Why South London?
It’s home to a number of firsts including the first public railway service (1803) which ran from Croydon to Wandsworth and ushered in the practice of commuting and with air travel, Croydon Airport was one of the first international airports.
Today South London generates around £32 billion each year to the UK economy. It remains a high skills area with 51% of residents educated to degree level or above.
Major businesses: Paypal, Ebay, Haymarket, Subsea 7, Lidl and Unilever.
Average earnings £778 per week – 8% higher than the London average. 21,200 new jobs forecast in 2023 while in South London there are six times as many business start-ups compared with the London average.
In 1866 Bromley was home to H.G. Wells, more recently David Bowie, Peter Frampton, Siouxsie Sioux and Billy Idol have all lived in South London.
How can South of the River Digital Radio help my radio service?
Once we are licenced as the multiplex operator, radio services can approach South of the River Digital Radio and can buy carriage on our transmitted signals across the area. We have capacity to broadcast over 25 radio services and yours could be one of them.
As part of your contract with South of the River Digital Radio a monthly fee is payable. This will relate to the cost of providing the DAB signal across the area.
To give an indication, daily costs for a radio service broadcasting to over two-million adults start at around £25 per day, about the cost of a round of drinks or a one-day Zone 1 to 7 Travelcard.
If you are a community radio station and qualify for an Ofcom C-DSP licence, the costs are lower than that, because we will subsidise carriage fees.
Things are moving fast in DAB-land so it is vital to register early because with an area as popular as South London, interest will be high and space limited to just 25 services.
Other broadcaster information
Beyond your own studio and related operating costs, you’ll need a broadcasting licence from Ofcom [available on-demand].
If you are a community group based within our coverage area you can simply apply to the regulator for a standard Community Digital Sound Programme licence (called a C-DSP licence). As a local service serving the South London community, we will charge C-DSPs preferentially low rates of charge.
More details here: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0024/201876/cdsp-licence-guidance.pdf
Commercially orientated radio services need to apply to Ofcom for a DSP Licence.
More licence details here: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0026/10889/dsps_das.pdf
Ofcom charges the same fees for C-DSP and DSP licences. The application cost is £250 while the licence fee is £100 per annum, thereafter.
Finally, as the multiplex operator, we ask you to provide a fully ‘broadcast ready’ audio stream to our designated input address(es).
If a station needs technical support, there may be a charge.
A small administrative charge may also apply.
South of the River Digital Radio is not a broadcaster but a provider of transmission facilities for radio stations who want to broadcast to South London.
By remaining independent we are in a position to ensure that each of those who operate the radio services we carry will be treated fairly and openly. This will be reflected in our trading policy.
If you are still interested please register your interest via the register page or click here