Cornwall desperately needs a new local radio station which appeals specifically to young people. Recent radio listening figures (published by RAJAR in March 2003) show that, on average in Cornwall, 30% more people aged 15 to 25 listen to BBC Radio 1 than elsewhere in the UK. This demonstrates that young people like to listen to radio, but there is no local commercial radio station that specifically appeals to them.

Existing local commercial radio stations here in Cornwall perform very well amongst adults over 30, but they do not adequately serve a large chunk of the important younger population. There are relatively few local commercial stations covering Cornwall and the stations we do have here are aimed mainly at listeners in there 30’s and above. These factors mean that overall local commercial radio in Cornwall has a staggering 25% fewer weekly listeners than the national average.

We at JUMP FM have carried out a, first of many; major local research project to understand more about what young people in Cornwall want from a new radio station which is just for this region.

The results from this initial study point to a significant gap in Cornwall for a new music and lifestyle radio station that significantly extends current listener choice. We have therefore thrown ourselves at the mercy of local young people to understand their tastes, culture and attitudes.

Now we know what they want and the JUMP FM founders know how to deliver. We now need your help and input to take JUMP FM from a concept to a successful, relevant and dynamic new radio station for young adults in Cornwall.

So who are we...

JUMP FM is the station name of a new company Absolute Radio South West Ltd (AR-SW). AR-SW was born out of the passion for music radio by its founding executive directors, who are personally committed to the on-going development of commercial radio in the U.K.

Such creative radio excellence has attracted significant media shareholders and backers, the largest of which is the UK listed media company, Ulster Television plc (UTV). UTV is the independent television broadcaster for Northern Ireland and the most watched TV channel in its region. It produces award-winning news and current affairs programmes and has an impressive record of quality programming over many years since it was formed in 1959.

Recent years have seen the company develop its interests to become a broad media player. In 2000, UTV acquired the regions leading ISP which was successfully re-launched as UTV Internet, and earlier this year the Group announced its acquisition of the Republic of Ireland’s most successful regional radio company County Media in Cork. UTV through this partnership in Absolute Radio is making a long term commitment to UK commercial radio

JUMP FM’s unique concept is to allow the best in the business to create vibrant strands of programming and content. For example, rather than producing dance based programmes around JUMP FM’s DJ and music content, Absolute Radio has exclusively joined forces with the nationally renowned youth dance brand ‘CREAM’ to develop the best in dance related programming. CREAM is a major shareholder in JUMP FM and is actively seeking to integrate itself into U.K. commercial radio.

Absolute Radio is also securing partnerships with a select number of local businesses and individuals to ensure the station is and remains truly local. We will be posting more information about this in due course.