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Manx Radio (legally Radio Manx Ltd.) () is the national
commercial radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship, for example. It was the United States' first model ...
station for the
Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...
. It began broadcasting on 29 June 1964, almost ten years before legal commercial radio was licensed in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. The Isle of Man, having its own
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...
and laws, was not subject to the rules prohibiting commercial broadcasting in the UK. However, the Manx Government still had to apply to the UK's
General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...
for a frequency and for permission to broadcast. First requested in 1960, a licence was eventually granted in May 1964. It was allocated an FM frequency of 89.0 MHz and a comparatively low power of 50 watts. In October 1964, an additional frequency of 1594 kHz AM was allocated to the station to provide greater coverage, although again at a limited power of 50 watts. It broadcasts primarily in English with several hours per week of
Manx language Manx ( or , or ), also known as Manx Gaelic, is a Goidelic language, Gaelic language of the insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family. Manx is the heritage language of the Manx ...
programming. As of March 2024, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 26,000 listeners, according to
RAJAR Radio Joint Audience Research Limited (RAJAR; ) was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the BBC and Radiocentre. RAJAR's predecessor was c ...
.


Current frequencies

Manx Radio currently broadcasts on 89.0 MHz (from Snaefell) for the north of the island; 97.2 MHz FM (from Douglas/Carnane) for the south of the island; and 103.7 MHz (from Jurby) for the island's hills. Additional low-power transmitters cover Ramsey and Peel on a frequency of 89.5 MHz. Manx Radio Gold broadcasts on 1368 AM across the island. The station's FM and AM services are also available online and on DAB in Douglas, Onchan and the central valley.


Financial Income

Manx Radio's commercial revenues in 2018 accounted for over 60% of its revenues. To provide the public service element of its output it received a government subvention of £875,000 as well as government support for its transmission networks and its coverage of the TT.


Company structure

Manx Radio is the island's public service broadcaster. It was originally run by the Isle of Man Broadcasting Commission, a state-owned body, under the name Isle of Man Broadcasting Company. In 1980 the company was moved to an arms-length operation using the name Radio Manx Limited (the on-air name did not change). Since 1994, the shares in Radio Manx Limited have been held by the Manx Radio Trust, further distancing the station from
Tynwald Tynwald (), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald () or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House of Keys and the indirectly chosen Leg ...
. Nevertheless, the company remains responsible to Tynwald and its operations are reviewed annually.


Manx Radio Gold

In July 2024, ''Manx Radio Gold'' launched online and on 1368 AM, playing 'The Greatest Hits on Earth'. The station is mainly non-stop music, but includes The Andy Wint Breakfast Show weekdays and Carnaby Street on Saturday mornings (simulcast with the main Manx Radio service). The Manx language output from Manx Radio, together with Tynwald coverage, some sport output and monthly simulcasts with Radio Caroline shunts ''Manx Radio Gold'' off AM, making it available only online.


TT races

During the Isle of Man TT races, the 1368 kHz frequency provides news and results on the races. The service, originally known as ''Manx Radio TT'' or simply ''Radio TT'', is also available on 87.9 FM in Douglas and 100.6 FM in Sulby. Presenters can be heard each day, John Moss presents the TT news bulletins and the commentary team cover the practice and racing sessions. In May 2012, ''Manx Radio TT'' was re-branded as ''Manx Radio TT 365'' to signify that the station was available to listen to throughout the year via the internet. The service incorporated archive commentary recordings with classic music tracks, as well as the TT fortnight broadcasts. However, after less than a year (and less than 365 days) the service was subsequently closed. ''Manx Radio TT'' recommenced its usual service in May 2013. In 2015 and 2016, the service was broadcast as ''Vauxhall Radio TT''. In 2019 the traditional race coverage service was broadcast under the name of ''Isle of Man TT Radio'', under terms agreed by the Department for Enterprise and Manx Radio for the 2019 TT and Festival of Motorcycling. The agreement resulted the removal of all ''Manx Radio TT'' branding from its coverage and the end of it being able to sell its own advertising for race coverage. The commentary and race coverage carried only an hourly announcement that said "this service is provided by Manx Radio". In 2022, ''Manx Radio AM 1368'' 'The Best Biking Station in the World' began to give coverage of the TT races, broadcasting locally on AM & FM around the course and online. The station features the familiar mix of music, TT news, TT events and travel info. The name ''Radio TT'' is only used for the broadcasts of racing and practice sessions. Since 2023, the station has also broadcast on DAB in the Douglas and Onchan areas. In 2025, the station returned as ''Manx Radio Motorsport'' and shunted ''Manx Radio Gold'' to being online only for the duration of TT fortnight.


Manx Radio presenters


Notable presenters

* David Callister (deceased) * Bob Carswell * Jim Caine (deceased) * Ruth Shimmin


Manx Radio news

Manx Radio employs a team of broadcast and digital journalists, responsible for hourly news bulletins. They also produce a range of other shows focussing on news and local politics including 'Perspective' at noon on Sunday and a range of sport updates and shows.


Transmitter reuse

A deal between United Christian Broadcasters (UCB) and Manx Radio saw UCB broadcast via Manx Radio from 5 October 1987 for four hours overnight. Since September 2015,
Radio Caroline Radio Caroline is a British radio station founded in 1964 by Ronan O'Rahilly and Allan Crawford, initially to circumvent the record companies' control of popular music broadcasting in the United Kingdom and the BBC's radio broadcasting monopol ...
has been broadcasting "live" for one weekend each month as "Radio Caroline North" (with original DJs and a mixed sixties, seventies and eighties music content and jingles) from its former home the MV ''Ross Revenge'' on the Blackwater Estuary in Essex, via Manx Radio's 1368 kHz 20 kW transmitter.


References


External links


Manx Radio
{{Coord, 54.1485, -4.4742, display=title, region:GB_scale:10000 Radio stations in the Isle of Man Radio stations established in 1964