''Radio Ceredigion'' () was an
Independent Local Radio
Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. As a result of the buyouts and mergers permitted by the Broadcasting Act 1990, and deregulation resulting from the Communications Act 2003, ...
station that was broadcast to
Ceredigion
Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cer ...
. It was broadcast across the county on 96.6, 97.4 and 103.3 FM.
On May 31, 2019, the station became a relay of
Nation Radio Wales.
History
From its launch on Monday 14 December 1992, the station broadcast a bilingual schedule with roughly half
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and half
Welsh output, much of it community-orientated, from studios and offices at the Old School in Aberystwyth.
On 9 March 2010, Radio Ceredigion's owners
Tindle Newspaper Group
The Tindle Group is a British multimedia company operating regional newspapers and radio stations across the British Isles.
It publishes over 200 local newspapers in the UK, a number of which are over 100 years old.
The company is based in F ...
announced that the station would be sold off to the Welsh radio group
Town and Country Broadcasting. At 9am on 19 April 2010, broadcasting ceased from its Aberystwyth studios and switched to Town and Country's West Wales studios in
Narberth, Pembrokeshire (also the base for
Radio Pembrokeshire and
Radio Carmarthenshire). After a short transition period, a daytime programming service was launched.
A proposal to reduce Welsh language programming on the station from 50% to 10% was rejected by the broadcasting regulator
OFCOM in 2011 but subsequently permitted following further requests. As of March 2016, Radio Ceredigion aired a one-hour Welsh language music show on Sunday nights.
In September 2016, Nation Broadcasting announced plans to relocate Radio Ceredigion and its two sister services from the Narberth studios to the group's headquarters near the
St Hilary transmitter on the outskirts of
Cowbridge
Cowbridge ( cy, Y Bont-faen) is a market town in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately west of the centre of Cardiff.
The Cowbridge with Llanblethian community and civil parish elect a town council.
A Cowbridge electoral ward exists for ...
. The station switched broadcasting to the St Hilary studios at 10am on Tuesday 22 November 2016, although the Narberth site was retained as a regional sales and production office.
In December 2018, OFCOM announced it had granted Nation's request to close Radio Ceredigion and replace it with a straight relay of its regional service,
Nation Radio
A nation is a community of people formed on the basis of a combination of shared features such as language, history, ethnicity, culture and/or society. A nation is thus the collective identity of a group of people understood as defined by those ...
. Five months later, it was reported Nation had decided to retain the local service and would request to reverse its decision on the station's format.
But in May 2019, Nation Broadcasting withdrew its format change request and preceded with its original plan to relay Nation Radio.
Radio Ceredigion withdraws format change request, Radio Today, 31 May 2019
/ref> Radio Ceredigion ceased broadcasting on 31 May 2019.
Coverage
Radio Ceredigion had a TSA of 74,000 people, and the station could be heard from Bangor through to Cross Hands
Cross Hands is a town in Carmarthenshire, Wales, approximately from Carmarthen.
Cross Hands Public Hall is one of only three of its kind in Wales. The Public Hall was erected in 1920 and designed by an unknown Italian designer in the classic A ...
, including parts of Powys
Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain.
Geog ...
, Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...
and Pembrokeshire. The main transmitter was located at Blaenplwyf transmitting station
The Blaenplwyf transmitting station (sometimes written "Blaen Plwyf" or "Blaen-Plwyf") is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility located near the village of Blaenplwyf about to the south west of the town of Aberystwyth, in Ceredigion, ...
near Aberystwyth and broadcast on 103.3 FM, with relay stations at Mynydd Pencarreg transmitting station
The Mynydd Pencarreg transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility located on high ground about south of Lampeter, in Ceredigion, Wales. The site has a guyed lattice mast erected on land that is itself about above sea ...
near Lampeter
Lampeter (; cy, Llanbedr Pont Steffan (formal); ''Llambed'' ( colloquial)) is a town, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales, at the confluence of the Afon Dulas with the River Teifi. It is the third largest urban area in Ceredigion ...
on 96.6FM and Penwaun near Cardigan on 97.4 FM.
See also
*List of Celtic-language media
The list below contains information on the different types of media available in the Celtic languages.
All languages
Only a handful of media contain all the Celtic languages. An example is ''Carn'' magazine, which has contained columns in all ...
References
General References
An application for the Ceredigion FM licence from Radio Ceredigion Ltd
Reference Offer for the provision of Transmission Services in respect of Re-advertisement of FM local commercial radio licence for Ceredigion
External links
*
{{coord missing, Ceredigion
Radio stations in Wales
Welsh-language mass media
Ceredigion
Radio stations established in 1992
1992 establishments in Wales
Radio stations disestablished in 2019
2019 disestablishments in Wales
Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom