Bailrigg FM
Bailrigg FM is a student radio station at Lancaster University. It operates in a music format predominantly featuring pop, but also broadcasts news, drama, comedy, and entertainment. During evening and weekend hours, programming moves to specialist content where presenters are free to play whatever they wish.
Bailrigg is one of the oldest student radio stations in the country, as well as being the first student station to broadcast on FM. It airs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year round. Bailrigg first broadcast on FM as part of a one-month, 25W Restricted Services Licence in March 1994 under the directorship of Paul Dale. It had previously applied for a licence in September 1993 but was turned down by the Radio Authority due to the launch of The Bay in March of that year.
It originally broadcast to the university on 312m Medium Wave using an inductive loop aerial system around the various halls of residence. Now listeners can tune in on campus on 87.7 MHz, or listen anywhere in the world using the station's live webstream. Bailrigg holds several large events throughout the year, including a seven-day Freshers' Week outside broadcast and coverage of the Lancaster University Students' Union sabbatical elections. During the Roses Tournament the station joins with University Radio York to provide programming across both campuses.
The station has received several national Student Radio Awards over the years, including Best Website, Best Station Sound and more recently Best Technical Achievement.
It was announced in April 2019 that LUSU would stop funding the license required to broadcast FM frequencies, and as such the station would only be available online from August onwards. After protest over the decision however, funding was given in August for the license to be renewed.
History
- 1968 – Students at York University get permission to test-transmit programmes on Medium Wave, inspiring Lancaster to follow suit.
- 1969 - After problems with an over-eager student starting his own pirate radio station, permission is finally given to proceed with the project.
- 1971 - The initial aerial and studio equipment is installed.
- 1972 - URB is forced off air by the government for transmitting without a full licence.
- 1973 - A new antenna system is installed and URB gains a full licence from the government.
- 1974 - Twin studios are built in Fylde College.
- 1994 - First four-week 25W licence to broadcast on 87.7 MHz is received. The broadcasts covered the City of Lancaster. Reception was reported as far afield as Preston, Blackpool and Barrow-in-Furness.
- 1995 - A second four-week FM licence is received, again on 87.7 MHz.
- 1996 - URB gains a licence to broadcast all year round on the FM band, although on a smaller power output to cover the campus only. The station name is changed permanently to Bailrigg FM.
- 2004 - Bailrigg FM is awarded an extended licence to transmit across Lancaster and Morecambe for a week as part of the university's 40th anniversary celebrations.
- 2006 - Bailrigg FM moves to new studios in Furness College
- 2012 - Bailrigg FM is awarded £8,500 in funding from the University's Alumni Fund in order to purchase outside broadcast equipment.
- 2013 - Bailrigg FM is awarded £65,000 in Capex funds from LUSU in order to renovate their studios. This will keep Bailrigg FM on air for at least another 5 years.
- 2019 - LUSU announced it would strip Bailrigg FM of funding for its license. Due to widespread disapproval this decision was ultimately reversed.
Awards
Student Radio Awards
The following are Student Radio Awards presented by the Student Radio Association| Year | Award | Content | Nominee | Result |
| 1996 | Best Student Radio Station | Bailrigg FM | rowspan="2" | |
| 2002 | Best Student Radio Station | Bailrigg FM | - | |
| 2003 | Best Website Award | Peter Price | Gold | |
| 2004 | Best Station Sound | Bailrigg FM | Gold | |
| 2005 | Specialist Music Programming | 'The Rachel Neilman Experience' | Rachel Neilman | |
| 2006 | Best Journalistic Programming | 'Newsbite' | Victoria Kirby | Silver |
| 2006 | Best Comedy & Drama Programming | 'Project ComCom' | Bailrigg FM | |
| 2007 | Best Male Presenter | Kenny Donohue | Gold | |
| 2007 | Best Journalistic Programming | ‘Travellers on campus’ | Bailrigg FM News Team | |
| 2008 | Best Outside Broadcast | 'Roses' | Bailrigg FM | Bronze |
| 2012 | Best Technical Achievement | 'Bailrigg FM Field Switchboard' | Bailrigg FM | Gold |
I Love Student Radio Awards
The following are I Love Student Radio Awards presented at the annual SRACon by the Student Radio Association.| Year | Award | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
| 2014 | Best Audience Initiative | Bailrigg FM | Highly Commended | |
| 2014 | Most Improved Station | Bailrigg FM | ||
| 2014 | Outstanding Contribution to Student Radio | Stephen Robinson | ||
| 2018 | Outstanding Contribution to Student Radio | Sam Possible | ||
| 2018 | Hero Of The Moment | Tom Pearson | Highly Commended |
Lancaster University Students' Union Student Media Awards
The following are Student Media Awards presented by Lancaster University Students' Union.| Year | Award | Content | Nominee | Result |
| 2019 | Best Entertainment/Lifestyle Content | 'Monday Bailrigg Show' | Adam Bragan, Jonny Bentley | |
| 2019 | Best Entertainment/Lifestyle Content | 'The Summerfeld Chronicles' | Jordan Summerfield | |
| 2019 | Best Design | 'The Summerfeld Chronicles' | Jordan Summerfield | |
| 2019 | Best Marketing | 'The Summerfeld Chronicles' | Jordan Summerfield | |
| 2019 | Best Marketing | 'Wednesday Bailrigg Show Promotional Video' | Pascal Maguet, Alex George | |
| 2019 | Best Interview | 'Rethink Valentine's' | Max Ell | |
| 2019 | Best Innovation | 'Rethink' | Max Ell, Luke Mader, Nick Hoffman | |
| 2019 | Best Innovation | 'LUCI 24 hour takeover' | Lancaster University Comedy Institue | |
| 2019 | Best Live Coverage | 'Lancaster City FC Coverage' | Jonny Bentley | |
| 2019 | Best Sports Content | 'Bailrigg Football Show' | Jonny Bentley | |
| 2019 | Best Sports Content | 'Kick Out @ 2' | Kyle McKenzie, Kamran Khan | |
| 2020 | Best Sports Content | 'Kick Out @ 2' | Kamran Khan | |
| 2020 | Best Lockdown Content | 'Afternoon T' | Tom Grayston | |
| 2020 | Best Cultural Content | 'K-Bops' | Quin Pitcher | |
| 2020 | Best Entertainment/Lifestyle Content | 'Choose Life' | Sophie Edwards, Finn Bracegirdle | |
| 2020 | Best News/Politics Content | 'Newsday Tuesday' | Dan Woodburn | |
| 2020 | Best Live Coverage | 'Union Elections' | Bailrigg FM | |
| 2020 | Best Live Coverage | 'General Election Coverage' | Bailrigg FM & SCAN | |
| 2020 | Best Innovation | 'Off Script Podcast' | Oliver Crisp | |
| 2020 | Best Marketing & Design | 'BFM Branding, Logos & Show Banners' | Angus Warrender |