University Radio Bath
 | |
| Broadcast area | University of Bath - Local AM & Online (URB Online) |
|---|---|
| Frequency |
1449 KHz (Univ. of Bath) Online (Rest of World) Mobile (Rest of World) |
| First air date | 1973 |
| Format | Contemporary Student |
| Owner | University of Bath Students' Union |
| Website | URB Online |
University Radio Bath (commonly referred to as 1449AM URB) is the award-winning student-run radio station from the University of Bath, England. It is the only radio station broadcasting from the City of Bath.
About
University Radio Bath is run entirely by volunteers, all students studying at the University of Bath. The station broadcasts 24 hours a day throughout the year, although live broadcasts tend to only be during semester time. The schedule is made up of a variety of shows including entertainment, news, speech, drama and specialist music. With a new intake of students each academic year, the station's output can change significantly.
History
URB 963, launched on 16 May 1973. It was one of the first University radio stations built in the UK to broadcast on Medium Wave on an induction loop system across the campus. The station was built and designed by students Jonathon White (Electrical Engineering) and Stephen Ainger (Physics) and launched by BBC Radio 1's Annie Nightingale and Pete Bradey. The first year anniversary was hosted by the BBC Radio 1 Roadshow with Alan Freeman (DJ) in the Students' Union. In 1994 and 2003, URB also broadcast under short-term Restricted Service Licences across the city of Bath on the FM band. In 1995, Torch FM 106.2 used URB studios and presenters to provide a city-wide radio service for the European Youth Olympics in Bath.
The station was originally broadcast from a landing in the Electrical Engineering Department and carried by induction loops in all of the campus residences. A year after launch the station moved the current studios in Norwood house but still retained the induction loop transmitters, which were updated and expanded as new residences were built on campus. Over the years loudspeakers playing URB were added to the campus laundrettes and the students' union coffee shop. In summer 1994 renovations to the Westwood blocks severed the wires to the loops there and after that URB 963 could only be heard in Eastwood, Wessex and Norwood. On 8 February 2001 at 14:49 1449AM URB launched as a low powered AM service covering the whole campus and the remaining induction loops on 963 were switched off. The addition of online and mobile streaming has also given the station a significant boost.
Neil Fox - better known as Dr Fox - and Richard Evans of Radio 1 Newsbeat both started their careers at URB.
In 1987, three URB presenters (Graham Hutkins, Ben Ramsden & Andrew Wiseman) broadcast a special 24-hour show, raising money for local charities.
In September 2014 the radio station was renamed University Radio Bath.
Recent History
In March 2008, presenters broadcast 60 hours of continuous live shows to raise money for the charity Hearing Aid and the station hosted the National Student Radio Conference[1] on behalf of the Student Radio Association the conference between 17 and 19 March featured talks from a variety of speakers from the world of radio including BBC Radio 1's Greg James.[2]
In April 2012, Bastille performed an acoustic session from URB's studios.
In March 2014, BBC Radio 1's Scott Mills presented the Student Radio Chart Show live from URB with Jamie Lee and Bev Lung as a prize provided by Radio 1 for the station winning Best Student Radio Chart Show at the Student Radio Chart Show 2013. The show was executively produced by Matt Reed and BBC Radio 1's Chris Sawyer and featured an interview with Bradley Simpson of The Vamps. The show was also the first ever Student Radio Chart Show to be fully visualised.
In May 2014, URB won their first Radio Academy Awards for Best Technical Innovation at the 2014 Awards. The station won bronze for Head of Online, Jonty Usborne's Responsive Radio and Unified Station Management Application.
The station's schedule currently includes shows such as Barcodes, Blue Monday and The Morning After with Matt & Tim.[3]
Studios
URB has a set of 3 studios in the heart of the newly built Student Centre and an office; Studio 1 - the main broadcast studio, Studio 2 - a DJ studio/radio-with-pictures suite, and finally Studio 3 - a production studio and news room.
The station broadcasts live shows from throughout the day and into the night, with shows ranging from daytime entertainment shows to specialist music. When there's not a live presenter in the studio, an interactive "non-stop" system (created by award winning radio developer Mark Farrington during his degree) fills in the gaps. URB also informs the campus with hourly news bulletins from the Sky News Centre. Additionally, every evening URB programmes talk-based or specialist shows.
Awards
| Year | Award | Details | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Best Technical Innovation | Responsive Radio and Unified Station Management Application (Jonty Usborne) | Bronze[4] |
| Year | Award | Details | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Technical Excellence | Responsive Radio and Unified Station Management (Jonty Usborne) | Nominated[5] |
| Year | Award | Details | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Best Student Radio Station | Silver | |
| Best Technical Achievement | Responsive Radio (Jonty Usborne) | Gold | |
| Best Speech Programming | Crowe (Darius Gilani) | Bronze | |
| Best Specialist Music Programming | Last Donut of the Night (Lewi Field) | Bronze | |
| 2013 | Best Student Radio Chart Show | Jamie Lee, Bev Lung (Presenters); Matt Reed (Executive Producer); Will Patrikiadis, Darius Gilani, Gilbert Holland-Lloyd (Producers) | Gold |
| Best Technical Achievement | UK Radioplayer Console and Unified Station Management Application (Jonty Usborne) | Gold | |
| Best Newcomer | Jamie Lee | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Best Student Radio Station | Bronze[6] | |
| Best Journalistic Programming | Coverage of the 2010 United Kingdom student protests | Bronze | |
| Best Student Radio Chart Show | David James, Michael Parry (Presenters); Stephen Briscoe (Executive Producer); Simon Budden, Nick Hill (Producers) | Bronze | |
| Best Marketing and Station Sound | Nominated | ||
| 2010 | Best Student Radio Chart Show | Liam Matthews (Executive Producer) | Gold[7] |
| Best Specialist Music Programming | "Polished Music" (Jan Czerbak), a programme devoted to Polish music | Gold | |
| 2008 | Best Marketing & Branding | Bronze | |
| Best Technical Achievement | URB Non-Stop (continuous play-out computer system) | Bronze | |
| 2007 | Best Marketing & Branding | Gold[8] | |
| 2006 | Best Marketing & Branding | Judge Mark Goodier commented that "there was something about the winning entry [URB] that really stood out". | Gold |
| 2005 | Best Male Presenter | Chris Day | Silver |
| Best Station Sound | Silver | ||
| Best Entertainment Programming | Paul Kiernan and David Boddington | Bronze | |
| Student Station of the Year | Two other nominations | Nominated | |
| 2004 | Best Comedy and Drama | Component Parts (Gareth Gwynn) | Gold |
| 2003 | Best Speech Based Non-Factual | Because Fish Are Funny | Silver |
| 2002 | Best Male Presenter | Ben Vane (Station Manager) | Gold |
| Best Marketing | Silver | ||
| Best Student Radio Station | Bronze |
Neighbours
URB has sister stations at other universities in the area:
- Burst Radio – University of Bristol
- Xpress Radio – Cardiff University
40th Anniversary Celebrations
In 2013, URB celebrated its 40th anniversary. To mark the occasion, the current committee, in association with the University of Bath Alumni Office and the Students' Union organised a reunion event for 2 February 2013 with many alumni reviving their old shows.[9]
In addition to a reunion dinner, the URB schedule for the weekend will reflect 40 years of broadcasting as former members will be encouraged to revive their old shows on-air.
References
- ↑ "Annual General Meeting". Student radio association. Retrieved 14 November 2010.
- ↑ "About University Radio Bath". University Radio Bath. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
- ↑ "URB Schedule". Bath, Somerset: University Radio Bath. 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2014.
- ↑ "The Winners 2014 > Best Technical Innovation". Radio Academy Awards. 12 May 2014. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
- ↑ "Full Radio Festival Line-up Revealed". The Radio Academy. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ↑ "Student Radio Awards 2011: The Winners". Student Radio Association. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
- ↑ "AStudent Radio Awards 2010". Student Radio Association. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
- ↑ "1449 AM URB winning marketing campaign". U Talk Marketing. 20 November 2007. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
- ↑ "URB 40th Anniversary Reunion". University of Bath. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
External links
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