| Bauer Central Lancashire | |
| Licensed area | Preston, Blackpool, Blackburn with Darwen & Southern Lancashire |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 12A (223.936 MHz) |
| Air date | 1 September 2001 [1] |
| Owner | Bauer Radio |
| Transmitters | Pendle Forest, Winter Hill |
Bauer Central Lancashire is a local commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, which serves the central Lancashire area. The DAB licence was first advertised on February 22, 2000. Only one application was received by the Radio Authority for the licence by the closing date of June 20, 2000, from EMAP Digital Radio, so it was awarded the licence on September 8, 2000. It was hoped to start broadcasts in September 2001.
The multiplex name was initially "EMAP Central Lancashire". Following the purchase of Emap by Bauer Media Group in 2007, the Emap digital multiplexes have been relabelled as Bauer multiplexes.
Contents |
The platform broadcasts via the following transmitters:[2]
| Transmitter site | kW | Approximate transmitter area |
|---|---|---|
| Winter Hill | 1.5 | Preston, Blackpool & South Western Lancashire |
| Pendle Forest | 1.50 | Blackburn with Darwen & South Eastern Lancashire |
It was proposed to site another transmitter on Blackpool Tower when local ownership of DAB radios reached 33%, although this never came to fruition.
| Service | Service ID | Bit rate | Audio channels | Description | Analogue availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Classic Rock | C7C9 | 64 kbit/s | Mono | Rock Music, relay of London service | — |
| Absolute Radio 60s | 64 kbit/s | Mono | 1960s Rock Music | — | |
| BBC Radio Lancashire | C534 | 128 kbit/s | Joint stereo | Local BBC service | 855 kHz (Southern & Central Lancashire) 1557 kHz (Northern Lancashire) 95.5 MHz (Burnley) 103.9 MHz (Preston, Blackpool & Blackburn) 104.5 MHz (Lancaster) |
| Heat Radio | CDCE | 128 kbit/s | Joint stereo | Rhythmic music, relayed from Manchester | — |
| Kerrang! | C6CF | 64 kbit/s | Mono | Rock and metal, relay of Birmingham service | — |
| Kiss | CAC8 | 128 kbit/s | Joint stereo | Dance and urban, relay of London service | — |
| Magic 999 | C5C8 | 128 kbit/s | Joint stereo | Gold/Easy | 999 kHz |
| Rock FM | C686 | 128 kbit/s | Joint stereo | Local commercial FM service | 97.4 MHz |
| XFM London | C783 | 128 kbit/s | Joint stereo | Modern rock, relay of London service |
Most of these stations are also available on Bauer Liverpool, though Rock FM and Magic are replaced by local stations Radio City and Magic 1548.
The following is the original line-up on the platform and what happened, if anything.
| Service | Service type | Current status |
|---|---|---|
| 3C | Country music | Closed shortly after EMAP takeover on 27 March 2007, replaced by Heat Radio |
| BBC Radio Lancashire | BBC regional service | Still operating |
| Classic Gold Digital | Golden oldies | Now operates as Gold |
| Magic 999 | Local AM service | Still operating |
| Real Radio | Adult Contemporary | Replaced originally by Smash Hits Radio, would then return to MXR North West |
| Rock FM | Local FM service | Still operating |
| XFM London | Modern rock | Still operating |
The following list are other services which were available at some point on the platform:[3][4]
| Service | Service type | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| The Hits Radio | Contemporary pop | Closed in July 2004, replaced by Kerrang! |
| Smash Hits Radio | Contemporary pop | Closed on 29 June 2007, replaced by Traffic Radio |
| Traffic Radio | Travel news | Ceased broadcasting 31 August 2011 |
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