Ofcom receives two bids for digital radio licence

LONDON (Reuters) - Ofcom said on Thursday it had received two applications for its national digital radio licence, one from a group led by broadcaster Channel 4 and one from network provider National Grid Wireless.

The deadline for submissions closed on Wednesday and Ofcom said in a statement it would select the winner within four months.

Under the proposals, the Channel 4 group, 4 Digital Group, said it would provide 10 new national digital stations through partnerships with the likes of BSkyB (BSY.L), UTV (UTV.L), Emap EMA.L and Virgin Radio owner SMG SMG.L.

National Grid Wireless proposed to provide 12 national digital stations and named content providers as the BBC, Fun Radio and Premier Christian Radio.