Spark Sunderland (formerly 107 Spark FM and Spark FM) is a
community radio
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popula ...
station serving 15- to 30-year-olds in the
Sunderland area. Spark carries a variety of content catering for both mainstream and niche musical audiences, specialising in chart hits and new music throughout the day, and specialist programming after 7 pm. The radio station broadcasts on 107.00FM and online via the station's website. The official launch of Spark took place at the new £12 million CitySpace building in the centre of the city of Sunderland.
History
The station began broadcasting in November 1997 as Radio Utopia a two-week short term broadcast under the (then) Radio Authority's
Restricted Service Licence
A UK Restricted Service Licence (often called an RSL), is typically granted to radio stations and television stations broadcasting within the UK to serve a local community or a special event. Licences are granted by the broadcasting authority Ofc ...
(RSL) scheme. The station was part of a regional arts festival called "Visions of Utopia" and the station reflected the scheme and carried various programmes tied-in with the scheme, such as "The Quakies" a programme produced by children from the former pit village of
Quaking Houses
Quaking Houses is a small village near to the town of Stanley in County Durham, in England. It may have been originally settled by Quakers, but during the Industrial Revolution it developed into a mining village with traditional terraced house ...
in County Durham. Radio broadcasting predated this by several years, with student programming on the
community radio
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popula ...
station Wear FM, which closed in 1995 and is now the more commercial station
Sun FM. The station was low powered but still proved valuable as a training ground for new broadcasters. Programmes were broadcast from studios in the Forster Building, formerly used by Wear FM, with a transmitter on the roof.
The station was rebranded the following November as "107 Utopia FM" and developed a more formatted sound and joined the "
Student Broadcast Network
The Student Broadcast Network or SBN was a company that provided a sustaining service, news and advertising for student radio stations in the United Kingdom.
It provided syndicated music based programmes and an hourly news service across the UK v ...
" (SBN) bringing news, national programmes and a 24-hour service to the station. Utopia returned in September 1999 for the first ever freshers broadcast and again proved its value for students and volunteers. The station largely draws volunteers from the University's large undergraduate media courses but has also been part of wider community radio programmes with projects in County Durham,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
and
Sunderland.
During the following years Utopia broadcast more frequently, getting up to broadcasts twice a year. In 2002 Utopia began broadcasting on the 102.4FM frequency. In 2003 the station began to use new studios in the £11m Media Centre at the
St. Peter's Campus, when media teaching moved there that year. The old studios have now been demolished and the building is now used to teach courses run by the
University's School of Education and Lifelong Learning. The move also facilitated the recording of sessions in The Media Centre's new radio and television studios.
The station applied for a
Community Radio
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popula ...
Licence from
OFCOM in the 2nd licensing round and was awarded a licence in 2007. The station took on the new name of Spark when it launched in 2009. The name is a reflection of the University logo, which they call a 'spark' in homage to the shipyards that were central to the growth of Sunderland.
Volunteers from the station have not only succeeded in gaining recognition in the annual student radio awards in the UK but also awards from the New York Festivals. Station alumni are now found working for BBC and Commercial stations across the UK.
Volunteers at the station are known internally and across the student radio network and media network as "Sparkies".
Community licence and rebrand
When the UK media regulator
Ofcom announced a plan to issue Community Radio licences, work began at the station to apply for a Full Time licence. This application was made in early in 2007. In September 2007, Ofcom awarded Utopia FM a full-time 5 year Community Radio licence.
It was announced in June 2009 that Utopia FM would be changing its name to 107 Spark FM to signal the change in licence and the broadening of the audience.
In 2012, Spark was awarded 'Best North East Radio Station' in the
Radio Academy
The Radio Academy is a registered charity dedicated to "the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK broadcasting and audio production". It was formed in 1983 and is run via a board of trustees, with a chair and a deputy chair ...
's 'Nations & Regional Awards'.
In late 2013, the '107' branding was removed for the station and the station was simply known as 'Spark' or 'Spark FM'.
In 2015, the station was updated with a refreshed logo, a slogan change to 'Where Sunderland Lives', new on-air imaging provided by Reelworld and a brand new website.
As of 2016, the station is now referred to as 'Spark' only on air, dropping the 'fm' suffix.
Programming, music and output
The majority of Spark's programming is broadcast live from its studio at the David Puttnam Media Centre at St.Peters Campus of
University of Sunderland
, mottoeng = Sweetly absorbing knowledge
, established = 1901 - Sunderland Technical College1969 - Sunderland Polytechnic1992 - University of Sunderland (gained university status)
, staff =
, chancellor = Emel ...
. Spark broadcasts at least eight hours of original programming each weekday, while overnights are non-stop music. Daytime shows feature a mix of playlist music, interviews, discussions and news reporting.
Spark play a mix of hit music and emerging music. Genres range from Chart Hits, Indie/Alternative, Dance, Urban/R&B. During the evening, 7pm-11pm Spark have a number of specialist music shows, such as 'The Takedown', focusing on different genres.
The station airs hourly national
IRN news updates during daytime hours.
Awards
*2012
Radio Academy
The Radio Academy is a registered charity dedicated to "the encouragement, recognition and promotion of excellence in UK broadcasting and audio production". It was formed in 1983 and is run via a board of trustees, with a chair and a deputy chair ...
Nations & Regional Awards, "Best North East Radio Station"
*2012
New York Festivals
New York Festivals, are a collection of related annual arts and media awards based in New York City. The awards include the New York Festivals Advertising Awards, "Advertising and Marketing Effectiveness" AME Awards, Bowery Awards, Global Awards, R ...
"World's Best Radio Programs", Silver Award winner
Notable alumni
A number of Spark volunteers have graduated from the
University of Sunderland
, mottoeng = Sweetly absorbing knowledge
, established = 1901 - Sunderland Technical College1969 - Sunderland Polytechnic1992 - University of Sunderland (gained university status)
, staff =
, chancellor = Emel ...
and gone on to work for local, regional or national radio stations as well as TV stations and print media.
*
Jordan North
Jordan North (born 14 February 1990) is an English radio DJ, known for hosting shows on BBC Radio 1. In 2020, he was announced as the runner-up of the twentieth series of ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''.
Early life
North was born in ...
(left 2011), co-host of Drivetime on
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
(via
Capital Manchester
Capital Manchester was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital radio network. The station broadcast from their studios at Global's Manchester HQ in the XYZ Building in Spinningfields, Manchester.
In Apri ...
and
Rock FM Rock Radio is a former British radio network.
Rock Radio or Rock FM may also refer to:
*Rock FM (Spanish radio station)
*Rock FM (British radio station), based in Preston, Lancashire
* Rock FM 91.9, a radio station based in Johannesburg, South Af ...
)
* Emma Millen, BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio Newcastle
References
External links
*
{{coord missing, Tyne and Wear
City of Sunderland
Community radio stations in the United Kingdom
Radio stations established in 1997
Radio stations in North East England
Student radio in the United Kingdom
University of Sunderland