25 apply for new London FM franchise
A total of 25 applications were made for the new London FM radio franchise yesterday (Tuesday).
Front runners for the franchise are Xfm – the three-time applicant which has the backing of promoter Harvey Goldsmith and Luxembourg media giant CLT – and Festival Radio, which is backed by EMAP and Time Out.
Both applicants are offering a format aimed at 20 to 34-year-olds and would play “indie” music. London already has a number of mainstream music stations, including Virgin and Heart.
The radio industry’s outside bet is the application from Saga to produce an over-55s service.
Minority and community broadcasters are represented by the gay radio station G104.9, the Afro-Caribbean services from Black FM and Choice FM, and the Asian stations Sangeet and Sunrise.
Other applicants include Capital, which is applying to put its AM Gold service on FM; Mohammed Al Fayed’s Liberty Broadcasting; CLT’s second application in the form of London Atlantic; another indie service, Nomad 104.9; and Chris Evans’ Ginger Group, whose station would be called The Edge.
“Advertisers understand the target market Xfm is aiming at,” says Goldsmith. “We made a profit with our restricted service broadcasts. This is our third application, but now we have a stronger shareholder base and the Radio Authority has changed in composition since the last application.”
