A £70k City Funds investment in Bristol Digital Radio has supported the installation of digital audio broadcasting transmission infrastructure, for the benefit of community radio in the city
Bristol Digital Radio is a collaboration between the city’s community radio stations – Ujima Radio, BCfm and Bradley Stoke Radio.
All three stations have broadcast to their communities on FM for decades and provide an important service for local people, helping tackle social exclusion and giving a voice to under-represented sections of society.
DAB Digital Radio is how most people listen to the radio today and all new vehicles come with DAB radios installed. With FM listening declining to less than 33%, there’s a risk of community stations staying stuck in the analogue era, unable to reach their local audiences.
The 70k Bristol & Bath Regional Capital investment – through their Bristol-focused fund, City Funds, and the Bristol Local Access Programme, has provided the funding vitally needed to build the digital transmission infrastructure across the city. By bringing them to a digital signal, these small-scale stations are now able to stay accessible to their listeners.
Deal overview
Business name: Bristol Digital Radio
Website: www.bristoldigitalradio.org
Impact theme: Health & Wellbeing, Industry, Innovation & Infrastricture
Amount of investment: £70,000
The investment in Bristol Digital Radio will also provide additional funding into the community media sector in the city.
Photo: Tom Page. From from left to right: James Witcombe, Station Manager, Bradley Stoke Radio (red striped shirt), Pat Hart, CEO, BCfm, Donald Mack, Ujima Radio & Nick Piggott, Bristol Digital Radio at the launch of Bristol Digital Radio at Bristol Beacon on 5th December 2022.