Focal Radio
Encyclopedia
Focal Radio was a commercial radio station based in the city of Stoke-on-Trent
and broadcasting to the two counties of Staffordshire
and Cheshire
in England
.
The station broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via the local DAB
multiplex for the city as well as online.
The station's entirely locally produced programming consisted of popular music from the past 40 years along with news, sport and speech features of general interest to the local population. A number of specialist music programmes were also provided.
In February 2009, the station closed down having run out of cash after just four months on air and its parent company Trent Radio Station Limited was placed into liquidation. Several weeks later, the station resumed broadcasting having been acquired by local businessman Mo Chaudry.
Chaudry pulled out of backing the station three months later, resulting in an on-air pledge drive
asking for listeners to buy a £10 stake in the station. Despite raising over £60,000 in a week, staff and management failed to raise another £20,000 in order to pay back the investment made by Chaudry. Focal Radio ceased transmission again at 1pm on Thursday 28 May 2009.
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
and broadcasting to the two counties of Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
and Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
The station broadcast 24 hours a day, 7 days a week via the local DAB
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
multiplex for the city as well as online.
The station's entirely locally produced programming consisted of popular music from the past 40 years along with news, sport and speech features of general interest to the local population. A number of specialist music programmes were also provided.
In February 2009, the station closed down having run out of cash after just four months on air and its parent company Trent Radio Station Limited was placed into liquidation. Several weeks later, the station resumed broadcasting having been acquired by local businessman Mo Chaudry.
Chaudry pulled out of backing the station three months later, resulting in an on-air pledge drive
Pledge drive
A pledge drive is an extended period of fundraising activities, generally used by public broadcasting stations to increase contributions. The term "pledge" originates from the promise a contributor makes to send in funding at regular intervals for a certain amount of time...
asking for listeners to buy a £10 stake in the station. Despite raising over £60,000 in a week, staff and management failed to raise another £20,000 in order to pay back the investment made by Chaudry. Focal Radio ceased transmission again at 1pm on Thursday 28 May 2009.