Newcastle-based Nova Radio North East will now be expanding into the wider areas of North Tyneside and South Tyneside thanks to the UK’s first permanent small-scale DAB multiplex launching this week.
The licence was awarded to MUX ONE and is the first permanently licensed small-scale DAB multiplex to take to the air in the UK. The mux will have the potential to broadcast to over 380,000 adults across Tyneside & Wearside.
Neil Kipling, Nova Radio North East Director said: "We are so proud to be part of the North East community and already provide a truly local service through our FM channel, app and online.
"Now thanks to the new DAB multiplex, we are able to reach out to more people in and around the region and provide much-needed really hyper-local content to help better support local people and local causes - putting them at the very heart of all we do."
MUX ONE Director, Dave Roberts says:
“This is a wonderful achievement and we are so proud to be able to help lead the way. Being first is very special but leading something brings challenges as new paths and processes have to be found and we’ve certainly had many hurdles to jump. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Armstrong, Hillary and Bannister either. ““It may be very early stages but it is fantastic to see how community radio has embraced small-scale DAB. We deliberately doubled the amount of reserved slots on the multiplex for community broadcasters yet we still have a waiting list. “The most pleasing aspect is how many new services have been created for the new platform. We have two brand new stations that focus on mental health, two that serve the football fan community, two for the LGBTQ+ community and two for the elderly and care home community. There are several new music stations, one that helps launch unsigned artists and a brand new station that provides contemporary worship for teenagers and our Asian community is also served. It’s huge choice.”
Technical Director, John Bibby says:
“MUX ONE’s new service will broadcast to around 400,000 people bringing with it huge choice and diversity to North East radio sets. New stations include services focussing on the elderly and senior, LGBT+ and BAME communities as well as football fan stations and a host of new commercial music stations including national radio stations that currently cannot broadcast to the region. The new system brings huge choice.”
🎗We just wanted to say thank you for supporting your 100 % local community station and media group. We are the only community interest media company that is run by local people for local people. We aren't owned by a national plc group and we are so incredibly proud of that. But with that comes a bigger challenge for us to maintain funding to keep providing the excellent service to our communities. We'd love it if you could help by donating just £2 a month to keep Nova all over.
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