Celtica Radio
Encyclopedia
Celtica Radio International is an independent commercial radio station which uses the Internet
as its transmission platform broadcasting in both MP3
and Real Media formats. The station has its head office based in Bridgend
, Wales
, and provides a broad mix of programming available worldwide in live, on-demand and downloadable formats. Celtica Radio started broadcasting on 21 June 2000, and is still in the same ownership. In the year 2006 to 2007 Celtica Radio logged over a million listeners, and achieved over 22,000 podcast downloads.
On April 23rd 2011, the station started broadcasting through the transmitters of Radio Hafren on 756kHz Medium Wave. The broadcasts are for two hours per night, every night from Midnight to 2AM local time. Distance or DX listeners who provide a reception report are sent by return of post a QSL card.
, the re-launch of broadcasting at Swansea University
, and two trial broadcasts in 1997 and 1998, culminating in a successful campaign to persuade the licensing authorities that the Bridgend region and community deserved its own local radio station. Leading this group of committed local radio enthusiasts and professionals was Bill Everatt.
The UK Radio Authority (which has now been replaced by OfCom) did not give that group the chance of broadcasting to their home area. This decision had the effect of stiffening the resolve of those who had been denied this local radio station licence, and led to David A Cook who had also worked on the campaign, providing the initial financial investment to set up Celtica Radio and its parent company AlBilCo MediaComm.
Initially, the business structure was as an unincorporated association, but in 2003, both Celtica Radio and AlBilCo MediaComm became registered limited companies. The station has now expanded and the original group of broadcasters has been joined by others from all over the UK including many of the staff of Pembrokeshire radio license applicant More FM, and John Grierson the founder and first general manager of Manx Radio
, the Isle of Mans national commercial radio station.
, and makes programmes from a matrix of eight purpose-built, private studios located in Bridgend
, Llantrisant
, Weston Super-Mare, Pembrokeshire
, Swansea
and Yorkshire
. Many Celtica Radio contributors are established broadcasters, and have acknowledged track records in the radio industry. All key personnel are experts in their particular field of audio production, broadcasting or radio-related engineering.
The stations servers are located at the Red Bus Data Centre at the prestigious Canary Wharf
development in London
. The station is an official Partner organisation of Bridgend County Borough Council
Arts and Culture Directorate.
, PPL
or any of their foreign affiliates. All the music the station transmits is out of the jurisdiction of any of the above organisations. Artists who contact the station for promotional airplay will need to visit the Playlists page and agree to the terms and conditions.
All shows are downloadable as Free Podcasts and also available on iTunes
, and the programmes are usually over an hour in duration. In July 2007, Celtica Radio started being listed on the Reciva Internet Radio Network which allows their broadcasts to be heard without a PC for the first time.
From September 2008 to December 2008, certain programmes were broadcast on the English Language service of Radio Waddenzee. The broadcasts were transmitted late at night and took advantage of groundwave propagation and skywave refraction off the ionosphere. These characteristics ensured that the broadcasts could be received throughout Central Europe and the East Coast of the UK on 1602kHz Medium Wave. The station identified itself as Celtica Radio, broadcasting from the Lightship Jenni Baynton through the transmitters of Radio Seagull.
Due to significant developments with the companies’ financial backers in November 2009, the station launched a live internet streaming service of original programming twenty-fours hour a day from their own studios, this channel is also available on the Nokia Mobile Phone Network. The exact nature of the financial development has not been made public.
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
as its transmission platform broadcasting in both MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
and Real Media formats. The station has its head office based in Bridgend
Bridgend
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, and provides a broad mix of programming available worldwide in live, on-demand and downloadable formats. Celtica Radio started broadcasting on 21 June 2000, and is still in the same ownership. In the year 2006 to 2007 Celtica Radio logged over a million listeners, and achieved over 22,000 podcast downloads.
On April 23rd 2011, the station started broadcasting through the transmitters of Radio Hafren on 756kHz Medium Wave. The broadcasts are for two hours per night, every night from Midnight to 2AM local time. Distance or DX listeners who provide a reception report are sent by return of post a QSL card.
History
The Celtica Radio story goes back to 1979 when a small group of people in the Bridgend area of South Wales wanted to set up their own wholly independent radio station. Over the following eighteen years the evolution of the group continued, with the establishment of two hospital radio stations in Bridgend and NeathNeath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
, the re-launch of broadcasting at Swansea University
Swansea University
Swansea University is a university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. Swansea University was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it changed its name to the University of Wales Swansea following structural changes...
, and two trial broadcasts in 1997 and 1998, culminating in a successful campaign to persuade the licensing authorities that the Bridgend region and community deserved its own local radio station. Leading this group of committed local radio enthusiasts and professionals was Bill Everatt.
The UK Radio Authority (which has now been replaced by OfCom) did not give that group the chance of broadcasting to their home area. This decision had the effect of stiffening the resolve of those who had been denied this local radio station licence, and led to David A Cook who had also worked on the campaign, providing the initial financial investment to set up Celtica Radio and its parent company AlBilCo MediaComm.
Initially, the business structure was as an unincorporated association, but in 2003, both Celtica Radio and AlBilCo MediaComm became registered limited companies. The station has now expanded and the original group of broadcasters has been joined by others from all over the UK including many of the staff of Pembrokeshire radio license applicant More FM, and John Grierson the founder and first general manager of Manx Radio
Manx Radio
Manx Radio is the national commercial radio station for the Isle of Man.The station began broadcasting on 29 June 1964, almost ten years before commercial radio was licensed in the United Kingdom. The Isle of Man, having its own government and laws, was not subject to the rules prohibiting...
, the Isle of Mans national commercial radio station.
Location
The Celtica Radio Group is mainly based in South WalesSouth Wales
South Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, and makes programmes from a matrix of eight purpose-built, private studios located in Bridgend
Bridgend
Bridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...
, Llantrisant
Llantrisant
Llantrisant is a town in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf in Wales, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The town's name translates as The Parish of the Three Saints. The three saints in question are St Illtyd, St Gwynno and St...
, Weston Super-Mare, Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire
Pembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
and Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
. Many Celtica Radio contributors are established broadcasters, and have acknowledged track records in the radio industry. All key personnel are experts in their particular field of audio production, broadcasting or radio-related engineering.
The stations servers are located at the Red Bus Data Centre at the prestigious Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...
development in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The station is an official Partner organisation of Bridgend County Borough Council
Bridgend County Borough Council
Bridgend County Borough Council is the governing body for Bridgend County Borough, one of the Principal Areas of Wales.- Current composition :-Electoral divisions:...
Arts and Culture Directorate.
Airplay
Celtica Radio are not members of PRS, MCPSMechanical-Copyright Protection Society
The Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society is an organisation that pay royalties to composers, songwriters and music publishers when a composition is manufactured into any format. This includes copies of the music alone such as CDs and downloads, and also products that use the music as a part of...
, PPL
Phonographic Performance Limited
PPL is the London-based United Kingdom music licensing company which undertakes collective rights management of recorded music and music videos for public performance, broadcast and new media use...
or any of their foreign affiliates. All the music the station transmits is out of the jurisdiction of any of the above organisations. Artists who contact the station for promotional airplay will need to visit the Playlists page and agree to the terms and conditions.
All shows are downloadable as Free Podcasts and also available on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, and the programmes are usually over an hour in duration. In July 2007, Celtica Radio started being listed on the Reciva Internet Radio Network which allows their broadcasts to be heard without a PC for the first time.
From September 2008 to December 2008, certain programmes were broadcast on the English Language service of Radio Waddenzee. The broadcasts were transmitted late at night and took advantage of groundwave propagation and skywave refraction off the ionosphere. These characteristics ensured that the broadcasts could be received throughout Central Europe and the East Coast of the UK on 1602kHz Medium Wave. The station identified itself as Celtica Radio, broadcasting from the Lightship Jenni Baynton through the transmitters of Radio Seagull.
Due to significant developments with the companies’ financial backers in November 2009, the station launched a live internet streaming service of original programming twenty-fours hour a day from their own studios, this channel is also available on the Nokia Mobile Phone Network. The exact nature of the financial development has not been made public.