Community Radio Station Setup Costs
If you’re planning to set up a community radio station in the UK, then you’ll need to think seriously about the budget. Here are some notes on what you need to consider.
UK Community Radio Budget
The information on this page is for guidance only, and was prepared by one of our team as part of a proposal for a community radio station. When helping to prepare costings, we found that information on what needs to be considered was in short supply, so have created this page to help anyone planning to set up a station and looking to prepare a budget.
The information os for guidance only. You might find our Setting Up A Radio Station and Setting Up An Onine Radio Station pages of interest too.
Setting up the company
Here is a list of considerations for setting up the company. This is largesly the same as seting up any business:
| Category | Guidance Notes |
| Company Registration | UK Companies House |
| Building costs / rent / rates | – |
| Utility costs | Electricity, Gas, Water |
| Insurance | Buildings / contents / Public liability |
| Computers, servers & software | – |
| Office furniture & equipment | – |
| Phone system and phone lines | – |
| Business broadband | Suitable for office, studio and optional streaming radio service |
| Accountant / Payroll | Annual company returns / salaries / client invoicing |
| Security / Fire Safety | Alarm system / CCTV / Fire extinguiser maintenance |
| Staff Welfare | Kitchen / supplies / cleaning, etc |
| Admin | Stationery / postage / consumables |
Community Radio Licences
Some possible licences that your commuinity station may require:
| Category | Guidance Notes |
| Ofcom Licence Application fee | A one-off non-refundable fee – £600 as of May 2013 |
| Annual Broadcast Licence | Ofcom fee and Wireless Telegraphy Licence – £850 as of May 2013 |
| Music: PRS | Dependant on revenue. Minimum annual fee as of May 2013 was £688 |
| Music: PPL | Dependant on revenue. Minimum annual fee as of May 2013 was £597 |
| Music: MCPS | Annual fee. As of May 2013, £198 |
| PRS / PPL (Streaming service) | Dependant on audience, and hours. Estimated amount – £600 minimum |
| News Service Subscription | Subscription to IRN news service |
| Streaming radio server licence | If running a streaming service, a streaming server licence is needed – cost dependant on number of concurrent connections |
Community Radio Staffing
Many community radio stations reply on volunteer staff, but other stations find that they get better results and more commitment by using paid staff. Staffing is a tricky one, but here are some key roles and groups that may need consideration:
| Category | Guidance Notes |
| Station Manager | Setting the policy for the station and responsible for the day-to-day running |
| Programme Controller | Responsible for the station output and the presenters |
| Sales | Generating the revenue, working with the clients, getting the commercials recorded |
| Admin | Anwsering the phones, paperwork, sales support |
| Training | Presenter training – technical, style, broadcast law / libel |
| Technical | Setup setup, maintenance, transmitter maintenance, IT systems and servers. Emergency on-call |
| Finance | Annual returns, supplier payment, client collections, expenses, salaries |
| Marketing / promotions | Press coverage, advertsing, sponsorship deals, photo opportunities, etc |
| Community / News | Gathering local news, reporting, travel news, what’s on, local programming, outside broadcasts |
| Presenters | Show presenters, as well as production staff |
| Expenses for volunteers | Travel and lunch |
| Training costs | Expenses, studio hire, outside training contractors |
Community Radio Studios
The big question here is “one or two”. Whilst single studio operation is fine,what happens if your studio develoips a fault? Also, where will you record programmes and make your adverts and jingles. Two studios gives you a lot more flexibilty, but can double your costs
| Category | Guidance Notes |
| Construction / Soundproofing | Converting a room to make it work as a studio |
| Mixing desk | Broadcast desk and woodwork |
| Studio computers | Playout system, Internet terminal, text systems, webcams, recorders |
| Playout software | Studio system, sustaining service |
| Studio equipment | CDs, Mini-disk, Recorders, Microphones, Headphones, etc |
| Studio phone system | Phone line, switchboard, telephone hybrid |
| Station output logging system | Recording system – stations have to log 24 hours a day for 42 days |
| Other Transmission equipment | IRN receiver, signal processing, monitoring, etc |
| Production facilities | For making commercials, jingles, promos, etc |
| Outside broadcast equipment | Portable transmission / recording equipment, vehicle, signage, speakers, mixing desk, studio connectivitiy |
| Equipment installation & set-up | Installation and setup of studio equipment and transmission chain |
| Maintenance & repair budget | Annual budget for fixing faults, repairs, replacement equipment |
Transmission System:
Costs involved with broadcasting your community radio station:
| Category | Guidance Notes |
| Site rental | Costs associated with renting the transmitter site |
| Site insurance | Building and Equipment insurance |
| Studio-to-transmitter link | Connecting the studio to the transmitter – via phone line, Internet, radio or microwave. If radio link, then also consider the JFMG licence fee for transmission from studio to site |
| Transmitter cost | Purchase (or rental) of a transmitter. Consider a backup or contingency plan |
| Transmitter installation | Professional setup of transmitter and antenna in accordance with OfCom rules |
| Antenna installation | Antenna cost, siting the antenna, transmitter tower, and planning permission |
| Annual maintenance | Regular maintenance and repairs. Emergency cover |
| RDS Travel | Equipment for transmission of RDS data, and Travel flag |
Promotion & Marketing
Getting thw ork out about your radio station – vital to building an audience and getting advertisers on board:
| Website | Site design, updates and annual hosting |
| Advertising | Posters, signage, leaflets, press ads, etc |
| Audience research | Often required by prospective advertising clients |
Related Content
- Setting up a radio station – Guidanced on how to set up a radio station
- Setting Up An Onine Radio Station – Details on how to get your streaming radio service live
- Adobe Audition – Information on the audio editing package
- Record your voice – How to record your voice at home
- Internet radio forum – Want to talk about streaming radio? Try here
- Internet radio – Information on listening to Internet radio stations
- UK Radio FAQ – Got a question on radio? Try here
kindly give me a tentative price for setting up a complete radio station.
I would like the cost of setting up, a community radio station in London
Hi,
I would be grateful if you could send me full price setting up a community music radio station in Derbyshire.
I would like the cost of setting up, a community radio station for UK
This information is really helpful, but can you let me know the rough minimum cost to set up a radio station? And what is the minimum time needed to set up?
Hi
I am currently researching towards setting up a charity radio station for UK armed forces veterans, are their any exemptions towards licence and royalty fees that can be perused?
i would like to set one in kenya
full cost please
Hello,
I would like to set up a radio station in Manchester, could you please send me the expenses or full money involve.
Thank you
Hi there,
Could some one please give me an idea of the complete costs of setting up a radio station. For example station in the UK there is a radio station called Lyca radio, which operates all over the uk or England.
And also how does it work I mean do they have to pay for each song they play on radio or taking any calls.
As you might have figured out that I do not know
much about it. I would be very grateful if you could give me as much information as possible
Many thanks