Huntingdon Community Radio
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| File:HCR104fm Logo.jpg | |
| Broadcast area | Huntingdonshire |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 104MHz RDS: HCR104fm |
| Branding | Your Music. Your Voice. Your Station. |
| Programming | |
| Format | Community Radio Station |
| Affiliations | The Hunts Post (local newspaper) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | HCRFM Huntingdon Community Radio (Media) Limited |
| History | |
First air date | 23 April 2011 |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
Huntingdon Community Radio is a community radio station operating from studios in Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, England. It was awarded a broadcast licence by OfCom in 2009 and has been broadcasting 24/7 on 104 FM across Huntingdonshire and online since April 2011.
History
HCR started life in 1995 when a group of volunteers headed by current Mayor of Huntingdon, Bill Hensley, opened a temporary studio above Bookmakers Braybrook Racing in Huntingdon.
Obtaining a Restricted Service Licence from the UK's Broadcasting Regulator Ofcom, HCR initially went on air for 3 weeks.
Following the initial broadcast, a partnership was established with the community college in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. The purpose of the partnership was to allow sixth form students to practice and develop an interest in broadcast media.
This partnership, along with purpose built studios, remained extant for several years before the station moved to new studios at RAF Wyton.
Hensley lobbied Ofcom for the allocation of a full time community licence for Huntingdon. Following a successful bid, HCR was awarded a full time licence in 2009.
Following the award of the licence, the station became known as HCR104fm, using the previous name as a byline. It went on air permanently in May 2011.
The station has national news each hour from SKY and local news in association with The Hunts Post each day. The station is funded through a mix of grants, advertising and sponsorship.
Programming
Programming runs 24 Hours a Day including Breakfast & Daytime shows. Each weekday evening at 7pm on HCR104fm runs its community-based interview show 'Over to You', inviting members of the community to be interviewed for an hour around.
Between 8pm & 10pm are the station's "Specialist" shows:
- Monday: Soul & Motown
- Tuesday: Rock & Roll
- Wednesday: Country & Western
- Thursday: Soft Rock
- Friday: Spotlight -Local arts, music and entertainment
- Saturday: A Different Beat, 80's MixTape & Dance Decades
- Sunday: Smooth Jazz
The station had a soap opera 'Huntsford', which centred on a hairdressing salon - Wavelengths, in a small town not completely unlike Huntingdon. This went out as five-minute episodes on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10:20am and 4:20pm, with a 15-minute omnibus edition on Sundays at 4pm. The soap opera has since been axed and there are no plans for it to return.