Cornwall's 105 to 107 Itchy FM - Ofcom Licensing

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spoken word content will provide editorial and opinions specific to the local community. Features on music, film, clubs, the internet, comedy, sports, news and social issues will make up most of the spoken word content. The news and information service on Itchy FM will be delivered in a differing style and outlook with production values that are crucial to attain the attention and interest of the core audience. Itchy FM will not ‘stop for news’. News bulletins and information breaks as are currently provided by the majority of broadcasters will not be present on Itchy FM: the ‘news’ output will be brought closer into the general programming mix, so that it is inclusive. The bulletins will run 90-seconds before the ‘top of the hour’, written with a local and human interest style with an agenda specific to the informational requirements of the station’s core demographic. Itchy will not broadcast ‘Caradon Council news’, Itchy will broadcast ‘the impact that Caradon Council decisions will have of the county’s under 35s’. Music will be the primary driver of listeners to the station, but due to the isolated nature of parts of the Duchy, a concentration and attention to detail on the station’s speech output will be essential. As illustrated in the market research, Itchy FM will use its understanding of the youth market, local market and radio listeners to ensure that information is imparted on issues of relevance and concern to the target audience, while also providing local organisations access to a local media outlet in areas that will help develop the county’s economic and social concerns. Responding to our research, Itchy FM’s speech policy has been carefully prepared to help keep the station relevant to Cornwall youth. This approach includes ensuring that the station management respond to the interactive programming activity (‘Direct Response Radio’), and use this to ensure the station remains reflective and proactive in its coverage of social issues relevant to either the general youth community or Cornwall Under 35s in particular. In addition to the station’s social action programming and issues based speech output, the station will utilise fun speech issues to create a distinct on-air identity for Itchy FM. Style of presentation The fresh, informative and cheeky presentation style will differentiate Itchy FM from the heritage station – Itchy will be ‘up-front’, irreverent and intelligent. Our focus group research shows that Cornish young people are looking for a more challenging style of presentation and we will deliver this with a fun-loving style that is relevant to being a young person in Cornwall. • provision of local material Itchy FM believes that its success in winning audiences from BBC Radio 1 will be through its strong and credible commitment to local content. Itchy FM intends for all its regular live programming to be broadcast and produced from studios in the county. Itchy will train and develop local talent – both on and off air – as we understand that people with a passion for their home county are a vitally important element of a local radio station. Our local output will extend off-air through flagship specialist shows interlinked with our events marketing strategy, such as our “Live & Local” showcase reflecting the significant interest we have had from young people “I support this because there needs to be a platform for people to listen to local material…I think a radio station is the missing piece in this puzzle, acts can get their music across to their intended target audience, who may not be in a position to hear about the acts in any other form.” Male (26), via website “You should broadcast recordings of local youth bands playing gigs to get them heard on the radio” Male (16), media studies student, Liskeard 49
Community partner Management have demonstrable experience at gauging this delicate mix of spoken word issues and relevance within youth format radio. Itchy FM will become a key partner for the region, uniquely able to communicate with this hard-to-reach youth demographic, which is largely overlooked by established media, and enable local businesses and organisations to advertise their products and services to our historically difficult to reach audience. The radio station will become an integral part of regeneration; recent developments such as the CUC (Combined University Cornwall), Objective 1, and the Education Business Partnership underline the importance of young people in the future of the region. Our success will be underpinned by the ability to reflect and engage the interests of the target audience and the needs of the region it serves. Our consultation included speaking with the Cornwall County Council with regard to the “Making a Difference: Cornwall’s Community Strategy [Mar 2003]”, which recognised that “action is needed…to recognise the needs of young people…in particular”. We have worked to include many of the strategy’s recommendations and plans within the fabric of the station. We will produce issues based features working with a variety of local support organisations with similar beliefs that youth targeted commercial radio can act as a catalyst; one of the tools to regenerate the county. “Young people need to be provided with a fair share of community facilities. Your plan for a youth oriented radio station seems like an excellent initiative to help involve them in the wider community, and for the wider community to learn more about the perspectives of young people” Frances Truscott, Regeneration Consultant, Future Perspectives Co-operatives Ltd For example, our social action programming initiatives to help “Increase in the proportion of young people in employment or education” will include: o “WorkWise” job advice and skills feature in weekday daytime schedule o “Moving On” seasonal programming features for school and college leavers (working with confirmed local content partners including Connexions – The Youth Service and the Education Business Partnership) We will also create 2 minute features on any of the businesses, organisations or charities selected to participate in our Social Marketing Fund initiative. • provision of locally made programming Programming will be live and local save for 8 hours per week that will be used to ‘buy-in’ national syndicated programmes that have a musical focus on the core demographic. This is not expected to include syndicated network “pop charts”. (iii) programme-by-programme weekday schedule Itchy FM will undoubtedly provide a voice and a much needed focal point for the broad youth community living across Cornwall County. Itchy FM is the only means for this influential and spread-out population to be communicated to en masse, to have a local commercial radio station targeted specifically at their tastes and lifestyle and to galvanise the current enthusiastic activities undertaken by Cornish youth. Our programming is often going to be talent-lead, and as such we expect our local talent recruitment and development to significantly inform our output. A broad sample of our programme schedule is available to Ofcom on request as developed by our Managing / Programming Director. 50
Page 2 and 3: GENERAL INFORMATION Application for
Page 4 and 5: Rolf Munding Non-Executive Chairman
Page 6 and 7: Martin Dallaghan Current directorsh
Page 8 and 9: o Christopher Weston - A serial hig
Page 10 and 11: Market Opportunity BBC Radio 1 cons
Page 12 and 13: usiness being awarded a Shell Livew
Page 14 and 15: The seasonal uplift in listener vol
Page 16 and 17: This arsenal of advertiser-aligned
Page 18 and 19: only through this genuine investmen
Page 20 and 21: Station’s link with Investor stra
Page 22 and 23: (e) FUNDING The business will be ca
Page 24 and 25: sustain small scale youth media and
Page 26 and 27: Telegraph, Nuts Magazine (IPC) and
Page 28 and 29: Audience Projections Itchy FM predi
Page 30 and 31: Total Hours 546,000 100% Based on t
Page 32 and 33: might incur to achieve such high le
Page 34 and 35: o Newquay: surf / skate, clubbing,
Page 36 and 37: We would also support all station a
Page 38 and 39: A large part of Itchy FM’s likely
Page 40 and 41: Staff structure IMD Radio Cornwall
Page 42 and 43: In addition, IMD Group’s local sa
Page 44 and 45: Director of Radio, Zenith Optimedia
Page 46 and 47: SECTION 105(B) AND (C): CATERING FO
Page 48 and 49: 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.2 0.15 0.1 0.05 0 F
Page 52 and 53: (b) Proposed format Licence Outline
Page 54 and 55: NOP Study - November 2004 Edison Me
Page 56 and 57: Interest in New Radio Station: When
Page 58 and 59: Radio listeners in Cornwall are wel
Page 60 and 61: Research Conclusions This format cl
Page 62 and 63: collated a number of the most perti
Page 64 and 65: Local meetings Summary of some of t

Cornwall's 105 to 107 Itchy FM - Ofcom Licensing

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