EKR - East Kent Radio - A partnership for local business
The Office of Communication (Ofcom) is inviting applications for a new FM commercial radio station to serve Ashford and the surrounding areas, for which East Kent Radio Limited (EKR) will be making a positive and constructive submission.
The EKR Ashford proposal is for a dedicated local service with an attractive programming format that capitalises on local culture and events but with significant national drive and knowledge. Key potential local customers, with high disposable incomes, will be targeted in the audience profile and we will offer local businesses cost effective and focused advertising to Ashford and the surrounding areas for the very first time.
As new members of the Ashford Chamber of Commerce, we have been impressed by its pro-active approach to local business and the dynamic focus of the membership. We now need your help and comments. Shortly, with the participation of the Chamber, we shall be contacting all members regarding business aspirations and how a new local radio station could benefit local commerce.
We look forward to talking to you!
Mark Stafford in the EKR Studios
EKR's history began when East Kent Radio Limited was formed to apply for the re-advertisement of the east Kent licence in October 1994, which was held by Invicta Radio Limited. This company held two separate radio franchises for both west and east Kent . In late 1989 Invicta Radio had been promising an opt-out service for Ashford and
Thanet, and had built an impressive studio in the Ashford International Hotel for this purpose, but the service was on air for just three months. Capital Radio PLC acquired Invicta in 1994 and indicated that they would merge east and west Kent into a Kent wide station.
We wished to maintain an independent East Kent service and exclusively applied for the east Kent franchise, whilst Two Twenty Radio Limited, based in Maidstone , applied for the west Kent franchise. Both groups submitted applications in May 1995 but the two licences were merged and re-awarded to the incumbent, Invicta Radio PLC. The programming went county-wide.
At this time the regulator (then The Radio Authority) was planning to advertise small-scale licences in the Kent coast region (Thanet, Dover & Folkestone only). We successfully argued that east Kent had lost its local radio service and both Canterbury and Ashford should also be included in the Kent coast list. To reinforce the local business support in the area we ran two trial radio services, Coastline 105.8 FM in Dover during January 1995 and EKR 107.2 FM in Ashford during December 1995.
In March 1996 these small scale radio licences were advertised and applicants could choose a combination of areas. We submitted two applications, one for the Dover/Folkestone area and the other for Canterbury/Ashford.
This latter application put Ashford on the radio licence map for the first time. We were convinced then that this combination of areas made realistic commercial sense, retaining the ability to provide local commitment to programme content while pooling resources. (Effectively, this has now happened, with KM-FM having acquired and consolidated these licences over the last two years).
The licences were awarded to Thanet Local Radio, CT-FM (Canterbury ) and Neptune Radio (Dover & Folkestone). Ashford lost out; we were told due to lack of available frequencies.
From October 1997 to January 1999 we ran an experimental radio service on the Astra satellite from The Maidstone Studios under the call sign of EKR and Night Tracks . The station was also broadcast with local programming opt-outs and commercials on a one-month trial FM broadcast to Maidstone in October 1997 and to London during January 1998. It could also be received on the experimental digital radio (DAB) multiplex across London . This provided us with valuable audience research and operational experience.
Into the new millennium we continued to lobby the Regulators for Ashford and the surrounding areas to be included in the new licensing programme. We also campaigned for the increase of transmitter power over the previous small scale licences to improve coverage, offering a more realistic viable business opportunity. When Channel Travel Radio 107.6 closed, revoking its licence to The Radio Authority in September 2000, EKR Ashford was born. The license advertisement and application procedure now begins in July 2004.
Contact: enquiries@eastkentradio.com