Chaine FM
Broadcast areaUK - Larne
Frequency106.3 (FM)
Programming
FormatRestricted Service Licence
Ownership
OwnerLarne Community Media Ltd.
History
First air date
December 2007
Last air date
December 2013
Links
Websitewww.chainefm.com

Chaine FM was an FM community radio station, based in Larne in Northern Ireland, that operated on an intermittent basis from 2007 until 2013.[1] Operating as a "Christmas radio station" only,[2] it broadcast seasonally from December 2007. After broadcasting in November and December 2010,[2] the station did not broadcast during Christmas 2011 before returning in December 2012.[citation needed] It subsequently broadcast for the last time from 30 November to 24 December 2013. In June 2013, Ofcom granted the station a full-time Community Radio licence.[3][4] However, in early 2015, Chaine FM's owner was reported to have "abandoned" its plans to operate a full-time station and returned this license to Ofcom.[5] The station owner, Larne Community Media, was wound up in November 2015.[6]

History

Chaine FM, which began broadcasting in 2007, reportedly developed from a hospital radio station, Radio Moyle.[7] This preceding station ran since the 1980s as a hospital radio station broadcasting to the wards of Moyle Hospital in Larne.[6]

Chaine FM was initially run by a non-for-profit community group, Chaine Music. The station applied for a Restricted Service Licence (RSL) in 2007, and rented accommodation in the Murryfield Shopping Centre in Larne town centre.[citation needed] From 2008 to 2013, the station operated from the former Radio Moyle studio at Moyle Hospital.[citation needed] In 2011, Chaine Music was disbanded and a new operating company, Larne Community Media Ltd, was formed.[6]

In 2013, Chaine FM applied for a RSL licence from Ofcom and broadcast from 30 November 2013 until 24 December 2013. The operators of the station, Larne Community Media, gained an Ofcom Community Radio Licence in June 2013,[8] and the station's operators were "looking for a launch" of a full-time station in early 2015.[9]

However, in January 2015, Larne Community Media announced that it was not pursuing plans for a full-time community radio service, and the licence was returned to Ofcom.[5] Later in 2015, the operating company announced that it was "winding up" owing to "resourcing and viability issues".[6]

References

  1. ^ "Chaine FM, Larne". chainefm.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2018. Chaine FM [..] Was the local radio station for the Larne Borough. Proudly broadcasting from 2007-2013
  2. ^ a b "No plans for year-round Chaine FM". northernirelandworld.com. National World Publishing Ltd. 4 January 2010. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. There are no plans for Larne-based Christmas radio station Chaine FM to broadcast all the year round, it's been revealed [..] was on air throughout the Larne area from November 30 until Christmas Eve [2010]
  3. ^ "Northern Ireland's first Ulster Scots radio station given green light". belfasttelegraph.co.uk. Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 10 June 2013. Among the other community radio licences awarded by Ofcom was Belfast FM [..] along with Chaine FM in Larne and Bridge FM in Portadown
  4. ^ Communications Market Report: Northern Ireland (PDF) (Report). Ofcom. August 2013. p. 62.
  5. ^ a b "Chaine FM abandons plans to launch full-time Larne community radio station". northernirelandworld.com. National World Publishing Ltd. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d "Chaine FM plays its last request". northernirelandworld.com. National World Publishing Ltd. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  7. ^ "About Us". chainefm.com. Archived from the original on 21 August 2014.
  8. ^ "NI's first Ulster Scots station, fUSe FM, gets community radio licence". bbc.com. BBC News. 10 June 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  9. ^ "Christmas station goes for January launch". radiotoday.co.uk. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2023.

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