Premier Christian Radio

Premier Christian Radio

City of license	London
Format	Contemporary Christian music
Audience share	0.7% (Sept 2007, RAJAR [1])
Owner	Premier Christian Media Trust
Website	premier.org.uk

Premier Christian Radio is a British Christian radio station wholly owned by the charity Premier Christian Media Trust.

Premier Christian Radio broadcasts Christian programming including news, debate, teachings and Christian music to London and the surrounding areas.

It operates on three frequencies on medium wave across five transmitters:^[2]

• 1305 (Stevenage, Bishops Stortford, Harlow and Hertford; Crawley, Guildford, Reigate and Woking)
• 1332 (London)
• 1413 (Maidenhead, Camberley, Staines, Harrow, Watford; and Chelmsford, Brentwood, Dartford, Maidstone & Sevenoaks)

It also broadcasts on the Digital One national DAB multiplex,^[3] nationally on Freeview (channel 725), via its website, and via its mobile app.

Broadcasters

Presenters ^[4] include:

• Andy Peck
• Ben Vane
• Cindy Kent, former singer with the 1960s folk group The Settlers
• Dana Rosemary Scallon
• Dave Rose (Programme Controller)
• Jeff Lucas
• John Pantry, 1970s singer and music producer
• Justin Brierley
• Loretta Andrews
• Maria Rodrigues
• Micha Jazz
• Michael Cleere
• Michael Fanstone
• Muyiwa
• Nage
• Nick Battle
• Nicky Gilchrist
• Pam Rhodes
• Rick Easter
• Steve Fanstone
• Tony Miles
• Victoria Laurence (News Editor)

Listenership

Premier Christian Radio are known for their strong evangelical audience but their listeners also comprise a number of different Christian denominations, including Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Methodist and Pentecostal^{[citation needed]}.

In 2004 The Times placed Premier Christian Radio at number one in a chart of the "most upmarket stations" based upon the percentage of its audience (81%) that is ABC1.^[5] In the quarter ending June 2010 the station was receivable by 10,983,000 people; 143,000 listened, for an average of 12 hours each, 0.80% of all listening hours.^[6]

History

Premier Christian Radio was founded in 1994, broadcasting exclusively on MW to a Greater London audience when it also began its telephone counselling service, Lifeline. It took the air at a Launch Party in Battersea Park, London on 10 June 1995.

A series of magazine titles then joined. The charity currently produces Christianity Magazine, Youthwork Magazine, Christian Marketplace and Childrenswork Magazine.

In 2001, Premier received an official warning from The Radio Authority (the regulatory body for radio at the time) for broadcasting "items that were offensive to people of other, non-Christian beliefs". A "yellow card" warning was issued, recognising that Premier had acknowledged its errors and put in place significant new compliance measures to ensure such breaches would not be repeated.^[7]

Availability

Premier Christian Radio was at first only available on medium wave in London. It later added broadcasts on the internet, Freeview channel 725,(UK and Ireland), Sky Digital (channel 0123, terminated 14 December 2012), Virgin Media (channel 968, terminated 6 May 2009) and London DAB - a national DAB broadcast was added later.^[8] In 2006, the media group launched Premier.tv, one of the first Christian IPTV channels in the UK.

Its 2007 application for a national DAB licence, as part of the National Grid Wireless consortium, was refused; Premier Radio said "almost 72,000 Premier listeners stepped up and made their voices heard in supporting the bid".^[9] In August 2009, Premier achieved its target of meeting the £650,000 yearly fee to broadcast on the national Digital One DAB multiplex and launched on the multiplex on 21 September 2009.^[3]

Premier Gospel was launched as a DAB spin-off station in 2010.^[10]

External links

• Official website
• Premier Christian Media Trust, Registered Charity no. 287610 at the Charity Commission

References