Crewe FM radio station wins small-scale DAB licence
An FM radio station for Crewe and Nantwich has been granted a small-scale DAB license - following an announcement from UK communications regulator Ofcom
The Cat 107.9FM is based at Cheshire College South & West, Crewe - serving South Cheshire.
Small-scale DAB provides a low-cost route for local community and specialist music services to broadcast on terrestrial digital radio to a small geographical area - suiting the area of South Cheshire well.
Ofcom announced the winners of the round two bid to provide SSDAB (small-scale DAB) Radio in the North West yesterday (May 12).
Paul Simpson, director at The Cat, said "We are very pleased that South Cheshire DAB have won the bid covering our area and will be working with them to bring DAB radio to the residents of Crewe and Nantwich in the near future.
"This is the next evolution for The Cat from its beginnings back in 1993 including internet broadcasting, FM and now DAB, so get your DAB radios ready."
The Cat told Nub News it was pleased to see its friends at other existing Community Radio stations in the area were successful in DAB licenses - such as Moorlands Radio (Leek and Biddulph) and Canalside Radio (Macclesfield).
Broadcasting 24 hours a day - The Cat has always been a Crewe and Nantwich based local radio station.
The station reaches as far as Sandbach and the surrounding villages and rural areas of South Cheshire. It is the only licensed community radio station in the Crewe area.
Crewe's first ever dedicated full time FM radio station was launched in February 2015.
It first went live at 8am on Valentine's Day 2015 - following 21 years of short broadcast licenses and an internet radio service.
The radio station has gone through a number of locations in Crewe and Nantwich and had many different names since its launch in 1993.
It was first based above a shop on Market Street, Crewe, titled 'Youth FM,' on air for 28 days on a Restricted Service Licence.
In 1999, the station was renamed 'Witch FM.' It carried out two broadcasts in November 1999 and Easter 2000.
In the later 2000's, 'The Cat' itself was formed. By 2008, it was based at the M Club, High Street, Crewe - now demolished.
A year later (November 2009), the station moved to Frederick House, Nantwich where it remained for five years.
The Cat transmitted online and had two further successful FM broadcasts. Following the grant of its FM license, the station moved to Cheshire College South & West under the name of The Cat 107.9FM.
Local radio stations wanting to broadcast their service via a small-scale DAB, need to apply at the appropriate time for either a Digital Sound Programme ('DSP') licence or a new Community Digital Sound Programme ('C-DSP') licence to Ofcom.
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(Ryan Parker and The Cat 107.9FM)
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