Premier Christian Radio

Infobox Radio station
name = Premier Christian Radio


city = London
area =
branding =
slogan =
frequency =
repeater =
airdate =
share = 0.7%
share as of = Sept 2007
share source = RAJAR [ [http://www.rajar.co.uk/listening/quarterly_listening.php :: Rajar ] ]
format = Contemporary Christian music
class =
facility_id =
coordinates =
affiliations =
owner = Premier Christian Media Trust
licensee =
sister_stations =
webcast =
website = [http://www.premier.org.uk premier.org.uk]

Premier Christian Radio is a British Christian radio station wholly owned by the charity, Premier Christian Media Trust.

Premier Christian Radio broadcasts Christian programming including news, debate, teachings and Christian music to the London area on 1305, 1332 and 1413 medium wave and on DAB. Premier can also be heard nationally on Sky Digital (channel 0123), Virgin Media cable (channel 968) and Freeview (channel 725), and globally via its website.

Its application for a national DAB licence as part of the National Grid Wireless consortium was turned down in summer 2007, despite a petition of almost 72,000 supporters. [ [http://www.premier.org.uk/engine.cfm?i=1082 "Disappointing news"] on Premier website (with photo)]

Broadcasters

Its broadcasters include Cindy Kent, former singer with the 1960s folk group The Settlers, and John Pantry, 1970s singer and music producer.

Listenership

Premier Christian Radio are known for their strong evangelical audience but their listeners also comprise a number of different Christian denominations, including Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Methodist and Pentecostal.

In 2004, The Times placed Premier Christian Radio at number one in a chart of the "most upmarket stations" based upon the percentage of its audience (81%) that is ABC1. [ [http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article488240.ece Radio Waves] , Sunday Times, October 3 2004.]

History

Premier Christian Radio was founded in 1994, broadcasting exclusively on MW to a Greater London audience when it also began its telephone counselling service, Lifeline.

A series of magazine titles then joined. The charity currently produces "Christianity Magazine, Youthwork Magazine, Christian Marketplace" and "Faithworks Magazine".

In 2001, Premier received an official warning from OFCOM, the Radio Authority for broadcasting "items that were offensive to people of other, non-Christian beliefs". A "yellow card" warning was issued, recognising that Premier had acknowledged its errors and put in place significant new compliance measures to ensure such breaches would not be repeated. [ [http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/archive/rau/publications-archive/adobe-pdf/about-ra/meeting-notes/minutes/2001/04%20October%202001.pdf Notes of Radio Authority Meeting] , Radio Authority, 4 October 2001.]

Premier Christian Radio later added broadcasts on the internet, Freeview, SKY, Virgin Media and London DAB. In 2006, the media group launched Premier.tv, one of the first Christian IPTV channels in the UK.

External links

* [http://www.premier.org.uk/ Official website]
* [http://www.premierradio.org.uk Premier Radio]
* [http://www.premier.tv Premier.TV]

References