A good example of a small business that just couldn’t break-even

A useful news piece buried deep in the Guardian today makes an excellent case study for the new AS Business specifications…

Poor old Fen Radio.  A combination of regulatory restrictions and poor advertising revenues means that the local radio station based in Wisbech is to close.

The article in the Guardian media section has some useful financial information in it which could be used as a mini case study about why small businesses fail.  There is some useful supplementary information on the Fen Radio website too, though I’m not sure how long the website will remain.

The station is expected to lose between £70,000 and £80,000 in the last financial year, on the back of turnover of between £160,000 and £170,000. Losses had been cut considerably from around £200,000 when UKRD took over the station in 2002.  But Fen Radio’s small survey area – it broadcasts to a population of just 77,000 potential listeners, with a weekly reach of 14,000 – made it impossible to continue.

From Fen’s website page that encourages local business to advertise on the radio station:

The market place • Adult population 78,000 in TSA
• Weekly reach 16,000
• Weekly reach 21%
• Average listening hours 10.4 each week
 
Fen Radio audience
• Focusing on 30 – 54 year olds
• 54.9% Male & 45.1% Female
• 28.2% ABC1 & C2DE 71.8%

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