• London's Magic 105.4 takes station of the year for (TSA over 1 million)
• Take That awarded  PPL most played artist on Commercial Radio
• The Quay's Chris Wise scoops the newcomer award
• Industry veteran Ralph Bernard CBE honoured for outstanding contribution

Representatives from across Commercial Radio gathered this lunchtime in central London for the Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards.  The ceremony was hosted by Virgin Radio's Christian O'Connell at the Royal Lancaster Hotel.  Guest presenters included Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen, Alex Zane, JK and Joel, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Dynamite MC, Fiona Phillips and Tony Blackburn.  Live performances were given by new artist Jessie and Polydor's James Morrison who, fresh out of the studio, debuted his next single due out in September.

The awards are organised by RadioCentre, the industry body for Commercial Radio, and sponsored by the broadcasting transmission group Arqiva. They recognise excellence and talent in all aspects of Commercial Radio from sales and marketing to technical innovation and presenting.

2007 gold award winner talkSPORT picked up 2 gongs this year: national sales team of the year and station sound award; judges said that "talkSPORT's imaging was not only clever but unique, distinctive and with a certain style".

Commercial Radio has always had a strong commitment to finding and nurturing new talent and this year's presentation newcomer of the year award was picked up by The Quay's Chris Wise, known affectionately by his listeners as Wisey.  As well as presenting the drivetime show, Pompey mad Wisey also co-hosts the Portsmouth football coverage for the station.  Trent FM's Jo and Twiggy were crowned radio presenters of the year with judges commenting that "the pair really owned the city of Nottingham" with their hugely popular breakfast show.  Kiss 100's Andy Roberts was announced programmer of the year and judges said that "he had taken real risks with the station which had paid off".

For the station of the year awards, 97.2 Stray FM, GWR Bristol and London's Magic 105.4 scooped the 3 prizes; of Magic, judges noted that "the station had remained the number one Commercial Radio station in London for the whole of 2007".  For the second year running, "funny yet serious" GaydarRadio scooped digital station of the year.

Severn Sound took the social action initiative award for their outstanding response and coverage of the floods 2007.  Despite the station itself having to relocate when heavy rains fell, judges said "it provided a real public service, introducing a floodline which had a hugely positive effect".

Virgin Radio picked up the prize for feature of the year for their coverage of the 2007 V Festival which generated exclusive backstage coverage as well as engaging online content which all produced an event that judges said "Commercial Radio could be really proud of".

Magic's Neil Fox was awarded the prestigious gold award - judges said that "listeners vote daily in large numbers for his warmth, approachability and gentle humour"  they also added that "he had been a driving force in helping Magic 105.4 win one of this year's station of the year awards". 

Key 103's Vicky Sanders was presented with the Neil Robinson memorial award while the RadioCentre chairman's award went to Global Radio for creating a significant player in the Commercial Radio market.  After almost 25 years in the business, the IRN Newslink special award was awarded to Ralph Bernard CBE for his outstanding contribution to the Commercial Radio industry.

Finally, The PPL award for the most played UK artist on Commercial Radio went to Take That.

Said Andrew Harrison, chief executive of RadioCentre:  "Commercial Radio offers something for everyone and the Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards are a fantastic opportunity to highlight to a wider audience the great things commercial stations are doing up and down the country in serving their listeners.  Huge congratulations to all the winners."

Said Paul Eaton, head of radio at Arqiva:  "Year after year, the results of the Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards showcase the scale of existing and emerging talent in the industry, and 2008 has been no exception. We knew from the record number of entries this year that judging the winners was going to be a difficult task, but we are delighted with the results and would like to congratulate all of those that have won this year. We are especially pleased to be awarding the first ever prize for a schools radio project this year, an initiative we have been supporting since its launch."

 

The Winners

The Arqiva Commercial Radio Marketing Award
Gavin Bruce & Jay Crawford - Real Radio Scotland

The Arqiva National Sales Team of the Year
talkSPORT

The Arqiva Local Sales Team of the Year
Central FM

The Arqiva Commercial Radio Station of the Year < 300,000 TSA
97.2 Stray FM

The Arqiva Commercial Radio Station of the Year 300,000 - 1 million TSA
GWR Bristol

The Arqiva Commercial Radio Station of the Year > 1 million TSA
Magic 105.4

The Arqiva / RCS Commercial Radio Programmer of the Year
Andy Roberts - Kiss 100

The Arqiva / Skillset Commercial Radio Presentation Newcomer of the Year
Chris Wise - 107.4 The Quay

The Arqiva Commercial Radio Presenter(s) of the Year
Jo & Twiggy - Trent FM

The Arqiva Commercial Radio Station Sound Award
talkSPORT Creative

The Arqiva Commercial Radio News Award
Nomia Iqbal & Katie Collins - 107.6 Juice FM

The Arqiva Commercial Radio Programme or Feature of the Year
‘V Festival 2007' - Virgin Radio

The Arqiva Commercial Radio Station Creative Award
Andy Griffiths & Mike Doyle - 102.1 Swansea Bay Radio

The Arqiva Commercial Radio Technical Innovation Award
Juicetube - 107.6 Juice FM

The Arqiva Commercial Radio Digital Station of the Year
GaydarRadio

The Arqiva Commercial Radio Social Action Initiative Award
Severn Sound - The Floods 2007

The Arqiva Schools Radio Award (in association with Vision Charity)
Becky Hardesty - Royal National College for the Blind

The Arqiva /  IRN Newslink Special Award
Ralph Bernard CBE

The Arqiva Gold Award
Neil Fox - Magic 105.4

The Neil Robinson Memorial Award for Marketing Excellence
Vicky Sanders - Key 103

The RadioCentre Chairman's Award
Global Radio

The Arqiva / PPL Most Played Artist on Commercial Radio
Take That

For more information or to arrange a follow-up interview contact: Jill Drew 07909 975429

 

Note to Editors:

RadioCentre formed in July 2006 from the merger of the Radio Advertising Bureau (RAB) and the Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA). Its members consist of the overwhelming majority of UK Commercial Radio stations who fund the organisation.

The role of RadioCentre is to maintain and build a strong and successful Commercial Radio industry - both in terms of listening hours and revenues. As such, the RadioCentre operates in a number of areas including working with advertisers and their agencies, working with government, Ofcom and policy makers, and also stations themselves.