NOW Leicester
Encyclopedia
NOW Leicester is a local commercial digital radio multiplex
in the United Kingdom, which serves Leicestershire
and Rutland
. It commenced broadcasts on December 6, 2002 and is operated by NOW Digital on behalf of NOW Digital East Midlands Ltd, a consortium of Arqiva
, Global Radio
and Sabras Radio
. The launch was delayed by the UK firemen's strike
in autumn 2002, which restricted access to transmitter sites.
and Waltham
with Skeffington
to follow within two years of launch. However on awarding the application the Radio Authority identified that coverage in Leicester itself may not be as good as listeners would expect, and accordingly asked Now Digital to "re-examine its transmission plans in order to address this concern" , resulting in the adoption of Houghton on the Hill
instead of Waltham. In their original application NOW Digital also identified two additional transmitter sites at Boundary water tower and Empingham
, and their introduction would be reviewed during the licence period. Both transmitters carrying the NOW Leicester ensemble also carry the national commercial ensemble Digital One
, but not BBC National DAB
None of Lincs FM group
's two stations in the area are on the multiplex.
competed for the licence, the services proposed by both applicants were as follows:-
Additionally EMAP proposed that the following services would be broadcast on a part time basis
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
in the United Kingdom, which serves Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
and Rutland
Rutland
Rutland is a landlocked county in central England, bounded on the west and north by Leicestershire, northeast by Lincolnshire and southeast by Peterborough and Northamptonshire....
. It commenced broadcasts on December 6, 2002 and is operated by NOW Digital on behalf of NOW Digital East Midlands Ltd, a consortium of Arqiva
Arqiva
Arqiva is a telecommunications company which provides infrastructure and broadcast transmission facilities in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The present company, with headquarters located at Crawley Court in the village of Crawley, Hampshire, was formed by National Grid Wireless...
, Global Radio
Global Radio
Global Radio UK Ltd. is a British commercial radio company, the largest in the country following acquisitions of Chrysalis Radio and GCap Media.The company's Chief Executive Officer is Stephen Miron, while the Group Chairman is Charles Allen...
and Sabras Radio
Sabras Radio
Sabras Radio is a commercial radio station in Leicester, England specialising in South Asian music and culture.The radio station itself is located within the Belgrave area of the city; broadcasting on 1260 kHz, DAB Radio and also via the net...
. The launch was delayed by the UK firemen's strike
UK Firefighter dispute 2002/2003
The 2002-2003 UK firefighter dispute began when the UK firefighters union, the Fire Brigades Union , voted to take strike action in an attempt to secure a better salary...
in autumn 2002, which restricted access to transmitter sites.
Original plans
NOW Digital originally proposed to use transmitters at Copt OakCopt Oak
Copt Oak is a place in Leicestershire in England. It is in the North West Leicestershire district, near Bawdon Lodge, Charley and Ulverscroft.In its name, "cop" is an old English word for "head", i.e...
and Waltham
Waltham transmitting station
The Waltham transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facilityat Waltham-on-the-Wolds, 5 miles north-east of Melton Mowbray. It sits inside the Waltham civil parish near Stonesby, in the district of Melton, Leicestershire, UK. It has a guyed steel tubular mast...
with Skeffington
Skeffington
Skeffington is a village and civil parish in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England. It is situated east of Leicester on the A47 Leicester to Uppingham road, between the parishes of Billesdon and Tugby and Keythorpe....
to follow within two years of launch. However on awarding the application the Radio Authority identified that coverage in Leicester itself may not be as good as listeners would expect, and accordingly asked Now Digital to "re-examine its transmission plans in order to address this concern" , resulting in the adoption of Houghton on the Hill
Houghton on the Hill
Houghton on the Hill is a village lying six miles to the east of Leicester in the East Midlands in England.An entry for Houghton on the Hill is recorded in the Domesday Book....
instead of Waltham. In their original application NOW Digital also identified two additional transmitter sites at Boundary water tower and Empingham
Empingham
Empingham is a village in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. It lies close to the dam of Rutland Water and the A606 runs through the village...
, and their introduction would be reviewed during the licence period. Both transmitters carrying the NOW Leicester ensemble also carry the national commercial ensemble Digital One
Digital One
Digital One is a national commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, owned by Arqiva. , the multiplex covers more than 90% of the populationfrom a total of 137 transmitters...
, but not BBC National DAB
Stations carried
The following channels are receivable on any digital-equipped DAB radio in the Leicestershire area:| Service | Service ID | Bit rate | Audio channels | Description | Analogue availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asian Plus | C7CC | 64 kbit/s | Mono | Broadcasts Hindu Sanskar radio, owned by Sabras Radio Sabras Radio Sabras Radio is a commercial radio station in Leicester, England specialising in South Asian music and culture.The radio station itself is located within the Belgrave area of the city; broadcasting on 1260 kHz, DAB Radio and also via the net... |
— |
| BBC Radio Leicester BBC Radio Leicester BBC Radio Leicester is the BBC Local Radio service for the English counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. The station broadcasts from studios in Leicester on 104.9 FM, on DAB, and via the BBC iPlayer.-History:... |
C933 | 128 kbit/s | Joint stereo | BBC local radio station for Leicestershire and Rutland | 104.9 MHz |
| Capital East Midlands Capital East Midlands Capital East Midlands is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the East Midlands. The station, owned and operated by Global Radio, forms part of the nine-station Capital radio network... |
C366 | 128 kbit/s | Joint stereo | Contemporary hit music | 96.2 MHz (Nottingham) 96.5 (Mansfield) 102.8 (Derby) 105.4 (Leicester) |
| Gem 106 | C3AB | 128 kbit/s | Joint stereo | 80s, 90s and current adult contemporary music | 106.0 MHz |
| Gold | C8D2 | 128 kbit/s | Joint stereo | Oldies station owned by Global Radio Global Radio Global Radio UK Ltd. is a British commercial radio company, the largest in the country following acquisitions of Chrysalis Radio and GCap Media.The company's Chief Executive Officer is Stephen Miron, while the Group Chairman is Charles Allen... |
999 kHz (Nottinghamshire) |
| Heart London | C2D0 | 128 kbit/s | Joint stereo | Adult contemporary music | — |
| Kiss | C483 | 128 kbit/s | Joint stereo | Dance and R&B music | — |
| Pop Up Radio | CFCF | 64 kbit/s | Mono LSF | Special events service | — |
| Sabras Sound | C5CC | 64 kbit/s | Mono | Asian music | 1260 kHz |
| XFM London Xfm London Xfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on digital radio via 30 DAB multiplexes across the country, Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media.... |
C0B8 | 128 kbit/s | Joint stereo | Alternative indie/rock music led station | — |
| EPG Leicester | E1C000C3 | 8 kbit/s | Data | Hidden service, EPG data | — |
None of Lincs FM group
Lincs FM Group
The Lincs FM Group based in Lincolnshire, in the UK is the parent company of several Independent Local Radio stations.-History:The Lincs FM group started with just Lincs FM in Lincolnshire, UK but has won and acquired licences to operate other local radio stations across the UK's Midlands and...
's two stations in the area are on the multiplex.
Former services
Services previously carried on the multiplex include:| Service | What happened |
|---|---|
| Capital Disney Capital Disney Capital Disney was a British digital radio station aimed at 8 to 16 year olds which used to broadcast across the UK on DAB Digital Radio . It was also broadcast on Sky Digital, Tiscali TV, Virgin Media, and streaming online. The station announced on 14 May 2007 that it would close down on 29 June... |
Ceased broadcasting 30 June 2007, replaced by Traffic Radio |
| Century 106 Century 106 Century 106 was a regional independent radio station based in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire in England.-History:Based in Nottingham on the City link in the Sneinton area of the city centre, the station was launched on 23 September 1997 as Radio 106... |
Re-branded as Heart 106 on 2 September 2005 |
| Chill Chill (radio station) Chill is a British digital radio station dedicated to chill out, ambient and trip-hop music.-The station:Chill is broadcast on DAB in London and Birmingham, across the UK on Sky channel 0177 and also online. The station's aim is to help listeners relax. It is owned by Global Radio... |
Ceased broadcasting 21 March 2009, required by Office of Fair Trading Office of Fair Trading The Office of Fair Trading is a not-for-profit and non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforces both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the UK's economic regulator... ruling after GCap/Global merger |
| Galaxy Digital Galaxy Digital Galaxy Digital was a radio station broadcasting through the digital platform across the United Kingdom and was owned by Global Radio. It primarily broadcast in areas where Galaxy was not represented on FM, such as London, Leicester, Nottingham, and Derbyshire... |
Ceased broadcasting 31 December 2010, normal branding ceased 19 December in advance of the launch of Capital, replaced by Heart London |
| Heart East Midlands | Re-branded as Gem 106 on 31 December 2010 |
| Leicester Sound Leicester Sound Leicester Sound was an Independent Local Radio station which broadcast to Leicestershire. The station merged with two other East Midlands stations, Trent FM and Ram FM to form Capital FM East Midlands on Monday 3 January 2011.-Background:Leicester Sound was launched by the owners of Radio Trent on... |
Ceased broadcasting 3 January 2011, replaced by Capital East Midlands |
| Saga 106.6 | Re-branded as Smooth Radio on 27 March 2007 |
| Ceased broadcasting 24 January 2006, replaced by XFM | |
| Traffic Radio Traffic Radio Traffic Radio was a digital radio station based in England.It was a 24 hour rolling traffic and travel service for motorways and major roads in England, run for the Highways Agency by Global Traffic Network.... |
Ceased broadcasting 31 August 2011 |
Original proposals
Now Digital and EMAPEMAP Radio
Bauer Radio is a UK-based division of Bauer Media Group.The Bauer network is divisible into two main groups, the Bauer Place and Bauer Passion units, with Place consisting of locally-focused services primarily broadcast on FM/AM and local digital platforms, and Passion consisting of national and...
competed for the licence, the services proposed by both applicants were as follows:-
NOW Digital
- 105.4 Leicester Sound
- Sabras Sound
- 106 Century FM
- The second East Midlands regional station from launch - awarded to Saga 106.6FM (now Smooth Radio)
- The ArrowThe ArrowThe Arrow is a four-hour miniseries produced for CBC Television in 1996, starring Dan Aykroyd as Crawford Gordon, experienced wartime production leader during World War II and president of A. V. Roe Canada during its attempt to produce the Avro Arrow supersonic jet interceptor. The film also stars...
- rock music - tba - pop hits
- CubeCapital DisneyCapital Disney was a British digital radio station aimed at 8 to 16 year olds which used to broadcast across the UK on DAB Digital Radio . It was also broadcast on Sky Digital, Tiscali TV, Virgin Media, and streaming online. The station announced on 14 May 2007 that it would close down on 29 June...
- children's music, launched as Capital Disney - Asian Plus - Asian youth
EMAP
- 105.4 Leicester Sound
- Sabras Sound
- 106 Century FM (Now Heart 106)
- The second East Midlands regional station from launch - awarded to Saga 106.6FM (now Smooth Radio)
- 107 Oak FMOak FMOak FM is a local radio station broadcasting across West Leicestershire as well as the town of Nuneaton in the English Midlands in the United Kingdom...
- Local radio station for Loughborough - TAPTAP-Mechanical and electrical:* Tap , a device for controlling the release of a liquid or gas* Tap , part of an electrical device* A cutting tool, part of a tap and die set-Entertainment:* Tap dance...
- Asian youth - tba - Oldies
- XFMXfm LondonXfm London is a commercial radio station in the United Kingdom owned by Global Radio and broadcasts on 104.9 FM in London, on digital radio via 30 DAB multiplexes across the country, Sky, TalkTalk TV and Virgin Media....
- Indie, Alternative Rock - KISSKiss 100 LondonKiss is a UK radio station broadcasting on FM and Digital Radio, specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and electronic dance music. It also broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio around the UK & nationally on Freeview, Sky and TalkTalk TV...
- Dance - tba - Jazz and Soul
Additionally EMAP proposed that the following services would be broadcast on a part time basis
- 103.2 Takeover RadioTakeover RadioTakeover Radio is a community radio station broadcasting on FM to Leicester, to the Ashfield district in Nottinghamshire and on the World Wide Web, specialising in helping 'kidz' gain experience and direct participative involvement in radio broadcasting...
- Children's radio, Saturdays 07:00-14:00 - Leicester Sports Radio - Local sport, Weekend afternoons.
- Demon FMDemon FMDemon FM is a community radio station and student radio station for De Montfort University.Demon FM is simulcast on FM and online on a 24/7 basis...
- Leicester student radio, Saturdays 18:00-24:00
