TIDMUTV 
 
27 March 2015 
 
                UTV AWARDED NATIONAL DAB MULTIPLEX RADIO LICENCE 
 
 
 
UTV Media (GB) Limited a subsidiary of UTV Media plc (UTV) - along with its two 
Sound Digital consortium partners Bauer Media and Arqiva - has been awarded the 
UK's second national DAB multiplex licence by the communications regulator 
Ofcom. 
 
Sound Digital combines two of the UK's leading commercial radio broadcasters 
UTV and Bauer Media with the UK's leading provider of broadcast transmission 
services Arqiva. Each of the participants is also a long-standing operator of 
DAB digital radio multiplexes in the UK. 
 
Sound Digital has committed to launching its network within 12 months of 
Ofcom's decision and UTV plans to launch four new radio stations on this 
service in 2016. These include three original speech radio stations - 
talkRADIO, talkSPORT 2 and talkBUSINESS - to complement talkSPORT and build on 
UTV's track record in speech broadcasting and the return of Virgin Radio under 
a 12 year licence agreement between UTV and the Virgin Group. 
 
 
UTV will invest in the region of GBP4m in 2016, including capital expenditure of 
GBP1m, to set up the stations. Following a further investment of approximately GBP 
1m in 2017 the stations are expected to move into significant profit 
thereafter. 
 
John McCann, Group Chief Executive, UTV Media plc said: 
 
"Today's announcement is wonderful news for our staff and our business and with 
our partners Bauer Media and Arqiva represents an exciting opportunity for the 
commercial radio industry to offer listeners a distinctive new range of digital 
stations in the coming years. I'm confident that our heritage and experience in 
radio broadcasting will make these stations a success." 
 
Scott Taunton, Chief Operating Officer, UTV Media plc, said: 
 
"Ofcom is not expected to advertise any further national DAB multiplex licences 
so our participation in this successful bid provides a unique platform for UTV 
to expand its radio business in the UK. Nearly 50% of households now own a DAB 
set, and our new stations will ensure we are ideally positioned to capitalise 
on this growth in listener demand for digital radio." 
 
A brief description of the new UTV stations and their target audiences is 
provided below: 
 
  * talkRADIO - News, current affairs and general speech with a target audience 
    of 25-54 year olds. 
 
  * talkSPORT 2 - Complementary live sport and sports talk aimed at 18-54 year 
    old males. 
 
  * talkBUSINESS - Business and finance for 25-64 year old ABC1s. 
 
  * Virgin Radio - Rock and pop music for 25-44 year olds with a slight male 
    bias. 
 
For further information contact: UTV Media plc: Orla McKibbin, Director of 
Communications Tel: +44 (0) 2890 262188 or +44 (0) 7879 666427 
 
 
 
END
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