Islands FM, previously known as Radio Scilly, is a non-profit
community radio station.
Originally launched as Radio Scilly in September 2007, the station broadcasts to the residents of the
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of the ...
.
Radio Scilly rebranded as Islands FM on 31 January 2020.
History
Radio Scilly was launched in September 2007, and was founded by Keri Jones, who had previously launched
Radio Pembrokeshire
Radio Pembrokeshire is an Independent Local Radio station that broadcasts to Pembrokeshire. It is owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting and broadcasts on 102.5 and 107.5 FM and DAB from studios near the St Hilary transmitting station, St ...
.
In January 2016, Jones announced he would be leaving the station, and that his position would be taken up by his colleague Zoe Parry.
In January 2019, three months after Parry passed on ownership of the station to Beth and Steve Sims in October 2018, it was announced that Radio Scilly would be closing in March unless someone else took on ownership of the station, due to the management team no longer being able to run it.
On 31 January 2020, following a new set of directors taking ownership of the station, Radio Scilly rebranded as Islands FM, with the website, jingles, logo and music playlists also changing to reflect the rebrand and the audience demographics.
Technical
It broadcasts on
FM on 107.9
MHz from the existing radio mast by the Coastguard Tower at
Telegraph on
St. Mary's island. Most of the Isles of Scilly can be covered from this site.
It is one of the world's smallest radio stations,
due to the small number of residents on the islands. Its licensed service area population is slightly larger than that of the UK's smallest licensed station
Two Lochs Radio which broadcasts to an official service area population of just 1,681.
Funding
The
radio station is funded in part by a local weekly
lottery
A lottery is a form of gambling that involves the drawing of numbers at random for a prize. Some governments outlaw lotteries, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of ...
, licensed by the Council for the Isles of Scilly. It costs £1 a week to enter and there is a weekly prize of £1000. The number of players is limited to 2,000 each week. Any money remaining after the prize has been paid goes towards the cost of running the station or to local clubs or organisations that request a grant.
References
External links
Islands FM 107.9 , From And For The Isles Of ScillyOfficial website
Islands FM 107.9 , From And For The Isles Of ScillyScilly Lottery
{{Isles of Scilly
Radio stations in Cornwall
Community radio stations in the United Kingdom
Isles of Scilly
Radio stations established in 2007