Minster FM

Minster FM

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Broadcast area	York and North Yorkshire
Frequency	FM: 104.7 MHz DAB: 10C
First air date	4 July 1992
Format	Contemporary hit radio
Audience share	8.9% (September 2013, RAJAR)
Transmitter coordinates
Owner	The Local Radio Company (UKRD Group)
Website	www.minsterfm.com

Minster FM is an independent commercial local (ILR) radio station based in Dunnington, York, Yorkshire, England and covering the city of York and surrounding areas such as Selby, Tadcaster, Thirsk, Goole, Howden and even parts of Leeds.

Minster FM was launched at 6 am on Saturday 4 July 1992 by presenter Daragh Corcoran and the first song played was 'Saturday in the Park' by Chicago. The station was launched exactly nine years to the date after BBC Radio York started broadcasting and at the time, had a live, locally presented schedule 24 hours a day. This continued until the launch of Yorkshire Coast Radio in November 1993 when programmes between 10pm and 6am were broadcast on both stations. Unusually for the time, local news in the early years was not made in-house but was contracted out to Yorkshire Television. News is now produced by the station's own news team, or (for network or late night broadcasts, excluding the drivetime show) Independent Radio News (IRN) or Sky News, both based in London, who provide an hourly two- to three-minute news broadcast to 46 UK commercial radio stations.

The station broadcasts on 104.7 FM from the Acklam Wold transmitter, near Leavening, on the Yorkshire Wolds. For a time, Minster FM also broadcast to the Thirsk and Northallerton area using a signal on 102.3 FM from Calvert's Carpets in Thirsk. Station owners The Local Radio Company later secured a specific licence for the area and launched Minster Northallerton on that frequency. TLRC was later taken over by UKRD and in 2009 the new owners merged this station with its stations based in Darlington and Durham to form Star Radio.

As of 17 December 2014, Minster FM started broadcasting on DAB digital radio, under the name 'More Minster'. It is broadcast on the North Yorkshire DAB multiplex from various locations within Yorkshire, including Bilsdale, Acklam Wold, Hildebrand Barracks and Oliver's Mount. More Minster carries Minster FM programmes in the morning and through the day but during the evening the DAB schedule differs from the FM version, broadcasting its own dedicated programming.

Minster FM (8.9%) has a higher audience share than BBC Radio York (6.2%), as of September 2013.

Presenters

• Alex Brown
• David Green
• Victoria Charles
• Simon Hudson
• Paul Spence
• Rick Witter

News Team

• Kevin Larkin, Head of News
• Rebecca Lomas, Broadcast Journalist

Schedule

Weekday Schedule:

• Beth Parsons For Those Who Have An Early Start To The Day, Weekdays 04:00 – 06:00
• Ben and Gayle in the Morning Weekdays 06:00 – 10:00
• David Green Through Your Workday, Weekdays 10:00 – 14:00
• Alex Brown Gets You Home, Weekdays 14:00 – 18:00
• The Evening Show With Simon Hudson 18:00 – 22:00
• The Wind-down Zone - Victoria Charles 22:00 – 00:00
• Minster FM Through the night 00:00 – 04:00

Saturday Schedule:

• Weekend Breakfast - 06:00 – 10:00
• Simon Hudson - 10:00 – 14:00
• Paul Spence 14:00 – 18:00
• Non-stop party 18:00 – 22:00
• Paul Spence - 22:00 – 00:00
• Minster FM Through The Night - 00:00 – 06:00

Sunday Schedule:

• Weekend Breakfast - 06:00 – 10:00
• Victoria Charles - 10:00 – 14:00
• Minster FM's Sunday afternoon/evening music marathon - 14:00 – 19:00
• Rick Witter's Disco Down - 19:00 – 21:00
• The Wind-down Zone - Victoria Charles 22:00 – 00:00

Between the hours of 00:00 and 06:00 every morning, broadcasting is automated and plays a wide selection of music. There is no presenter during this time.

Awards

In 2009 Minster FM was one of three stations to be nominated for The Arqiva under 1 million awards but the award was presented to Lincs FM 102.2 in Lincolnshire.

External links

• Official website
• The Local Radio Company
• Jingles
• History of local radio in Yorkshire
• Acklam Wold transmitter
• Minster FM Public File