Stray FM
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| Broadcast area | Harrogate / Yorkshire Dales (Western North Yorkshire, Northern West Yorkshire, Southeastern Cumbria & Northern Lancashire) |
|---|---|
| Frequency | FM: 97.2 MHz (Harrogate) 107.1 MHz (Ilkley, Otley, Pateley Bridge, Skipton Town Centre) 107.8 MHz (Craven) DAB: 10C (North Yorkshire) |
| Programming | |
| Format | Contemporary |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | The Local Radio Company (UKRD Group) |
| History | |
First air date | 4 July 1994 |
| Links | |
| Website | www.strayfm.com |
Stray FM is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the western half of North Yorkshire, England. The original licence covered the towns of Harrogate and Ripon and the surrounding areas.[1]. From 1 February 2012 the station expanded to cover the Yorkshire Dales. It is owned by UKRD.
The format is currently "A tuneful music led station, for Harrogate and the surrounding area, highly focussed on local news and issues". [2]
The station started broadcasting on 4 July 1994, eleven years to the day after BBC Radio York started transmitting and two years to the day after Minster FM first went on air. The station had previously operated a number of 28-day broadcasts in the Harrogate area.
In 2008, 97.2 Stray FM was awarded an Arqiva Award for "Station of the Year" (TSA under 300,000).
In 2012, UKRD bought Yorkshire Dales licensee Fresh Radio. Following agreement from Ofcom, the station has announced plans to cede coverage of Richmond to Star Radio North East and to switch off the AM transmitters, rolling the remaining portions of the old Yorkshire Dales licence into an integrated and enlarged licence.
On 17 December 2014, Stray FM started broadcasting on DAB digital radio, under the name 'Stray Extra'. It is broadcast on the North Yorkshire DAB multiplex from various locations within the county, including Bilsdale, Acklam Wold, Hildebrand Barracks and Oliver's Mount.[1] Stray Extra carried Stray 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. The DAB service has now been merged with the FM service as Stray FM.