Unique Broadcasting Company
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| Public (: ) | |
| Industry | Media |
| Founded | 1989 |
| Headquarters | London, England, UK |
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Key people
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Simon Cole, Chief Executive Tim Blackmore, Group Editorial Director |
| Products | TV and Radio services |
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Number of employees
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90 (2008) |
| Website | www.ubcmedia.com |
UBC Media Group began as the Unique Broadcasting Company founded in 1989. In June 2014 the company merged with 7digital to form a global digital music and radio platform. The new company is called 7digital Group Plc.
UBC (Unique Broadcasting Company) was founded by Simon Cole and Tim Blackmore in 1989.
Cole is Chief Executive, having started out as a trainee at the BBC and developed national sponsored programmes whilst at Piccadilly Radio in Manchester.
Blackmore is the Group Editorial Director, and has a background in radio production with BBC Radio One and Capital Radio. He is a Fellow of The Radio Academy.
UBC bought the Classic Gold Digital Network which includes digital and analogue licences from GWR Group in two separate transactions in 2000 and 2002 for about £2m. In 2007, UBC effectively sold them back for £3.95m to GCap Media - the company created from the merger of GWR Group and Capital Radio Group.
In July 2006, as part of UBC's move away from owning radio stations, it sold its share in Digital News Network (DNN) for £66k.
In December 2007, UBC bought the remaining 51% stake in Oneword Radio from Channel Four Television for £1, and then closed the loss-making speech DAB radio station one month later.
In May 2008, UBC announced its Commercial Division was being bought by the American company, GTN for £15 million. The deal was expected to complete around the end of July 2008; a definitive agreement was announced in February 2009.
In June 2008, UBC announced it was closing down its loss-making venture Cliq, a service which allowed DAB listeners to download music to onto their mobile phones. The system was designed to be implemented on DAB-enabled mobile phones, but few manufacturers have been interested in adding DAB to their handsets.
Two years on, and the company pulled out of DAB by selling its 7.5% stake in MXR Digital. The stake was bought by fellow shareholder Guardian Media Group for £136,000 plus a one-off cash dividend payment from MXR of £52,000.
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