Lincs FM
 | |
| Broadcast area | Lincolnshire & Newark |
|---|---|
| Slogan | The Difference Is The Music |
| Frequency |
FM: 96.7 MHz (Grantham) 97.6 MHz (Scunthorpe) 102.2 MHz (Lincolnshire) |
| First air date | 1 March 1992 |
| Format | Classic hits & Contemporary Hits |
| Audience share | 17.5% (December 2014, ) |
| Owner | Lincs FM Group |
| Sister stations |
Compass FM Dearne FM KCFM Ridings FM Rother FM Rutland Radio Trax FM |
| Website | www.lincsfm.co.uk |
Lincs FM is a UK Independent Local Radio radio station serving Lincolnshire and Newark, from the Humber to The Wash. It broadcasts on 96.7, 97.6 and 102.2FM, and online. The station plays a variety of classic hits from the 70s through to the 00s, including current Top 40 hits. The current station slogan is "The Difference Is... The Music" following a rebrand in early 2013.
Background
The station has a 17.5% share of all radio listening within its TSA (RAJAR December 2014). Lincs FM broadcasts from studios at Witham Park in Lincoln, next to the River Witham at the far end of Waterside South.
Budget cuts within the Lincs FM Group mean that Lincs FM, amongst others within the group, have restricted live programming. The station used to provide live radio 24/7, but now use automation (where the presenter's links between the records are all pre-recorded but made to sound live) between 2100-0600.
Award nominations
In 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007, the station was nominated for a Sony Radio Award for Station of the Year in the 300,000 to 1 m listeners category. Jane Hill (now a novelist and stand-up comedian) was nominated for Station Programmer of the Year in 2004. David Lloyd, who helped launch the station was one of the judges.
Transmitters
The main transmitter 102.2 FM signal comes from the Belmont transmitting station. It also has lower-powered frequencies in Grantham, south of the town near the bypass, on 96.7 FM and Trent View Flats (near the John Leggott College) in Scunthorpe on 97.6 FM. Lincs FM can be clearly heard in northern Nottinghamshire and eastern South Yorkshire. The Belmont transmitter has the Digital One and MXR Yorkshire 12A multiplexes but does not transmit Lincs FM on DAB.
DAB licence
The Lincolnshire DAB licence was advertised[1][2] on 24 October 2007, with a likely bidder in place by late 2008. The far south of the county (South Holland, Bourne & Stamford) will not be covered (as it is covered by the Peterborough multiplex), yet all of North and North East Lincolnshire will be. On 24 January 2008, Ofcom received one application for the Lincolnshire DAB licence - from MuxCo Lincolnshire, which is 51% owned by Lincs FM Group, and was awarded on 19 February 2008.[3] It will also carry Compass FM and another new Lincs FM digital-only station called Lincs County, and use four transmitters at Belmont, High Hunsley (East Riding of Yorkshire), Grantham and Lincoln County Hospital. It should be available by 2011, being originally planned for July 2009.
Branding
The station have used the "Link-up" jingle package produced by S2blue. In 2010 they introduced a resing of the South London Radio 107.3 package, also from s2blue. In 2013, a package from Audio Sweets replaced all existing idents.
The strapline for the station is "the difference is...". This re-uses the slogan the group used back in the 90s.
References
External links
- Official website
- Lincs FM Group
- History of local radio stations in Lincolnshire
- OFCOM licence
- Review of the station at Ciao!
- DooYoo
- Belmont transmitting station
- Grantham transmitting station
- Trent View Flats transmitting station
Audio clips
- Jingles package
- Recording the jingles for Lincs FM Group stations at S2 Blue in Leek
- There's more to Cleethorpes than meets the eye in 2003
- How not to record jingles
- 1992 jingles
- 1995 jingles
- 1999 jingles
- S2Blue 2006 package
- YouTube