There is a little news on the FM band in Montpellier (Hérault): RadioOne. Since Wednesday, by turning the dial to 103.1, Montpellier listeners can listen to the programs of this coastal radio station, which until now only broadcast in Agde and Sète. A new radio station, on FM, doesn’t happen every four mornings. “It’s a real event! “, rejoices Eric Hirschi, the host of the morning of Radio One.
The allocation of new frequencies by Arcom is, in fact, rare in France. “The creator of the radio, Olivier Coquin, has been working tirelessly for ten years to obtain a new frequency in Montpellier, confides Eric Hirschi. Because it’s not easy at all to get a frequency! “. Requested by 20 minutes, Arcom confirms that “finding new exploitable FM frequencies is increasingly difficult”. “The FM band is saturated over a large part of the territory, explains the media regulatory authority. In order for a new frequency to be validated, it must make it possible to sufficiently cover the targeted area without interfering with the frequencies already authorized in the same area, in neighboring areas, or near our borders. »
To pick up a frequency on the FM band, you have to show your credentials to Arcom
Radio One benefited from the release of 103.1, in Montpellier. This frequency was not officially occupied, until now, by a radio. But it was, on the other hand, regularly parasitized by other programs. Impossible, for a radio, to settle there. However, a technical overhaul has recently made it possible to finally release this frequency. The Arcom has therefore launched a call for applications, as it does whenever possible, so that a radio takes it over. And it was Radio One, which had been asking to be heard in Montpellier for many years, which had the favor of the Elders.
But to win its frequency, Olivier Coquin and his team had to show their credentials. Arcom requires, in fact, from each radio candidate a thick file, describing “the programs envisaged, the target audience, and the financing” of its schedule. Radio One thus had to prove to the media regulatory authority that it was not going to destabilize the radio advertising market, already well shaken since the Covid-19 crisis. But above all, she had to demonstrate that her arrival in the Hérault capital was relevant.
Radio One has relied heavily on proximity. “We hope to be able to become the Montpellier radio station, confides the host. There is Radio Scoop in Lyon, Wit FM in Bordeaux… In Montpellier, there is France Bleu, of course, but its audience is more departmental. There is RTS, too, but it broadcasts from the gates of Toulouse to the gates of Marseille. What we want is to concentrate on the Montpellier basin. And be in people’s lives. »
DAB +, the radio of the future, will “greatly enrich the radio landscape”, according to Arcom
The FM is full to bursting? DAB+, the radio of the future, will offer much more chances of transmitting to stations coveting a frequency. This technology, which requires a specific receiver, will eventually make it possible to receive more than 50 radio stations in metropolitan areas, compared to 34 on FM. DAB + is certainly not unlimited, specifies Arcom, but it promises to enrich “strongly the radiophonic landscape”. Radio One, moreover, has benefited from it. The station is also available on DAB+ in Montpellier.
So many victories, it’s worth celebrating. Friday, Radio One will saber the champagne, from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., from the Comédie, in Montpellier. With on-board radio equipment, Eric Hirschi has planned to stroll, accompanied by mascots from local sports clubs, on the famous Montpellier square. “I am unable to tell you what will happen on Friday, he laughs. That’s the very meaning of the Radio One morning show! »