When Radio Caroline launched in March 1964 it was not only breaking the BBC monopoly on the broadcast of popular music, it was relying on a new way of financing a broadcasting service – programmes funded by commercial advertisements - and at no cost to the listener.
At that time the only other English language commercial radio service directed at a British audience was from (evenings only) Radio Luxembourg, but its commercial support largely consisted of en bloc promotion of airtime segments by major record companies.
Radio Caroline was launched speculatively, with little or no advance publicity, but its impact was instantaneous and a huge audience was created almost overnight. This proved to be an important selling point for a radio station dependent on income from commercials to sustain its service. During almost 4 years of broadcasting between 1964 and 1968 Radio Caroline attracted over 1,000 advertisers with either spot advertising campaigns or through sponsored programmes.
In this Special Exhibition we take a look at some of the commercial aspects of “Your All Day Music Station” between 1964 and 1968.
