Yorkshire Coast Radio
 | |
| Broadcast area | Scarborough , Whitby & Bridlington |
|---|---|
| Slogan | Just Great Songs, all day long! |
| Frequency |
FM: 96.2 MHz (Scarborough) 102.4 MHz (Bridlington) 103.1 MHz (Whitby) DAB: 10C (North Yorkshire) |
| First air date | 7 November 1993 |
| Format | Contemporary |
| Audience share | 20.6% (June 2016, RAJAR) |
| Owner | UKRD Group |
| Website | www.yorkshirecoastradio.com |
Yorkshire Coast Radio is a group of Independent Local Radio stations serving the coastal towns of Scarborough, Whitby and Bridlington and surrounding areas in North and East Yorkshire.
The station, formed of two separate FM licences and a supplementary DAB service, is owned and operated by the UKRD Group and broadcasts from studios in Scarborough.
History
For many years, several businessmen in Scarborough had campaigned for their own local radio station. A licence was advertised in 1991 and contested by three groups. The winning consortium, Yorkshire Coast Radio Limited, was founded by radio executive and former presenter Paul Rusling with backing from former Conservative MP Wilf Proudfoot, who served as managing director for short-lived pirate station Radio 270, which was based in the town. After the franchise was awarded, YCR was brought out by Minster Sound plc - the owners of neighbouring York-based station Minster FM, which began broadcasting in July 1992.
Yorkshire Coast Radio was launched on Sunday 7 November 1993, broadcasting local programming from 6am-10pm each day with overnight output simulcast from Minster FM. Originally, the station had planned to broadcast from the Heatherleigh, a trawler moored in Scarborough's harbour which later became a museum. When the station was brought, YCR opted for conventional studios at Falsgrave Road near the town centre, before later moving to purpose-built facilities in Eastfield, on the outskirts of town.
Former notable presenters on the station include Greg Scott (who presented ITV's Quizmania), and Joel Ross (later one half of JK and Joel).
On 17 February 2015, Yorkshire Coast Radio began a supplementary DAB service on the MuxCo North Yorkshire multiplex, called Yorkshire Coast Radio Extra. Extra opted out for additional speech programming in the evenings, while simulcasting the main FM service at other times. The opt outs were axed eight months later and replaced by Coast Life, a magazine show broadcast each weekday evening on both FM and DAB.[1]
Programming
All of Yorkshire Coast Radio's programming is produced and broadcast from its Scarborough studios. Presenter-led programming airs from 6am-10pm on weekdays, 6am-6pm on Saturdays and 8am-4pm on Sunday. All other output is automated.[2]
The station's presenters include Paddy Billington (weekday breakfast), Richard Griffin, Tom Hooper (weekday drivetime) and Matthew Pells (weekday evenings).[3]
News
Yorkshire Coast Radio broadcasts hourly local news bulletins from 6am-10pm on weekdays and 8am-12pm at weekends, with headlines on the half-hour during weekday breakfast and specialist sport & business bulletins during the day. National bulletins from Sky News Radio are carried every hour at all other times.[4]