Other Angels

Hello all.

This year (2024) I have celebrated my 10th anniversary as a volunteer for Angel Radio. It is all a bit surreal for me, because when Angel Radio commenced its first broadcasts I was still at school. Growing up in Cosham, being a radio nerd I knew of Angel Radio's existence but I couldn't hear Angel Radio as 101.1 FM didn't reach me. It wasn't until I started sixth form in Waterlooville I was able to listen to Angel Radio on my walkman.

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I suppose I am lucky in that I did manage to land a full time job in radio. I've always been interested in operations. I've never been a radio presenter. But the behind the scenes stuff has always facinated me. I worked for GCap Media and in turn Global Radio when they took over GCap.

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The first time I met Tony would have probably been in late 2007, possibly early 2008. I was managing the NOW Digital DAB digital radio multiplexes, and they held the licence for South Hampshire. I knew that for DAB digital radio to be a success it needed to offer as wide a range of formats to appeal to as many people as possible. 

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In South Hampshire we had lost Saga Radio a few years previously from DAB digital radio because the De-Hann brothers had sold Saga to the AA, and the AA decided that Saga wasn't going to run radio stations. The Saga stations were either sold to Smooth, or in the case of South Hampshire, shut down altogether.

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I knew there needed to be something for older people on DAB digital radio, so I invited Tony to meet me at our HQ in Leicester Square. I was really glad Tony came. He told me all about Angel Radio's history, and he really made a positive impression on me. I knew signing up Angel Radio to DAB digital radio was going to be tricky, because transmission is an expensive thing, and I knew that Angel Radio didn't (and doesn't!) have much money.

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Tony and I agreed at the time that being on DAB digital radio across South Hampshire would be huge for Angel Radio as it would overnight increase its transmission footprint from about 44,000 adults in the Havant area to 1.2 million.

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Unfortunately we were unable to agree on the price. So nothing happened. 

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In 2009, NOW Digital was sold by Global Radio to Arqiva and my employment transferred over too. I had some ideas about how I might be able to offer lower transmission fees. I met Tony again (in Winchester I think) and we had a deal! Angel Radio launched on South Hampshire DAB in early 2010. One of the most satisfying deals I have done in my career. 

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By the Summer of 2014 I was no longer working in radio full time, but I still had an interest in radio. I noted that Ofcom were going to re-advertise the 107.4 FM licence. I sent Tony an email saying Angel should apply for it. I had written a few Ofcom applications and offered to help... little did I know 10 years later I'd still be involved!

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I actually reread our application earlier this evening. I am really proud of the work we all put in to it, the fundraising,  the research, the RSL, I still think today it was really strong, but unfortunately Ofcom didn't agree. I was with Tony in The Heron for lunch when we got the bad news phone call from Ofcom. I've never been in that pub since.

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That being said, we did subsequently expand Angel's FM footprint three times (our move from 101.1 to 89.3 FM to serve Portsmouth and Havant, then our move to 98.6 FM with an increase in transmission power and our recent expansion to Chichester on 94.8 FM). We've also expanded our DAB footprint too.

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In the last 10 years I've met some amazing people involved with Angel Radio. I know there is a huge amount of dedication to providing entertainment and information to older people. It is a relentless task. 

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When Angel Radio commenced licensed broadcasts nearly 26 years ago, few homes had the internet, most people had four TV channels and there were 10 channels on DAB available in our area. Today, Angel Radio has to stand tall where listener choice has never been so great. There are over 100 Freeview channels, there are over 100 channels on DAB digital radio with thousands more online through smart speakers. 

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The broadcasting environment is tougher than ever, but with sheer grit, determination (and sometimes luck) from those involved, Angel Radio has faithfully been able to keep pace with the evolving way people consume media.

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I try and avoid visiting the Angel Radio studio because I don't want to get in the way, so as a result I know I don't know many of you personally. But I just wanted to say thank you for your dedication. And a special thank you to Tony, Mark and Alison.