossover between Magic and Galaxy.
The most-played tracks on Viking were:
ARTIST TITLE PLAYS
Kelly Clarkson Because Of You 4
Texas Sleep 4
James Blunt Goodbye My Lover 3
Kaiser Chiefs Modern Way 3
Madonna Hung Up 3
Robbie Williams Advertising Space 3
Sugababes Push The Button 3
Will Young All Time Love 3
21. 6
35.2
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
Viking FM Magic 1161 Galaxy 105
15.8
4.8
12.8
59.7
8.3
87.2
page number | 39

The most-played track on Magic was:
ARTIST TITLE PLAYS
James Blunt Wise Men 2
The most-played tracks on Galaxy were:
ARTIST TITLE PLAYS
Beyonce & Slim Thug Check On It 5
Big Ang It's Over Now 5
DHT & Edmee Listen To Your Heart 5
Hi Tack Say Say Say 5
Stunt Raindrops 5
Haji & Emmanuel Take Me Away 4
Herd & Fitz feat Abigail BaileyI Just Can't Get Enough4
Kanye West Touch The Sky 4
Martin Solveig Jealousy 4
Pussycat Dolls Stick Wit U 4
Ray J One Wish 4
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Speech
There was no specialist speech-based content, such as interviews, phone-in shows or other features, on
any of the three stations during the monitored period.
Apart from news bulletins, the rest of the speech content consisted of presenter chat, showbiz and
entertainment news and station contests.
There was a higher proportion of speech during the breakfast shows, especially on Viking and Galaxy where
there was more than one presenter leading to general banter between the different team members.
Outside the breakfast shows, much of the presenters’ speech consisted of introducing or back-announcing
the music, promoting what was coming up later on the show and amusing stories from the papers or
comments on life from the presenter’s own experiences.
Both Viking and Galaxy were running high-profile contests through the day where listeners could win
some big prizes.
In Viking’s ‘Mystery Voices’ contest, listeners were invited not only to guess the identities of three
celebrities who had been edited to say ‘Viking FM’ but to get them in the correct order There would be a
round of the competition each hour during the day, where a caller would guess who the voices were. If
they got all three in the correct order they would win the money. If they were wrong a further £50 would
be added to the prize fund.
Galaxy had ‘Pick Your Ring’ where listeners could pre-register and then, if they were called when the
game was played, they would win the last fully-named prize read out by the presenter between each ring
of the phone. Prizes ranged from cash to iPods and DVD players, as well as some ‘booby prizes’, such as a
box of paperclips or a pair of one of the station presenter’s underpants!
Magic had some smaller competitions during individual programmes, but there were no station-wide contests.
News
Viking FM and Magic 1161 ran news bulletins at the top of each hour throughout the monitored
period, as well as on the half-hour during breakfast and drivetime. Viking’s bulletins were 2?minutes
long, while Magic’s were 3-minutes. Magic also had a 15-minute news programme, ‘Full
Story At Five’ at 5.00pm.
Galaxy 105’s news consisted short, 60-second, bulletins at approximately 5 minutes to the hour during
breakfast and drivetime, with additional bulletins at approximately 25 minutes past the hour during the
breakfast show only. There was no other news coverage outside these times.
page number | 40

The following chart shows the balance of news items on the three stations.
22.6
Although most news copy and audio were ‘rotated’ across the bulletins as a means of making them
sound ‘fresh’, the stations were still running the same main stories at 6.00pm as they had at 7.00am
with minimal updating during the day.
It should also be noted that the only local, Hull-orientated, story for much of the day on both Viking and Magic
was the news that a local boy had been nominated for a prestigious Laurence Olivier Award for his starring
role in the London musical, Billy Elliot. The only other Hull story was in the 6.00pm bulletin on both stations.
Another story that ran during the afternoon was about a death in Cleethorpes which, as it is expected to
be outside the TSA of the new Hull licence, has been classified as a ‘Regional’ story.
There were no local/Hull news items on Galaxy 105.
Sport
Sports stories were included within the half-hourly news bulletins on both Viking and Magic, but
there was no other sports coverage elsewhere during the monitored day’s programming.
Galaxy had no sports coverage, apart from a short (13”) story about England manager Sven-Goran
Eriksson in one of their news bulletins.
As with news bulletins, sports stories were similarly divided into Local, Regional and National.
8.1
22.5
7. 1
0.0
11.3
18.2
6.7
LOCAL REGIONAL NATIONAL
Viking FM Magic 1161 Galaxy 105
15.9
0.0 0.0 0.0
LOCAL REGIONAL NATIONAL
Viking FM M agic 1161 Galaxy 105
13.1
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
66.1
73.7
70.8
77.0
86.9
page number | 41

Advertising and Sponsorship
During the monitored period the average amount of commercial airtime on Viking FM was 11-12
minutes per hour and 9-10 minutes per hour for Magic 1161. There was a higher minutage during the
breakfast shows, where items such as travel news were sponsored.
With an average of 4-5 minutes per hour, Galaxy 105 had a much lower amount of advertising
throughout the day.
35.3% of commercial airtime on Viking came from local, Hull-based, advertisers, with a figure of
22.7% for Magic.
The leading local advertisers on Viking were:
• Pramland
• CD Bramall – Ford Dealers
• Humberside Police Non-emergency Phone Number
• JJB Fitness Club
The leading local advertisers on Magic were:
• Pearson Florists
• CD Bramall – Ford Dealers
• Hull City Safe – local anti-social behaviour initiative
• Humberside Police Non-emergency Phone Number
• Tiles R Us
There were no Hull advertisers on Galaxy.
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Monitoring Conclusions
Viking FM, in common with other Emap ‘Big City’ FM stations, has broadened its music and appeal over
the past year, with less reliance on playing current hits on high rotation.
While this has meant the music and programming of Viking FM and Magic 1161 has a greater crossover
than it used to have, Viking is still aimed at the younger end of the market.
Older listeners, who prefer the music played on Magic are required to listen on the less-popular AM
waveband or spend money on buying a DAB receiver.
Although both stations cover the larger area of Humberside than the smaller coverage area intended for
the new Hull licence, listening to both stations did not give any real feeling of ‘localness’ for the area.
Local news coverage was relatively scant, while much of the presenter chat could have been heard on
any other station elsewhere in the country.
Galaxy 105 is a regional station based in Leeds and although Hull was included among a list of places
where cinema passes could be won to see the new movie ‘Get Rich Or Die Trying’ starring rapper 50
Cent, the station tended to focus mainly on Leeds and Sheffield. The only other mention of Hull was
during a travel update during the breakfast show.
page number | 42

Broadening the Range of Local Commercial Services – Summary of KCFM 99.9
differences against existing stations
Station Editorial Area Dominant Music Eras Target Audience KCFM 99.9 difference
Viking FM Humberside 2000s,
1990s
Magic 1161 Humberside 1960s-
2000s
iii) the provision of local material, if any;
iv) the proportion of locally-made programming, if any should be set out in this section.
All programming on KCFM 99.9 will be locally produced and presented from our studios in Hull.
There will be no networking of programming with other stations.
We anticipate voice tracking only in an emergency.
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
15-44s • Editorial focus on Hull
• Wider music variety
• More speech
• 24 hour local news
• Extended news bulletins
• Older target audience 30+
Over 30s • Editorial focus on Hull
• On FM rather than AM
• More speech
• 24 hour local news
• Extended news bulletins
Galaxy 105 Yorkshire 2000s 15-29s • Editorial focus on Hull
• Wider music variety
• More speech
• 24 hour local news
• Extended news bulletins
• Older target audience 30+
page number | 43

(c) If appropriate, the applicant may also provide a typical programme-by-programme weekday
schedule, to give a flavour for the direction of the station.
KCFM 99.9 WEEKDAY PROGRAMME SCHEDULE
Time Programme Features
0600 WAKE UP HULL
• News and sport on the hour
- KCFM 99.9’s flagship show will be clearly focused on getting our and half hour
1000 audience up and about to go to work and school. Music choice will be • Weather forecasts
lively and up-tempo with a wide variety of hits from the last 40 years. • Traffic & Travel every 20 mins
The speech focus will be on easy-to-use information about Hull – • Competitions
news, weather and traffic and travel. Presentation style will be • Teacher of the Day
friendly and cheerful but with none of the cheesy ‘himbo bimbo’ style • Keep Fit song at 7.10am
banter found on existing stations. Our presenter will be a shameless • The KCFM Billboard hourly
fan of The Tigers and talk a lot about the club and its games • Hull dedications & requests
1000-
1500
1500-
1900
1900-
0000
0000-
0600
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
DAYTIME
Our daytime magazine show starts with one of UK radio’s most enduring
features – a guess the year contest called The KCFM Year. Listeners have
to guess the featured year from the music played and the local news
featured. Local news will be sourced from the files of the Hull Daily Mail
Later in the show there will be our regular keep fit feature plus a theatre
spot on Mondays and a film review on Fridays.
Every day at noon, we will schedule our Call The Hull Expert feature.
There will also be slots each day for studio guests talking live about
topical local issues.
The whole show will be woven together with a wide variety of old and
new music.
At 1300 daily, Hull At One is our extended local and national news and
sports bulletin of up to 10 minutes in duration with a round-up of what’s
been going on in Hull that morning
THE BIG DRIVE HOME
A pacy and informative show designed to get our listeners home as swiftly
and safely as possible.
The first two hours will have a showbiz feel with entertainment news
and gossip.
The latter two hours will be more information led with increased traffic
and travel news as well as news of what’s been happening in Hull that day
in Hull At Six, our extended local news and sports bulletin at 1800. After
Hull at Six during the football season, there will be a 50-minute discussion
show and phone-in on football topics, including interviews with players
THE HULL MUSIC FACTORY
A fun-intensive show aimed at a slightly younger audience and featuring
more current material.
Highly interactive with trivia and prize competition and quizzes
Guests will include local music reviewers. There will also be a daily tenminute
spot to feature unsigned bands from the Hull and East Yorkshire area.
OVERNIGHTS
A live show with a live presenter. KCFM 99.9 will play its full
repertoire of classic hits throughout the night.
The show will repeat some of the features heard in our Hull Daytime
show, edited to reflect the time of broadcast
• News and sport on the hour
• Hull At One at 1300 (10 mins)
• Weather forecasts
• The KCFM Year from 10-1100
• Keep Fit slot (Tues to Thurs)
• Theatre slot (Mon)
• Film Review (Fri)
• Call The Expert (daily at noon)
• Opportunities for topical local
studio guests
• The KCFM Billboard hourly
• Workplace requests,
dedications and competitions
• News and sport on the hour
• Hull At Six at 1800
• Football Chat Show from 1810
to 1900 in football season
• Weather forecasts
• Traffic and travel every 20
mins from 4.40pm
• The KCFM Billboard hourly
• Showbiz news
• Requests and dedications
• Competitions
• News on the hour
• The KCFM Billboard hourly
until 2150.
• Made In Hull local band
feature daily
• Music reviews
• Interactive competitions
• Sky Radio News hourly. Local
news following from 0000 to
0500 inclusive
• Features from earlier in the
day repeated according to
content
page number | 44

5. Proposed Format
KCFM 99.9 STATION FORMAT
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Licence Outline
Station Name KCFM 99.9 FM
Licence Area Kingston upon Hull and the surrounding area (as defined in Ofcom’s
Measured Coverage Area map)
Frequency 99.9 MHz
Service Duration 24 hours a day.
Definitions
Speech “Speech” excludes advertising, programme/promotional trails &
sponsor credits, and may be calculated over any four hours
Music Percentages Any music percentages are calculated as a percentage of the total
tracks broadcast in the period specified
Peaktime (s) “Peaktime(s)” refers to Weekday Breakfast and Afternoon Drivetime
output and Weekend Late Breakfast
Daytime “Daytime” refers to 0600 to 1900 weekdays and weekend output from
0800 to 1300
Locally produced/presented Production and presentation from within the licence area. All
requirements for locally produced/presented output must include
peaktime
Character of Service
A TRULY LOCAL, FULL SERVICE RADIO STATION FOR KINGSTON UPON HULL PLAYING CLASSIC HIT
MUSIC FROM THE LAST FOUR DECADES WITH 24-HOUR LOCAL NEWS, SPORT, INFORMATION,
INTERVIEWS AND FEATURES OF PARTICULAR RELEVANCE TO THE CITY AND SURROUNDING AREA
Detail
KCFM 99.9 will be the voice of Kington Upon Hull. It will be a truly local radio station with an emphasis on
news, sport and information about Hull. Locally relevant speech, news and information is very important
to the station and will account for at least 30% of the daytime output and 15% at other times.
There will be hourly live news bulletins containing Hull city regional news 24 hours a day. These will be of
at least three minutes duration from 0600 to 2200 daily with extended bulletins of up to ten minutes
duration at 1300 and 1800. During the football season, there will be a local football phone-in and
discussion show from 1810 to 1900 weekdays.
Topical material will be featured throughout the day including interviews with local people and features
such as a daily advice phone-in, weekly film and theatre reviews and a keep fit spot three times a week.
Entertainment and showbiz news will also be featured daily.
KCFM 99.9 will play a wide variety of mainstream popular Classic Hit music from the last 40 years
although no one decade will dominate. No more than 20% of the music output will have been released
within the last five years.
page number | 45

Section 105(D): Evidence of local demand or support
6. Evidence of Demand
This section should provide an analysis of the reasons as to why it is considered that there is a demand
for the type of service proposed, with reference to the size and nature of the proposed target audience.
If original market research has been undertaken, please provide the following information for each
piece of research:
(a) A statement of the key objectives of the research;
The key objectives of KCFM 99.9’s research programme were as follows:-
• To compare the population of Hull with the rest of the UK
• To establish the radio listening habits and tastes and interests of people in Hull in order to
determine whether an opportunity exists for a new local radio station
• To analyse the performance of existing local commercial stations
• To assess the opportunities for broadening listening choice in Hull
• To assess reaction to the trial RSL broadcast during spring 2005
• To gain an insight into the thoughts and opinions of those who listen to existing local stations
• To explore whether radio listeners in Hull would be interested in listening to a new local radio
station and to understand what they feel should be featured on the station
• To assess the levels of demand and support for a potential new radio station
(b) The specific questions that the research sought to answer;
The specific questions KCFM 99.9’s research sought to answer were as follows:-
• Where do respondents from the Hull area live, shop and enjoy leisure time?
• Which radio stations are respondents in the Hull area currently listening to?
• Which age groups are currently being served by existing radio stations?
• What are respondents’ requirements for a new radio station in terms of music and speech?
• What are the perceived music/speech ratios of existing stations?
• Are the music tastes of the respondents in terms of radio listening currently being satisfied?
• What are the speech and news interests of the respondents?
• Relevance of presenters to the delivery of a new radio service?
• Propensity to listen to the new radio station?
• What effect this listening would have on the current listening levels of existing stations?
(c) How the research was conducted;
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
KCFM 99.9 commissioned Dipsticks Research Ltd to carry out four kinds of research in the Hull area:-
• Telephone interviews with people aged 25 to 54 about the RSL trial broadcast in spring 2005
• Telephone interviews with people aged 16 to 64 about tastes, interests and existing stations
• Focus groups with a range of people aged 25 to 64
• Telephone interview with advertisers in Hull
Monitoring of existing commercial radio stations was undertaken by Programming Analyst Paul
Easton using recordings made by Radiomonitor.
In addition, we undertook our own desk research into listening data using information from RAJAR
and into population trends using information on the National Statistics website.
page number | 46

(d) The size and composition of the sample(s);
• For our RSL research, we carried out 502 interviews with adults aged 25 to 54. Quotas were set as follows:
50% male, 50% female; 35% 25-34s; 35% 35-44s; 30% 45-54s. 20% of sample to be listeners to
KC107.3FM. Respondents were recruited from lists of listeners to the RSL. The remainder were recruited
at random from all Hull postcodes. We also spoke to 52 advertisers selected at random from the Hull area.
• For our consumer research, a total of 439 interviews were carried out with adults aged 16 to 64. Quotas
were set to ensure an even split of males/females and a spread of age groups. These quotas were based
on the population of the Hull area from the National Statistics website, Census 2001.
• For our focus group research, two groups were held using a total of 17 respondents from the Hull area:-
Females/Males aged 25 to 44
Females/Males aged 45 to 64
For our advertiser research, a total of ten interviews were carried out with businesses selected at random
(e) When and where the research was conducted;
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
• The RSL research was carried out between 22nd April and 4th May 2005
• The consumer and advertiser research was carried out between 9th and 18th January 2006
• The focus groups were carried out on 24th January 2006 at the Quality Hotel Royal, Hull
• Monitoring was carried out on 18th January 2006 from 0600 to 1900
• Desk research into population and RAJAR took place in January 2006
(f) A summary of the main findings from the research, showing how these demonstrate evidence
of demand for the service proposed;
KCFM 99.9 undertook a detailed and comprehensive seven-stage research programme:-
1. Population
2. RAJAR Analysis
3. Monitoring
4. RSL Broadcast – KC107.3FM
5. Consumer Research
6. Focus Group Research
7. Advertiser Research
Population
Mid 2003 population estimates show 247,900 people living in the city of Kingston upon Hull compared to
the Census from 2001 where the figure was 243,589 – 49% male and 51% female.
The population estimates show 6% of the population are children under five and 17% of retirement age,
which is lower than the average for England and Wales of 19%
During the 20 years from 1982 to 2002, the population of the city declined by 11% compared with an
increase of 21% for the Yorkshire and Humber Bridge region as a whole
page number | 47

The average age of the population was 37.2 years compared with the England and Wales average of 38.7 years.
Hull is officially a deprived area. In the Indices of Deprivation 2004, Kingston upon Hull was rated 9th
out of 354 local authorities in England where 1 was the most deprived and 354 was the least deprived.
Among other statistics about the city, 65% of people describe their health as “good”, 41% of 16 to 74
year olds have no educational qualifications, there is an unemployment rate of 6.2% and in 2003 there
were 155 people killed or seriously injured in road accidents.
In 2004, there were 3,124 retail premises including shops and stores, food and drink outlets but
excluding pubs and hotels. There were 1,346 offices, 1,476 factories and 1,041 warehouses
Between 2002 and 2003, the average price of a home in the Yorkshire and Humber Bridge region
increased by 22% compared to the rest of England where the average was 12%.
RAJAR Analysis
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
LISTENING HOURS
Hours within Viking TSA Q4 01 Q4 02 Q4 03 Q4 04 Q4 05 Change 03-05
All radio 26902 25561 25892 27355 25719 -173 -0.67%
All commercial 12519 11857 12005 11384 10232 -1773 -17.33%
Commercial national 2116 1602 1491 2029 2217 726 32.75%
Commercial local/regional 10403 10255 10514 9355 8015 -2499 -31.18%
All BBC 14112 13474 13660 15741 14829 1169 7.88%
BBC national 10046 8904 9792 11120 10777 985 9.14%
BBC local/regional 4066 4570 3868 4621 4052 184 4.54%
All national 12162 10506 11283 13149 12994 1711 13.17%
All local/regional 14469 14825 14382 13976 12067 -2315 -19.18%
Other 270 229 227 230 659 432 65.55%
Total 26901 25560 25892 27355 25720
commercial
national analogue 2005 1604 1159 1537 1438 279 19.40%
commercial national digital 332 492 779 447 57.38%
• Looking at the total market place listening, the hours listening to any radio has remained fairly constant.
• The hours listened to ALL local and regional services (BBC and commercial) have fallen by 17% in three
years. Local BBC services have however increased listening hours by nearly 5%, whilst commercial
services have fallen by approximately 30%.
• Interestingly the area enjoys listening to the radio, as noted by no overall total decline. This is supported
by robust increases in national (both commercial and national) and BBC specific listening, which
indicates an element of switch over, rather than switch off from traditional local or regional commercial
services.
• National commercial services have increased their listening hours by nearly a third during the three
year period (2003 – 2005).
• Overall the BBC remains the winner in listening hours gain, with a 7.8% increase in hours.
page number | 48

In tune with the heartbeat of the city
MARKET SHARE
Share Q4 2003 Q4 2004 Q4 2005 Change 2003/04 Change 2004/05 Change 2003/05
% Change % Change % Change
All radio 100% 100% 100%
96.9 Viking FM 11.50% 8.00% 8.80% -3.5% -44% 0.8% 10% -2.7% -31%
Magic 1161 Hull 3.20% 2.60% 2.20% -0.6% -23% -0.4% -15% -1.0% -45%
Galaxy Yorkshire 7.80% 7.40% 8.10% -0.4% -5% 0.7% 9% 0.3% 4%
BBC Radio Humberside11.30% 11.40% 12.40% 0.1% 1% 1.0% 9% 1.1% 9%
BBC Radio 1 8.80% 6.70% 10.00% -2.1% -31% 3.3% 49% 1.2% 12%
BBC Radio 2 15.70% 20.10% 16.30% 4.4% 22% -3.8% -19% 0.6% 4%
• When looking at share for local and regional commercial services, the two traditional heritage services
have lost market share over three years. In local commercial terms, only Galaxy has grown share
during the three year period, albeit by only 4%
• The BBC has again not only maintained share in the area but has increased share in the services
observed. BBC Radio Humberside has increased its share by 9% in the period, whilst BBC Radio 1 and
BBC Radio 2 have increase share by 12% and 4% respectively.
AVERAGE HOURS
Ave Hours Q4 2003 Q4 2004 Q4 2005 Change 2003/04 Change 2004/05 Change 2003/05
% Change % Change % Change
All radio 25.2 25 25.3
96.9 Viking FM 9.9 9.3 9.1 -0.6 -6% -0.2 -2% -0.8 -9%
Magic 1161 Hull 11 9.6 8.9 -1.4 -15% -0.7 -7% -2.1 -24%
Galaxy Yorkshire 7.8 9 8.6 1.2 13% -0.4 -4% 0.8 9%
BBC Radio Humberside 12 14.9 14.9 2.9 19% 0 0% 2.9 19%
BBC Radio 1 9.7 8.9 10.5 -0.8 -9% 1.6 18% 0.8 8%
BBC Radio 2 12.4 14.2 13.8 1.8 13% -0.4 -3% 1.4 10%
• A clearer picture can be seen when looking at average hours. Again the area’s loyalties to radio can the
seen with no decline in listening to any radio.
• Galaxy Yorkshire has led a commercial radio growth with a 9% increase in Average Hours over three
years. Magic has seen the largest decline, loosing nearly a quarter of its average hours listened. Viking
has lost 9%, whilst all the BBC service observed have made reasonable increases, led by BBC Radio
Humberside, which increased by nearly a fifth.
WEEKLY REACH
Reach Q4 2003 Q4 2004 Q4 2005CHANGE 2003/04 CHANGE 2004/05 CHANGE 2003/05
% Change % Change % Change
All radio 92% 89% 92% -3.0% -3% 3.0% 3% 0.0% 0%
96.9 Viking FM 27% 19% 22% -8.0% -42% 3.0% 16% -5.0% -23%
Magic 1161 Hull 7% 6% 6% -1.0% -17% 0.0% 0% -1.0% -17%
Galaxy Yorkshire 23% 18% 22% -5.0% -28% 4.0% 22% -1.0% -5%
BBC Radio Humberside 22% 17% 19% -5.0% -29% 2.0% 12% -3.0% -16%
BBC Radio 1 21% 17% 22% -4.0% -24% 5.0% 29% 1.0% 5%
BBC Radio 2 29% 31% 27% 2.0% 6% -4.0% -13% -2.0% -7%
• When looking at the number of persons listening (All Radio) the trend remains strong.
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• All the stations, with the exception of BBC Radio 1, lost listeners. We know that from above there has
been more interest in national services both BBC and Commercial in the three year period.
• When looking at the actual recorded number of people (reach 000’s) the changes are less dramatic but
nevertheless points to a decline in local radio popularity.
• Whilst all radio listening remain popular (overall change -1% 03-05), local commercial services have lost
listeners. Galaxy Yorkshire has lost least audience during the period (-9%) but has listeners listening for
longer (see above). Likewise BBC Radio Humberside has also increased its listening hours by nearly
20% but has too lost 15% of its audience.
Reach 000’s Q4 2003 Q4 2004 Q4 2005 Change 2003/04 Change 2004/05 Change 2003/05
% Change % Change % Change
All radio 1028 1093 1017 65 6% -76 -7% -11 -1%
96.9 Viking FM 301 236 247 -65 -28% 11 5% -54 -22%
Magic 1161 Hull 74 75 65 1 1% -10 -13% -9 -14%
Galaxy Yorkshire 261 226 240 -35 -15% 14 6% -21 -9%
BBC Radio Humberside 244 209 213 -35 -17% 4 2% -31 -15%
BBC Radio 1 236 205 245 -31 -15% 40 20% 9 4%
BBC Radio 2 329 388 304 59 15% -84 -22% -25 -8%
• A point worth noting is the amount of listening to ‘other’ radio services. The latest RAJAR (Q4 2005)
indicates that other local commercial services enjoy a 26% reach and a 12% market share within the
TSA. Taken in context this amounts to a large single station similar to those shown above and perhaps
compared to be as significant as the two Emap services Viking and Magic combined. We assume the bulk
of this listening is to Lincs FM whose powerful transmitters can be heard all over the area.
Other Local Com (Reach)Q4 2003 Q4 2004 Q4 2005
000’s 319 369 294
Reach % 29% 30% 26%
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
WEEKLY REACH % PROFILE
Weekly %
Reach Q4 05 Viking Magic 1161 Galaxy BBC Humberside
Adults 15-24 41.9 10.6 54.0 13.6
Adults 15-34 38.9 7.8 43.8 11.3
Adults 15-44 34.9 7.2 36.3 14.3
Adults 25-44 31.5 5.5 27.5 14.6
Adults 35-44 28.5 6.2 23.6 18.9
Adults 35-54 23.5 7.0 20.0 22.4
Adults 45-54 17.7 8.0 15.5 26.3
Adults 55+ 6.4 1.4 5.8 51.6
• When looking at the reach profile (%) of the current FM services clearly 15 -24 and 15 - 34 adults are
best served by commercial services. In fact generally, local/regional commercial radio does serve very
well, adults under 45.
• The figures show that Galaxy does appeal well to its intended audience and to some extent competes
with Viking for those under 35. Interestingly Magic has a broad age appeal up to 54. Clearly of all the
commercial services only the AM service Magic has particular older appeal.
• BBC Radio Humberside has its strengths in the older audiences, with just over half of its audience reach
coming from those 55 and above.
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RSL Broadcast – KC107.3FM
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
• We operated an RSL trial station called KC107.3FM which was broadcast 24 hours a day from the KC
Stadium from 20th March to 16th April 2005 featuring local news, sports, features, interviews and a broad
selection of pop music. We also broadcast football commentary, updates and analysis with exclusive pre
and post match interviews and discussion from Hull City AFC, Hull FC and Hull Kingston Rovers.
• The station raised nearly £10,000 in advertising revenue during its four weeks, all of which was used to
offset costs
• Dipsticks Research carried out a post-RSL study to find out how people rated existing stations, what
people look for in a new station, how KC107.3FM met this need and what the potential is for a new
station.
• The study concluded that Hull is a very independent and self-sufficient city. Respondents have a close
affinity to the area.
• Viking and BBC Radio 2 dominate music listening for the 25 to 55 age group (20% say Viking has the best
music; 19% say Radio 2) but BBC Radio Humberside dominates local news provision with 51% of
respondents saying it was best for local news and information
• Overall, KC107.3FM had a 29% awareness among 25-55s, rising to 37% among men. Although more
men were aware of the station, women appear more likely to listen. Broadly speaking women more
likely to be interested in music and DJs and men in sport.
• There was 38% awareness of the station among BBC Radio Humberside listeners. Trial (27%) and fourweek
usage (22%) of the station was also highest among listeners to BBC Radio Humberside
• Respondents heard of the station mainly through ‘word of mouth’ or by advertisements in the Hull City
AFC programme. Some tuned in accidentally.
• The main likes were good music and sports coverage/news. Dave Lee Travis was the most high profile
presenter (he did one show a week) followed by Al Dupres
• Respondents are looking for the following in any new radio station:-
• A station with a music bias, more music but some speech
• Local news and enjoyable music are their first requirements
• A mix of current music and oldies
• Music from the 1980s to early 2000s seems most appealing with some music from the
1960s/1970s and some currents
• Local, regional, national and international news are all important plus weather and traffic and
travel information
• Local sports news is particularly important as is local ‘what’s on’ and entertainment news
• The potential for the station seems strong with 72.5% of respondents saying they would be likely to
listen to the new station (on a scale of 1 to 10, they gave 6 or more). Of these respondents, nearly half
said they would listen to the station six or more days a week
• These respondents are prepared to allocate 45% of their radio listening to this station (compared to 40%
of the total sample)
Monitoring
For details of our in-depth off-air monitoring of existing local commercial stations, please see section 4.
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Consumer Research
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Current Listening Habits
• The most well known and successful local commercial radio stations within the Hull area are Viking FM
(which has a TSA of over 1 million across East Yorkshire) and Galaxy 105 (which has a regional coverage
across the Yorkshire counties).
• KC107.3FM which was run as an RSL in spring 2005 still has residual prompted awareness of 21.6%.
• The dominant BBC stations in the Hull area are first and foremost BBC Radio Humberside, followed
by Radios 1 and 2.
• Viking FM is the most listened to radio station within the area amongst the 16 to 64 age group. It has a
broad appeal across the age groups as it offers a combination of a local focus to the East Yorkshire area
with a contemporary music format. Although it is perceived as a young station, with nearly 70% of 16
to24s saying the station is for “People like me”, Viking FM seems to hold on to its listeners successfully.
• It would seem that as a large proportion of the 16 to 54 age groups are listening to Viking FM, this could
indicate an opportunity for a station with an alternative music format and a specific Hull local focus to be
well received in this area.
• While Galaxy has a regional focus it is also perceived as a young station and is strong with the 16 to 34
age groups. It has affinity with its audience and is able to successfully convert listeners to loyal, core
listeners.
• Although also usually perceived as a young station, in this area Radio 1 has a strong appeal with the 25
to 34 age group. Radio 1 is less successful than Viking FM and Galaxy 105 at converting ‘occasional’ into
‘regular’ listeners and weekly listeners into core listeners.
• Radio 2 is appealing more to the 35 to 64 age groups along with BBC Radio Humberside.
• While having appeal to an older audience, BBC Radio Humberside is seen more as the station to provide
local news for Hull rather than Viking FM. Even Viking FM listeners are more likely to rate BBC
Humberside as the best station for local news rather than Viking FM.
• A large proportion of 16 to 24s are listening to Galaxy, 25 to 34s are listening also to Galaxy and Radio 1,
and the 55 to 64s to BBC Humberside and BBC Radio 2. This could indicate an opportunity for a new
station to target the 35 to 54 age group which would also have appeal to the younger and older age
groups through a truly local focus. The 35 to 54 age group is “making do” with a number of stations
rather than finding one which really serves its needs.
• Radio 1, Radio 2 and BBC Humberside are all converting less than 40% of their listeners to “core”
listeners. This could indicate that these stations have more occasional listeners who could be looking for
a radio station with an alternative music and local focus, which is not currently available.
• While Viking FM appears to be very successful in the area, actually it does not have a real affinity with its
audience and is very much perceived as a “young” station. Also it is BBC Radio Humberside which
seems to be perceived more as the “local” station for the area and this has an older audience profile.
This further reinforces the opportunity for a truly local station in the Hull area for the 25 plus age group.
Tastes and Interests - Music
• Nearly a fifth of respondents give “more music” as one of the top key requirements for a new radio station, with
10.8% of respondents looking for a “variety of music”. This is a common requirement for most demographics.
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In tune with the heartbeat of the city
• Approximately half the listeners to Viking FM, Galaxy 105 and Radio 2 are choosing that station for its
music. However only a third of listeners to Radio 1 are choosing the station for music and therefore may
be choosing the station for other reasons such as the presenters.
• A local station with a varied music mix to suit a 25 plus audience, could serve to satisfy the Radio 1 occasional
audience who do not have a real affinity with the station and are not listening to the station for music.
• The majority, (67.2%), of respondents in the Hull area, when asked, offered no particular types of music
that they would like to hear more of on the radio. 31.1% said “I already hear what I like”: these
respondents were less likely to be men (26.1%) and Radio 1 listeners (24.1%).
• There does not appear to be a clear style of music which respondents would like to hear on radio that
they cannot already hear. Therefore it would seem there is a preference for a mix of music across the
decades rather than a particular format or style.
• 53.4% of respondents want a balance of modern songs and oldies.
• The majority of respondents (46.7%) want to hear “Mostly music with some speech”. There is a clear
demand for radio stations to play “mostly music” and only Galaxy 105 appears to be closest to providing
what listeners actually demand. This could indicate an opportunity for a station targeting an older 30
plus audience to provide a format which is perceived to have a strong music to speech ratio.
Tastes and Interests – Speech
• Local news/information, news generally and sport are given spontaneously as the main speech
requirements for a new radio station.
• When prompted with a number of speech items, an overwhelming demand for Hull area news amongst
respondents becomes evident, with 81.3% of respondents saying they would like to hear this type of
news on a new radio station.
• Respondents of all ages are keen to hear this type of news – however just 54.2% of 16 to 24 year olds say
they would like to hear local news.
• 91.2% of Radio 1 listeners would like to hear local news for Hull. A radio station providing a format to appeal
to those listening to Radio 1 in the Hull area (specifically aged 25 -34), with a close local Hull focus, could
gain audience from amongst existing Radio 1 listeners. Indeed this new station could appeal to listeners to
any of the other stations looking for a truly local station playing the right mix of music for a 25 plus audience.
• Results are similar for “Local weather”, “Local traffic and travel news”, “National news”, again with the
16 to 24 age groups and Galaxy listeners being less interested in these elements of programming.
• For men, “local sports news and results”, “football” and “national sports news and results” are also
important speech elements for a potential station. 66.4% of males would definitely want to hear “local
sports news and results” compared to 23.9% of women.
• The main element that respondents do NOT want to hear on a new radio station is adverts, cited by 18.6% of
respondents. This result was fairly common across the different age groups but lowest amongst BBC Radio
Humberside listeners at 12.7%. Therefore the perceived intrusion of commercials should be kept to a
minimum in order to not present too great a problem for a new commercial radio station in the area.
Demand
• Overall, a very high proportion of respondents (82.4%) said they would be likely (extremely, very or quite)
to listen to the proposed new station.
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In tune with the heartbeat of the city
• 20.2% of listeners “likely to listen to a new radio station” (base 361), state that they would, “listen to the
radio for longer, in order to listen to the new station as well as my current stations”. This figure is
similar across many demographic and station groups.
• 52% of respondents said they would listen less to one of their current stations, in order to listen to the new
station, this result being highest amongst the 45 to 54 age group (60%) and BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2 listeners.
• 21.5% of respondents said they would stop listening to a current station in order to listen to the new
radio station. Again it is interesting to note this figure is far higher amongst the 35 to 44 age group
(34.1%), already identified earlier as an age group not being well served by radio in the Hull area, and
Radio 1 listeners (25.1%).
• 41.4% of those who said they would be likely to listen to the new station said they would listen to it as
“second choice” station. These were more likely to be in the 16 to 34 age group, and highest amongst
Radio 1 listeners at 46.7%.
• 55% of respondents felt that a new station for Hull would offer something different to what is already
available in terms of commercial radio.
• 86% of respondents felt that this new station should be given a licence to broadcast to the Hull area.
Focus Group Research
• Viking FM was appreciated because it was a local station, playing popular music from the current
decade. However, the general underlying feeling was that this station was aimed more at a younger
audience and had the tendency to alienate some listeners. It was also felt that this station lacked enough
information and discussion about the local area.
• All of the respondents had a small repertoire of stations that they listened to regularly. They tended to
base their decision of which station to select on mood, that is to say whether they were searching for
music or discussion.
• We refined our station description from that tested in the consumer and advertiser research to make it
more detailed and reflective of these pieces of research. The description was read to both focus groups
and views solicited:-
The new station will strive to be more local to Hull than exisitng radio stations and will feature a wide
variety of pop music from the 60s through to today’s hits. There will be hourly bulletins of news from Hull
and East Yorkshire as well as national news. Traffic and travel information will feature every 20 minutes
at breakfast time and for the afternoon drive home. Sport will play an important part in the station, with
results and sports phone-ins at weekends and evenings. During the day there will be interviews with
local people and advice spots on subjects such as legal, emotional and health problems. However, these
will be mixed in with lots of other entertainment and music.
• It was felt that the proposed new radio station would be successful if it maintained its local edge. It could
be in danger of being too similar to Viking FM, however targeting an age group of listeners who were 35+
would address this issue. Many respondents felt the new radio station could combine the best of both
Viking and BBC Radio Humberside.
• From this research it would seem that the music playlist was paramount to its success, coupled with the style
of the presenter. The respondents found the description appealing in the first instance, however after further
thought they began to search for a differentiating factor, which they felt hadn’t been clearly defined. That is to
say they wanted to uncover the character of the station but it was felt that this could not be discerned until the
presenters of the show were selected. We agree that presenters are vital in this respect and we have seen
from the consumer research how much reliance respondents place on the quality of a presenter.
page number | 54

• This research uncovered a definite desire for a platform from which listeners can freely discuss
important local issues without the station censoring their comments because of their own personal bias.
There was a particular welcome for the sports phone-in show.
• In summary, in terms of developing the proposed radio station for the Hull area, the focus group
research made us consider the following:-
• Delivering a wide-ranging interpretation of each decade, focusing on the fashionable music of the
60s and 70s. Interest was expressed in a programme that would compare artists/bands of today to
artists/bands from the past.
• It is important to steer clear of songs from the 1960s that would be considered only suitable for
occasions such as weddings. Music from the 1990s did not hold great appeal.
• Presenters who are engaging to all ages, and who are also witty and knowledgeable.
• Promoting local talent and developing a partnership with local entertainment venues and
businesses so that listeners are more aware of what is going on in their local area.
• Regular but concise updates on local news, sports, weather, travel and traffic, specifically for the
Hull area and the people in Hull.
• Engaging, cost-effective advertising
Advertiser Research
For details of our in-depth advertiser research, please see section 7
(g) Full data tables for any quantitative research undertaken (these may be submitted in
confidence).
Full data tables are submitted with this application
7. Evidence of Support
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
This section should provide evidence of support, where appropriate, from the applicant’s
potential audience or from prospective local advertisers.
Letters of Support
KCFM 99.9 has received a large number of letters of support from a wide range of both potential listeners
and prospective local advertisers.
After our RSL broadcast in spring 2005, we sent a CD of our broadcast highlights to a variety of local business,
civic and community organisations. Below are extracts from some of the many support letters received, both
through this process and unsolicited. After the RSL, we also received about 30 unsolicited emails from
listeners supporting the station. Both these and the original letters are available for inspection upon request.
“I really do support this bid. There is too little competition in media services in Hull, with the Hull Daily Mail
and Radio Humberside having a virtual monopoly. Good luck with the application.” – Rt Hon Alan Johnson, MP
Hull West and Hessle
“Your proposal certainly seems to have the right balance of content delivered in a local context and hopefully it
can do for local radio what the KC Stadium did for our football team!” – Matthew Kennerley, Associated British
Ports, Hull and Goole.
“A truly local radio service for the City of Hull and the East Yorkshire hinterland would, I suggest, be an additional
media resource of great value. Additionally, the business sector would be particularly keen to have an alternative
advertising source available to them.” – Councillor Kath Lavery, Cabinet Portfolio: Economy and Regeneration
page number | 55

In tune with the heartbeat of the city
“I feel it is important that the licence be awarded to a locally-based consortium and that the new radio station
is run by local people, supported by local businesses. A true local station will be good for the people of Hull
and the surrounding area. Good luck with your application.” – Anita Pace, Group Director of Communications,
Kingston Communications
“Hull Kingston Rovers RLFC supports the KCFM licence application as it is committed to providing enhance, in
depth coverage of local sport and offers local businesses an excellent opportunity to raise their profiles
through advertising and other means. The club will certainly be interested in advertising its fixtures and other
activities via the proposed radio station” – Paul Lakin, Chief Executive, Hull Kingston Rovers
“The recent temporary broadcast certainly generated a lot of interest. The mix of local news, sport, interviews
and music was just what the local region needed. The broadcast was of a high standard and the quality of the
programming and varied content made a refreshing change to the more established local stations. Good luck
with your application for the permanent licence.” – Malcolm Fallen, Chief Executive, Kingston Communications
(Hull) plc
“The Football Club believes that the granting of the licence to KCFM would be beneficial both to the club and to
many of its business sectors. The club would benefit directly from increased coverage of its fixtures and
events…. The club would certainly become a major advertiser should KCFM be awarded the radio licence.” –
P.M. Hough, Secretary, Hull City AFC
“Many of our employees listen to local radio at work and many of these support the local sports clubs and are
always hungry for more information than available from the local stations. I would be delighted if Ofcom were
to give you the opportunity of managing this new venture.” – Roger Cooper, Managing Director, Ideal Standard
“In the short period that KCFM has been broadcasting, it has gained an excellent reputation and is, I believe,
held in some affection locally. In an insular city like Hull, it is also vitally important that there is some
democracy in our media outlets and having a new voice in our city will, I am sure, be very healthy.” – Colin
Brown, Chief Executive, The Deep Millennium Project
“I feel there is a great demand for a new local station to serve Hull and the surrounding area. I therefore
would like to offer my support for this new and exciting venture and trust you will be successful.” – D.C.
Heuck, Heron Food Group
“I think it’s a great idea and our city needs a choice of radio” – David K Hakeney Antiques
“I think this is a good idea and I’m sure it will be successful. I would like to wish KCFM success in its bid to
obtain the licence and look forward to listening.” – Mike Rozenbroek, Twinacre Nurseries Ltd
“I would like to wish you well in your project which I am sure will succeed and prosper as a result of your
experience and ability in broad ranging business ventures.” – David C Garness, Garness Jones, Chartered
Surveyors
“I was impressed with the diversity and quality of programming and hope that KCFM win through.” – Robin
Gray, Managing Director, Grayrentals
“I was fortunate to be able to listen to a fair amount of the output during transmission and was pleasantly
surprised by the quality and professionalism of the programmes. As both a listener and a potential advertiser,
I would hope your application for a permanent licence for KCFM is successful and would therefore like to offer
my fullest support to your campaign.” – Nigel Edwards, Photo Express
“We have no hesitation in showing our support. We were pleased with the outcome of our advertisements
which featured on the station. We have had a lot of positive feedback both from members of staff and contacts
page number | 56

In tune with the heartbeat of the city
both with regard to the advertising and the radio station generally.” – Gosschalks Solicitors
“Linking the name directly with the KC Stadium, which is now such a focal point for a wide range of activity
within the area, is a brilliant concept. This is sure to give the station huge impetus and create interest locally. I
wish you all success.” – Richard Ashton
“I am delighted to report that our advertising campaign for London Theatre breaks on KCFM has been
extremely well received and we have seen a good level of bookings. In general the station does appear to have
been well received and I wish you and the team every success.” – Mark Ellis, East Yorkshire Coaches
“Humberside Airport have been delighted to support KCFM during its trial period. The quality and content of
the station’s output was superb and we would love to welcome and support this facility as a permanent
service!” – Jackie Hilton, Humberside Airport
“We fully support your application for a licence. We feel that the city of Hull and surrounding area will benefit
from such a station and allow the population to keep in touch with local news and views as well as music and
sport.” – Robin Orr, F Smales and Son (Fish Merchants) Ltd
“Operating a truly Hull radio station from the KC Stadium in my opinion will both benefit the stadium, the
proposed station and the whole of the region.” – J F Brignall, Chairman, Wykeland Group Ltd
“It is a brilliant station playing great music and keeping us informed about all the local news and traffic. The
presenters are relaxed and informal but all the relevant information is given to the listeners including good
sport coverage.” – Paul Dixon, Mill Farm. Hotham
“Good local news based radio is important to the area and with the success of the new super stadium, it would
make a perfect base for the new station. Anything that can enhance the area’s profile can only be a good
thing.” – Brian Beck, Sales Manager, Skeltons Bakery
“I am sure that you and your team will make a worthwhile contribution in providing a high quality programme
schedule. Best wishes for the success of your new venture.” – David Kilburn, MKM Building Supplies.
Prospective Local Advertiser Support
• Our research to assess local advertiser support was in two stages. Firstly, as part of the 28-day trial RSL
broadcast called KC107.3FM described in section 6, we commissioned Dipsticks Research to undertake
52 CATI telephone interviews with members of the Hull business community between 22nd April and 4th
May 2005. 27% of the respondents were involved with a variety of radio stations, mainly Viking.
• BBC Radio Humberside is seen as the main station to cover local news and issues. Viking is seen as the
main commercial station covering the area and 15% say they do this well
• 54% of respondents were aware of KC107.3FM when prompted. Half of these respondents had listened to the
station. They liked the localness, good local sports coverage, friendly presenters and wide variety of music.
• 77% of respondents expressed support for the station in terms of likelihood of listening (on a scale of 1
to 10, they gave 6 or more)
• As part of our general research in 2006, we again commissioned Dipsticks Research to conduct ten indepth
interviews with ten businesses which advertise in the Hull area to assess the current relationship
with radio stations in the area and to assess the levels of demand and support for a potential new radio
station. The advertisers were selected at random.
• While 7 out of 10 respondents had listened to Viking FM in the last 7 days, only 1 respondent had listened
to it most in the last 7 days.
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In tune with the heartbeat of the city
• Radio 1 and BBC Radio 5 Live appeared to be the most popular radio stations amongst this sample of
radio advertisers. Three respondents had listened to Galaxy 105 in the last 7 days.
• Viking FM and BBC Radio Humberside are seen as the main providers of local news and information for
the Hull area, even though these two stations are actually covering a much broader area than just the
city of Hull and surrounding area. Viking FM has a Rajar TSA of 1.109 million adults 15+ and BBC Radio
Humberside one of 0.719 million adults 15+.
• The only radio station used for advertising in the Hull area is Viking FM (7 respondents) with 3
respondents saying they had advertised on Viking FM in the past. There is no reference at all to Magic
AM in respondents’ comments about radio advertising in the area. Nor is Galaxy 105 mentioned as an
advertising option.
• The majority of respondents are trying to target quite a broad audience with their radio advertising. Only
two respondents were specifically trying to reach a younger audience which they felt Viking FM achieved.
• The majority of the sample is made up of large scale organisations employing more than 21 employees,
with advertising budgets for organisations being anything up to £500k. (4 respondents said
“Refused/Don’t Know”).
• In terms of budget dedicated to radio however, three budgets were less than £10k with a further 3
respondents saying they “didn’t know or refused”. A further 3 were past advertisers. This could indicate
that although budgets are available in the Hull area there is reluctance to spend on radio due to the
limited options available for the Hull area.
• The competition for advertising on radio appears to be largely from the local papers (paid for). However
advertisers are also including some outdoor advertising, plus National press in their media mix. Some
advertisers are also supplementing with a variety of other specific options – Internet, flyers, direct mail
and trade publications.
• Viking FM is the only real option for radio advertising for businesses within the Hull area. Respondents
generally seem to choose the station because of its “localness” and the size and make up of the
audience - 20% weekly reach and 10.4 average hours (Source: Rajar Quarter 3 2005).
• Hull businesses generally seem to be happy with the results achieved by Viking FM and are largely
happy with the type of “broad” audience delivered. They also appear to have a good working relationship
with the radio station.
• The main disadvantage associated with radio advertising on Viking FM is cost. Another criticism is that
there is “wastage” – using a radio station which covers a broader geographic area than is required.
Another respondent felt that there were too many ads on Viking FM.
• Magic AM receives no recognition from these advertisers and potential radio advertisers. This station is
probably bought in conjunction with Viking FM.
• Respondents seem keen to find an appropriate station to reach their target audience matched with the
right coverage geographically. They also appear open to trying new and varied media for their
advertising solutions. This could indicate an opportunity for a new station to enter the market which can
provide a cost effective opportunity to reach a new radio audience and broaden the advertising options
for businesses in the Hull area.
• 4 of the 10 respondents seemed to feel that they would be “Likely” to advertise on a new station for the
Hull area. Interestingly 3 of these were the respondents who had advertised on radio in the past but
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In tune with the heartbeat of the city
were not currently advertising. This could indicate a proportion of businesses who would like to
advertise on radio but don’t necessarily think that Viking FM is right for them.
• 6 respondents said they would be “unlikely” to advertise or “don’t know”. Two had reservations about
the station suiting their target market. Three respondents indicated that they could be interested in a
new station if they had more information: they are being cautious as the station is an unknown quantity.
Therefore the potential of any new station would have to be well communicated to advertisers with firstclass
marketing
• Overall the concept of the new station is fairly well received by respondents in the Hull area. 7 out of 10
respondents said they would be likely to listen to this type of station; 5 respondents said the station
would bring something new to the area, and 8 said the station should be given a licence to broadcast to
the Hull area.
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Declaration
In tune with the heartbeat of the city
Applicants are required to conclude their submission by responding to the following question:
Do you confirm that, to the best of your knowledge and belief:
(a) the applicant is not a disqualified person in relation to the licence by virtue of the provisions of
section 143(5) of the Broadcasting Act 1996 (relating to political objects);
(b) no Director or person concerned directly or indirectly in the management of the company or
the applicant group is the subject of a disqualification order as defined by section 145(1) of the
Broadcasting Act 1996;
(c) no person involved in the application has been convicted within the past five years of an
unlicensed broadcasting offence and that the applicant will do all it can to ensure that no person
so convicted will be concerned in the provision of the service, the making of programmes
included in it, or the operation of a radio station if the applicant is granted a licence; and
(d) any matters which might influence Ofcom’s judgement as to whether the Directors and
substantial shareholders involved in the application are fit and proper persons to participate in a
radio licence have been made known to Ofcom?
We confirm all of the above. All matters have been made known to Ofcom.
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