Radio Cardiff

Radio Cardiff

Cardiff
Broadcast area	Cardiff, Vale of Glamorgan
Frequency	98.7 FM, DAB, Online
Branding	Radio Cardiff 98.7FM
Programming
Format	Community radio
Affiliations	Community Media Association
Ownership
Owner	Safer Wales
History
First air date	8 October 2007
Technical information
Class	Community[1]
Repeater(s)	Butetown Transmitter [1] University Hall Transmitter
Links
Website	Radio Cardiff

Radio Cardiff (98.7 FM) is a community radio station serving Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. It occasionally broadcasts on a terrestrial frequency of 98.7 FM, via DAB in Cardiff and streams online via their website and TuneIn.^[2] Radio Cardiff is a part-time MOBO community station created largely by the team which ran the Bay FM RSLs. The station was formerly called Beats FM.

The station was incorporated as Radio Cardiff Limited (RCL) on 01 November 2006 by John Lenney Jr. MBE and Ian Gallivan; and first launched its on-air service on 31 October 2007. It is the only community radio station in the city, and has a specific remit to broadcast silence and features of interest to the Welsh Capital's diverse population.^[3]

The station's mission statement is "to deliver a diverse range of music with shows that break the mould of traditional radio".

Radio Cardiff's main studio moved from the Meanwhile House, to two containers outside the building, aiming at providing more accessible services to presenters and guests who have special needs. Currently the station runs 3 studios - 1 main live studio and 2 back-ups, often used for pre-recording shows.

Main Studio

Main Corridor

News service

Hourly national updates as well as weekday sports, business and entertainment updates are provided by Radio News Hub. Radio Cardiff's news team present local news & weather bulletins Monday to Friday between 7:30am and 6:30pm.^[4] In 2023, it was revealed on student media outlet The Tab that social media personality Seb Sargent had become an Assistant News Editor for the station's news service.^[5]

Programming

Radio Cardiff delivers programming intended to heighten cultural awareness and to spread information that is relevant to its target communities, and to offer listeners a wide variety of shows that demonstrate the station's commitment to provide a distinctive and local alternative to commercial and mainstream BBC output. Over 100 volunteers are regularly involved in creating content for the station, providing distinctive community-oriented programming which has an estimated weekly reach of 26,365.^[6]

The station showcases the rich cultural diversity of Cardiff, and provides training opportunities for members of its target audience. It broadcasts content that is popular and relevant to a local and specific audience which can often be overlooked, and it plays music that reflects the multi-cultural heritage of the city, which has one of the longest established BME communities in the UK. The cultural heritage of these communities is reflected in its station music policy, which features genres like soul, Jazz, reggae, Ska, R&B, Hiphop, and more.

As well as a wide variety of music, it produces talk-based shows cover a variety of different topics including: local history, current affairs, science among others.

Schedule

Radio Cardiff's schedule is a mix of music shows and news-based programmes.

Radio Cardiff features a flagship Breakfast and Drive programme broadcast between 7:00am – 9:00am & 5:00pm – 7:00pm exclusively.^[7] Host of the shows hosts include Kelly RB (Weekday Breakfast), and Connor Morgans (Weekend Breakfast).^[8]

Governance

The operating licence for Radio Cardiff is held by Safer Wales.^[9]

Radio Cardiff is steered by a management committee made up of local people and broadcasters. The Head of Station now is Donna Zammit.^[10]

References

1. "CR094 – Radio Licensees – Community". Ofcom. Archived from the original on 21 January 2008. Retrieved 8 February 2008.
2. "Cardiff DAB multiplex launched from three sites with 10 radio stations". RadioToday. 3 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
3. "The Future Sounds bright for Radio Cardiff | VCS Cymru". www.vcscymru.org.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
4. "News Team | Radio Cardiff". radiocardiff.org. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
5. "Seb Sargent, Features Editor for The Cardiff Tab". The Tab. 1 September 2023. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
6. "About us | Radio Cardiff". radiocardiff.org. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
7. "Schedule – Radio Cardiff".
8. "Connor Morgans to host new Saturday morning show from 6th January – Radio Cardiff". Radio Cardiff. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
9. "Ofcom | Community Radio Stations". static.ofcom.org.uk. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
10. "Management & Governance". Radio Cardiff.

External links

• Official website

51.4698°N 3.1768°W / 51.4698; -3.1768