Rother FM - Ofcom Licensing

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Section 105 (A): Ability to maintain proposed service The station will then be run by a Sales Manager, a Programme Manager and an Administration Manager, all based at Rother FM, under the supervision of the Group Chief Executive and other senior Lincs FM Group managers. This structure is highly successful at other Lincs FM Group stations, enshrining local decision-making within strong Group policies. Our proposed staffing levels at Rother FM have been based on the Lincs FM Group’s actual experience at Dearne FM. Our Sales Manager will be joined by two sales executives. The Programme Manager will present a daily programme, and there will be two further full-time presenters. Our news team of three will be headed by a Senior Journalist. We will also have an Administration Manager who takes responsibility for the day-to-day running of the site, as well as looking after events and small-scale local promotional activity. Human resources, accountancy, regulatory matters, large-scale marketing, engineering and IT will all be dealt with on a Group basis by existing staff at the Lincs FM Group’s headquarters in Lincoln. The Group has considerable experience of delivering central services in a flexible and low cost fashion. We do not envisage that the addition of Rother FM to the group’s portfolio will make any change to the central costs of the organisation as a whole. Rother FM’s marketing budget is based on the group’s actual marketing expenditure for Dearne FM. We propose a pre-operational marketing spend of £31,500, with £25,300 allocated per annum for years one, two and three. We will use many of the tried and tested methods that have led to successful launches and promotion of the group’s existing stations: bus and outdoor advertising, leaflet delivery to targeted addresses, car stickers and display boards at various locations. Station-branded items such as balloons, t-shirts, carrier bags and key-rings will be distributed at promotional events. The Group has had particular success in generating significant awareness at little or zero cost. The Lincs FM Group has also been in the forefront of using technology to link our stations and allow us to improve our local programming performance. Our IT team was nominated for the Technical Innovation award at last year’s Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards for their work on sensible, low-cost systems that allow all stations in the Group to access material such as celebrity interviews, production work for competitions and promotions, and the most up-todate music database. The Lincs FM Group will continue to apply for licences in adjacent or overlapping areas to its current coverage. It is in the process of applying for the recently advertised Hull licence. Three of its services are carried on DAB multiplexes and it will apply for the expected Lincolnshire multiplex. It will look for carriage opportunities for its other services but will not allow the success of DAB to become a requirement for the Group’s continued commercial success. Despite consolidation amongst larger groups the Lincs FM Group is confident that its committed local approach gives it a particular advantage in the local market and that its impressive audience hours and its coverage in some otherwise difficult to reach rural areas will maintain the attraction for national advertisers to continue to support a smaller regional group. 12
(b) Funding Section 105 (A): Ability to maintain proposed service Detail the sources of finance that will be used to fund the licence, under the following headings: i. Share capital ii. Loan stock iii. Leasing/HP facilities (capital value) iv. Bank overdraft v. Grants and donations vi. Other (please specify) Where relevant, provide information on: i. Loan terms (e.g. interest rate, repayment terms, redemption/conversion terms); ii. Assets leased. All of the funding identified above should be confirmed to the applicant. Explanation should be provided if this is not the case. Share Capital £100,000. All further funding will be provided by way of a zero interest intercompany loan from Lincs FM Group Limited. (c) Financial Projections The purpose of this question is to allow the applicant to demonstrate its understanding of the market. 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 ii. Balance sheets iii. Cash-flow forecasts The period covered is at the discretion of the applicant, but should be justified. The forecasts should be supplied on an Excel spreadsheet or similar, with any accompanying guidance notes. The applicant must also complete and submit the spreadsheet entitled “Financial Template” located at: http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radio/ifi/rbl/commer/ar/lapr/ftap.xls using information from its business model. 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. The response to this question may be submitted in confidence. Our response has been submitted in confidence as Rother FM Appendix ii: Financial Projections. 13
Page 1 and 2: An application to Ofcom for the loc
Page 3 and 4: General information (a) Name of App
Page 5 and 6: Executive director - Jeff Harwood S
Page 7 and 8: Executive Director - Matt Jones Occ
Page 9 and 10: Lincs FM Group Limited holds the Li
Page 11: Section 105 (A): Ability to maintai
Page 15 and 16: Section 105 (A): Ability to maintai
Page 17 and 18: 3. Transmission proposals Section 1
Page 19 and 20: Section 105 (A): Ability to maintai
Page 21 and 22: Section 105 (B) and (C): Catering f
Page 23 and 24: Target audience Section 105 (B) and
Page 27 and 28: Weather Section 105 (B) and (C): Ca
Page 37 and 38: ROTHER FM STATION FORMAT Licence ou
Page 39 and 40: Section 105 (D): Evidence of local
Page 41 and 42: Lifestyle Section 105 (D): Evidence
Page 43 and 44: Section 105 (D): Evidence of local
Page 45 and 46: Declaration Rother FM confirms that

Rother FM - Ofcom Licensing

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