Preston_FM

Juice Radio

Juice Radio

Radio station in Preston, Lancashire

"Beat 103" redirects here. Not to be confused with Beat 102 103.

Juice Radio is a community radio station based in Preston, Lancashire, which broadcasts pop and dance music. It was initially established in 2008 as Preston FM before relaunching in 2015 as City Beat, subsequently known as Beat 103. On the 8th of January 2024 the station merged into the digital radio station Juice Radio, which took over the 103.2 MHz frequency used by Beat.[1]

Quick Facts Broadcast area, Frequency ...

History

Logo as Preston FM

Preston FM

Preston FM was initially operated by Prescap (Preston Community Arts Project), a local arts charity.[2] It originally broadcast six Restricted Service Licence trials over three years from October 2005 to June 2008 and subsequently received a full-time community radio licence from Ofcom.[3] The station was partly backed by EU funding. It broadcast a wide range of music and speech programming by local presenters and arts practitioners. Speech programming included the serialisation of a novel by a local writer.[4]

In April 2012, the Prescap charity closed due to the loss of its Arts Council England funding.[5] Preston FM was spun out into its own independent company to allow it to continue broadcasting, and moved out of Prescap's building into its own studios on Cannon Street.[6]

In early January 2015, the station unexpectedly went off the air.[7] It resumed broadcasting a few days later, but was unable to sustain itself long-term and Preston FM ceased broadcasting in 2015.[8]

City Beat

Following the closure of Preston FM, the station relaunched with a more mainstream commercial music format under the name City Beat 103.2, with new premises at Preston Guild Hall.[9] In June 2017, the station was found in breach of its Ofcom licence after transphobic comments were made by the presenter of the Bigger Drive Home programme.[10]

Beat 103

In 2018, the station relaunched once again as Beat Radio and subsequently Beat 103, reflecting its FM frequency. In late 2019, the station once more fell off air following a number of problems, including the deletion of music and audio from the station's computers.[11]

In May 2020, Beat 103 was again found in breach of its Ofcom licence. The regulator's investigation found that the station had not adhered to its Key Commitments on a number of levels, including the absence of any news, sport or speech programming, and a lack of older music tracks.[12]

Juice Radio

In January 2024, the station again rebranded as Juice Radio, merging its operations with a commercial DAB digital radio station already on the air in North West England.[13]

Transmission

Beat 103 transmits on 103.2 MHz with an ERP of 25 watts from Guild Tower in Preston city centre.[14]

References

  1. [1]
    "Beat Radio in Preston to rebrand as Juice Radio". RadioToday. 5 January 2024. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  2. [2]
    "Memorandum by Preston Community Arts Project (Prescap Ltd)". House of Lords - Communications Committee - Written Evidence. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  3. [3]
    "Ofcom licence award announcement". Archived from the original on 5 April 2008. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
  4. [4]
    "Lancashire woman's book serialised for radio". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  5. [5]
    "Local arts charity Prescap closes after 27 years". Blog Preston. Retrieved 29 August 2021. Prescap, the community arts charity based in the city centre, has closed its doors after 27 years of delivering its mission of ...
  6. [6]
    "National media briefing: Sport Relief, charities in Guernsey, Prescap and Michael Bloomberg's charitable foundation". ThirdSector. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2021. Community arts charity Prescap is to close down after 27 years, making 10 workers redundant, after losing its Arts Council grant and other ...
  7. [7]
    Walker, Ed (11 January 2015). "Community radio station Preston FM future hangs in the balance". Blog Preston. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  8. [8]
    Walker, Ed (19 January 2015). "Preston FM back on the airwaves but concerns about financial future remain". Blog Preston. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  9. [9]
    Bates, Anastasia (11 April 2015). "Preston FM to re-launch as City Beat". Blog Preston. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  10. [10]
    "CityBeat in breach for transgender comment". RadioToday. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  11. [11]
    "Beat Radio goes off-air after all station audio deleted". RadioToday. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  12. [12]
    "Beat Radio on notice following Ofcom format breach". RadioToday. 12 May 2020. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  13. [13]
    "Beat Radio in Preston to rebrand as Juice Radio". RadioToday. 5 January 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  14. [14]
    "Technical parameters for broadcast radio transmitters". Ofcom. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
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