EMAP to take over sales for student radio

EMAP has taken over sales for the Student Broadcast Network (SBN). It will handle all airtime sales and commercial deals for the network, which has 53 subscriber student radio stations.

SBN was set up about six years ago and is owned by Campus Media. It has 96,000 monthly listeners across the UK, according to independent research that has been certified by Rajar. Since last September, the network has broadcast content from EMAP’s Kiss FM, Kerrang! and Smash Hits stations, and the sales deal is expected to forge closer links between SBN and EMAP.

EMAP Broadcast Innovations sales director Tim Bleakley says the deal will raise awareness of EMAP brands and open a new avenue for EMAP Advertising. He says the network offers targeted sales opportunities for student products such as financial services and music.

Stations which join the network are paid for the time that mandatory programmes take up, which is up to 23 hours a week, as well as advertising, which extends to two minutes after a news bulletin. Mandatory content includes specialist programmes and hourly news bulletins. SBN is broadcast through digital satellite; subscriber stations are provided with a receiver and dish so that SBN content can be transmitted on each station’s frequency.