It is ironic therefore that Ofcom cited the Sunrise Radio group’s
superior financial resources as one of the key reasons for leaving the Slough licence
with that organisation. The statement said, in part:
“This combination of strong competition for listeners and a
somewhat heterogeneous licence area have historically made the Slough, Windsor
& Maidenhead licence an extremely challenging one to operate. In this
context, therefore, the Broadcast Licensing Committee took the view that the
assessment of the applications under section 105(a) was of particular
significance in this award.
“The Committee considered that the overall business plan
proposed by Time 106.6 ('Time') was a realistic and conservative one that was
based on existing levels of listening and revenue, but nevertheless anticipated
the station becoming self-supporting in the new licence period. This follows a
period which has seen the station's annual losses narrow considerably, partly
as a result of cost savings achieved by co-locating in Southall with other
stations owned by Time's parent company Litt Corporation. The ability of Litt
Corporation to provide Time with funding as and when necessary, which it has
consistently done in the past, also provided reassurance of the applicant's
ability to maintain the service.”
http://licensing.ofcom.org.uk/radio-broadcast-licensing/analogue-radio/apply-for-licence/re-advertisement/awards/slough?utm_source=updates&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=slough-re-award
