Rathergood Radio
Rathergood Radio, formerly known as Star Radio (in County Durham), is an independent local radio station serving London on DAB. It formerly broadcast in Darlington, County Durham, North Yorkshire and surrounding areas on FM. The County Durham licences were owned and operated by UKRD Group until 31 March 2017, when it was purchased and later rebranded by View TV Group.
 Rathergood Radio logo | |
| City | London |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | London & South East England |
| Frequency | DAB: London |
| First air date | 2017 |
| Format | Adult contemporary music |
| Owner | View TV Group |
| Website | Rathergood Radio |
In July 2019 Helius Media Group purchased the FM licences from View TV Group and rebranded the County Durham frequencies as Durham Radio & Alpha Radio (now broadcasting as Sun FM as of March 2020). Rathergood Radio continues to be broadcast in London and South East England on DAB and online.
History
Following UKRD's takeover of The Local Radio Company, Star Radio North East was launched on 2 November 2009 by merging Alpha 103.2, Minster Northallerton and Durham FM into one station.[1] Originally, the Alpha name was to be used making the stations Alpha Northallerton and Alpha Durham.[2]
On 29 March 2017 UKRD announced that it would hand back the Star Radio licences to the regulator Ofcom and cease broadcasting two days after that. It also asked Ofcom to transfer the Northallerton licence to sister station Minister FM .[3] Ofcom Confirmed the transfer of the Northallerton licence to Minster on 4 April 2017.[4]
On 31 March UKRD's chief executive officer William Rogers confirmed a deal had been reached with View TV to secure the future of the station effective immediately.[5] It rebranded on 1 August.
In March 2018, Rathergood Radio was found in breach of its licence by Ofcom for failing to broadcast from two of its FM transmitters between 7 December 2017 and 8 February 2018. Telecommunications company Arqiva, which provided transmission services to the station's licence holder Alpha Radio Ltd, said it had terminated the services due to "nonpayment of fees". [6]
In April 2019, it was announced that Helius Media Group had acquired the Durham Radio & Alpha Radio names and would be launching two new local stations on 1 July 2019 using the Rathergood Radio frequencies. Durham Radio was broadcast on the 102.8 & 106.8 frequencies to Durham City and the surrounding areas and Alpha Radio was broadcast on the 102.6 & 103.2 frequencies to Darlington and surrounding areas. The stations were sold to Nation Broadcasting in March 2020 and were merged with neighbouring station Sun FM which broadcasts from studios in Sunderland.
Rathergood Radio continues broadcasting on DAB across London and South East England and online.
Programming
Presenter-led programming airs from 6am-10pm on weekdays, 6am-6pm on Saturdays and 6am-7pm on Sunday. All other output is automated.[7]
News
Rathergood Radio broadcasts hourly local news bulletins from 12pm-6pm on weekdays, with headlines on the half-hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows. National bulletins from Radio News Hub are carried every hour at all other times.[7]
References
- Sweney, Mark (14 May 2009). "Merger/take over details". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
- "Alpha name change details". Archived from the original on 1 September 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2010.
- "Star Radio North East Closure". Retrieved 31 March 2017.
- "Star Radio North East Separation". Retrieved 4 April 2017.
- "Star Radio North East Saved from Closure". Retrieved 31 March 2017.
- "Ofcom Broadcast and On-Demand Bulletin issue 359, March 19 2018". Retrieved 18 April 2018.
- Rathergood Radio public file