London’s first French language radio station going live in November 2010
FRL (French Radio London) is an exciting new radio station due to go on air in early November 2010. Aimed at listeners from London’s ‘Francophone and Francophile communities’, 80% of its playlist will be dedicated to French music and artists – all delivered by a team of London-based French presenters and contributing journalists from France itself.
Typical content will include music from France, African nations, Belgium and other Francophone countries throughout the world; live podcasts and interviews; information about gigs, sports and entertainment; and local business forums / debates*. It will be community-based and cover events both from within London and from major French cities.
The station’s target audience is the 400,000-strong French population living in London and the surrounding areas, along with the significant Francophile community. What is innovative about FRL is that no only does it offer news from France and French-speaking countries, it also has a London focus for French language events and news etc. This will be an invaluable resource for students of French who are eager to keep up to date with their source language news and culture. According to the Evening Standard, the first quarter of 2009 saw the total of French tourists who visited London up by nearly 50% on the same period in 2008 – who will also form a significant part of the radio’s listener base.
‘We look forward to broadcasting a unique French voice on London’s airwaves’ stated the CEO (the Independent). As the capital’s first French-language station, it looks set to be a huge hit and here at The Translation People, we can’t wait to tune in!
Sources: The Independent; The Evening Standard; www.frenchradiolondon.com
