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Business News Media
Bauer seeks to cut AM reach of Absolute Radio
By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 12 February 2018
Bauer Media wants to cut back the AM reach of its Absolute Radio station, which continues to broadcast nationally on the old fashioned medium wave frequency, in addition to its DAB and online channels, and FM outputs in London and the West Midlands.
In fact, so much does the commercial radio company want to reduce its AM commitments, it’s threatening to bail on medium wave entirely if media regulator OfCom doesn’t approve its proposal to cutback AM coverage from 90% of the UK to 85%.
According to Radio Today, Bauer says maintaining transmitters to reach 90% of the UK population on AM is no longer ‘reasonably practicable’. Noting that the BBC has closed some of its local AM transmitters, it says that the radio business has changed significantly since Absolute began broadcasting on AM – as the original Virgin Radio 25 – years ago.
OfCom has opened a consultation on the proposal.
