TGt Meets…Roy Martin of Bournemouth One

Roy Martin is the CEO Bournemouth One, for all things radio, read below to hear about his career and this recently formed radio station.

How has your previous experience shaped your role at Bournemouth One?

Running a radio station is lots of fun, but also comes with the serious side of creating and running a successful business. I’ve set up a few radio stations in the past, so I can thankfully use that experience to shape what we are doing today with Bournemouth One. The main thing is to keep everything as simple as possible, concentrate on making our service the best it can be, and making sure the whole team are happy.

How do you see the landscape of local radio changing in the next few years?

Local radio is changing all the time. National radio brands are getting bigger and better by taking over the older stations (Wave 105 for example), and local stations are coming back.

Listeners are finding new ways to listen, and just this year, the big shift from analogue listening took place, with more people getting their radio from an online source rather than AM and FM (RAJAR, Q1, 2024). This is amazing news for Bournemouth One, and truly cements our distribution method as future-proof. Next year, we’ll also be on DAB Digital Radio, offering an additional way for people to listen across Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole and east Dorset.

How do you stay updated with the latest trends in the radio industry?

Funny you should ask! I am also Founder of the radio industry trade publication RadioToday, where it’s very exciting to be reporting on and being part of current radio trends. AI is making waves across many industries, including radio, and we use it on-air each day.

Some of the voices you hear are generated from AI when we can’t physically get to a microphone ourselves. We just type out a traffic report, and the AI turns it into a radio report. It’s very clever, and makes our jobs easier, whilst keeping listeners informed of breaking news and incidents.

What has been your proudest moment at Bournemouth One, over these first six months?

I was driving past a building site in Poole shortly after we launched and the radio station was playing out loudly. One of the builders noticed our branded StreetKA and sung the jingles to me. A proud moment!

What do you think is the key to success in the radio industry?

Giving your listeners what they want. We designed Bournemouth One in reverse - we asked what people want from a modern local radio station and built it from there. “Lots of great music, some local news and information, and no boring DJs” is what most people say, so that’s what we do! Of course, we need to pay the bills, but even our commercial messages are clutter free, with no long advert breaks.

Are there any upcoming projects or changes that listeners should look forward to?

We pride ourselves on continuity - so whenever you listen, you know what to expect, 24 hours a day. We are constantly fine-tuning the way we do things in the background but as for changes on the radio go, it’s just the ‘New One’ music that changes as new songs are released! In terms of projects - yes, we have lots of exciting things coming up, but I can’t reveal anything right now :)

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