FromeFM, the town’s on-line community radio station has been awarded a full FM broadcast licence by OfCom.
The licence will run for five years and will enable people to receive FromeFM programmes 24 hours per day on ordinary FM radios, in homes in cars and in the workplace.
Station manager Phil Moakes said, “This is absolutely brilliant news. We’ve been working towards this for a long time. Frome has a reputation for doing the impossible and this is another example of how people can take an impossible idea and just make it happen.
“Having an FM licence means that we’ll be able to broadcast our shows to the people who don’t have computers or who want to listen to our programmes on their way to work in their cars – perhaps even in preference to the BBC or local commercial radio.”
Although the licence offer has been made by OfCom, it will still be several months before the new FM service launches. Phil continued, “At the moment we don’t even know what the frequency will be and there are still some technical hurdles to overcome, but the main thing is that our application has been successful. We hope to be on air in the spring of 2012.
“I’d like to thank everyone who has worked so hard for this. Everyone involved – the presenters, the technicians and the production teams – are all volunteers and they have succeeded in doing something quite incredible. I’d also like to thank our sponsors and funders who have supported us superbly over the last few years – without them we couldn’t have made it. Last, but by no means least, a big thank you to our listeners, who, during 2011, will have downloaded or listened to over 20,000 FromeFM shows.”
FromeFM is launching a number of new programmes over the next few months. Starting soon will be ‘Our House’, a property show in which Maggie Gregory demystifies the property market. In October, FromeFM will be releasing ‘The Ghosts of Gothic Bath’ – a ghost walk featuring spectres, murderers and strange beasts. Also in October, more music shows will be added to the schedule and, in November, a CD of music tracks donated by artists and musicians who have appeared on the Live Lounge show will be launched at a live music event in association with the Decorative Arts Exhibition, on Extravaganza night, Saturday 26th November at Rook Lane Chapel.
FromeFM director Mark Besley said, “We’ve got the licence to broadcast on FM, but radio is a hungry beast, so we’re going to need more people to join the team. If you are interested in presenting a show or studio management or script editing, or if you have a story that you’d like to help us produce for radio, then get in touch.”
FromeFM can be contacted by email at office@fromefm.co.uk or you can call Phil Moakes on 07968 726196. Or just drop in to the Christchurch Street West studio when the lights are on.
