Student Broadcast Network

From Media UK's The Knowledge. Last update: 10:41, 20 Jan 2007 by Neil Grayson. Based on work by John Handelaar, Philsmith, Andrew Garner, Martin Deutsch, James Cridland, Joff Hopkins, Edward Adoo, Benedict Smith and James Lewis.

The Student Broadcast Network (SBN) was a national sustaining service for student radio between 1998 and 2004.

Table of contents

1 History

1.1 Born in strife
1.2 Sold and resold

2 Presenters

3 Related links

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History

SBN provided subscriber stations - of which, by the end of its life, there were over thirty - with non-stop music via satellite, student-focused news initially produced in-house and later by Phoenix Radio as well as financial incentives for taking the service. SBN was also available on Sky Digital and, eventually, on numerous DAB multiplexes with the help of GWR.

It contracted with student radio stations, who guaranteed some airtime for network programmes and top-of-the-hour ad spots in exchange for guaranteed amounts of money per year.

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Born in strife

The Student Radio Network (SRN) launched as a joint venture in August 1997. After a protracted dispute over costs and service quality between the two companies involved, they 'divorced' in May 1998. For the next few months there were briefly two student sustainer networks.

However, as the 1998-99 academic year began, the newer service (named SBN, or Student Bradcast Network) -- backed by a marketing services company named Business Development Partnership (BDP) -- emerged as the clear winner, with over thirty student stations signed up before its launch on September 1st 1998, compared to just two for its predecessor.

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Sold and resold

SBN, in its new incarnation as a broadcaster rather than a sales project which contracted out its air operations, was constitued as a limited company. SBN Ltd became part of CI Group, alongside its original progenitor BDP, and a number of other companies with the same overarching management group.

Unfortunately, all of SBN's sister companies went into administration as the group folded at the beginning of 2000.

On 1st March 2000, channelfly -- a significant on-air advertiser which had recently hired three key SBN staff -- announced that it was acquiring SBN for the sum of £1.2million. Two years later, the station was taken over by Campus Media. In the summer of 2004, Campus Media announced that SBN was to cease trading and enter liquidation.

It was revealed that SBN had over £4 million of debt, with over £500,000 of that resulting from direct payment to subscriber stations. It had carried this debt cumulatively across its many acquisitions - large amounts of it dated back to 1997-98.

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Presenters

SBN's sustaining service supplied stations with non-stop music all day, with a live presenter for a breakfast show, late night show, weekend breakfast and, until 2003, an afternoon show.

Breakfast: Alison Hulme (to June 2001), Benedict Smith (to June 2002), Neil Grayson (to Jan 2004), Phil Smith
Late Show: Craig Pilling (to Jan 2004), Duncan Wilson
Weekend Breakfast: AntMan, Annie MacManus, Edward Adoo, Emma Scrafton
Afternoons: Steve Harris, Mark Manchester (Weekends), Jim Coulson
News: Steve Austins (at launch), John Handelaar (Sep 1998 - Feb 2000), Soraya Moeng (1998-99), Jenny Monaghan (1999-2000), Tim Metcalfe (2000).

Alison Hulme is now at Kiss 100 and Core. Benedict Smith first moved to Invicta FM and later presented mid-mornings at Q103 Cambridge. Neil Grayson has worked for 96 Trent FM and Beacon FM and is now drivetime presenter at Northants 96. After a stint at OneWord, Craig Pilling joined Coast 96.3 in North Wales as the Breakfast Presenter. Both Neil and Craig also presented for now defunct GWR rock brandThe Storm. Steve Harris is now at Kerrang!, Jim Coulson went to Kerrang! too after a stint on Viking FM lates, and Annie MacManus shortened her surname to "Mac" before moving to Radio 1 to present a Thursday evening specialist show. Edward Adoo is now doing voiceovers for XFM, Club Asia, Choice, Trouble TV, Galaxy and continues to champion new homegrown dance music talent on Circumference. Phil Smith is now at TalkSPORT, whilst Antman is now breakfast presenter at Coventry's Mercia FM.

From the news staff, Soraya Moeng is working as a print journalist. John Handelaar is involved with the Edinburgh RSL Festival FM, though mostly now works in the Republic of Ireland. Steve Austins is at BBC Wales.

Other specialist shows included Solid Steel, Circumference, Hot Damn! (with James Melley), Friday Night Kiss (with Bam Bam) and an early version of Kerrang! Radio presented by the magazine's editor and, later, now Hit 40 UK presenter Lucio.

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