Jeff :This week, we bring you the concluding part of our short series on radio broadcasting in the Scandinavian country of Denmark. Last week, Ray Robinson noted that it was on April 1, 1925 that all radio broadcasting in Denmark was nationalized under the Danish State Broadcasting Service. After the Second World War, there were a number of successful privately-owned commercial radio stations across Europe, most notably those targeting cross-border audiences, such as those in Luxembourg, Tangier, Monte Carlo, Andorra, and the Saar region of Germany. But most countries, including Denmark, kept very tight government control of the airwaves, which led to staid, unadventurous programming that did not keep pace with audiences’ musical tastes. And that sets the scene for the situation in the late 1950’s, when the Danes again led the way with the first venture into offshore broadcasting. Here’s Ray with the story.
Ray: Thanks, Jeff. The idea of launching a commercial offshore radio station was first considered in the unlikely setting of a silversmith shop in Copenhagen during the winter of 1957. One evening after the shop had closed, its owner, lb Fogh and his partner Peter Jansen were discussing the quality of radio in Denmark and the mundane programs broadcast by the state network. They both agreed that private competition would be good for the state system. But, since there was no prospect of gaining a license for a private radio station from the government, a means would have to be found of getting around that restriction. Broadcasting from a ship anchored outside Danish territorial waters was thought to be a possibility, and in early 1958, Ib Fogh and Peter Jansen took steps to turn their dream into action.
While unlicensed broadcasting within Danish territory was illegal, the management of a radio station and recording of program material for later transmission from a base outside the country was not against the law at that time. Consequently, the new station - to be known as Radio Mercur (or, Radio Mercury) - established its offices and recording studios in a smart Copenhagen suburb, and hired over 30 people to work in program production, advertising sales and administration. A 107 ton German fishing vessel Cheeta was purchased and taken to a small harbor south of Copenhagen, to be equipped for radio transmission. All programs were to be prerecorded on land, so no studio was needed on board - just a playback facility with two tape recorders and a small mixer unit.
After fitting out had been completed, the Cheeta left port on 11th July 1958 and anchored in a position off Copenhagen in the international waters of Oresund (The Sound, between Copenhagen and Malmö, Sweden). The ship had a 1.5 kW transmitter, and test transmissions started six days later on 93.12 MHz in what was then known as the VHF band (now universally referred to as FM). Unusually, the transmissions utilized a directional antenna mounted on a rotator at the top of the mast, and this was kept pointed in the right direction from a control room on board.
Only a few hours after the test transmissions had started, Radio Mercur faced its first real crisis. During a gale that night, the Cheeta's anchor chain broke and the ship drifted helplessly towards the Swedish coast, eventually running aground near Malmö. Unable to free herself, the Cheeta had to be towed to a port in Sweden for repairs. Once these had been completed the radio ship returned to her anchorage on Friday 25th July and test broadcasts resumed on Thursday 31st. Radio Mercur then began transmitting regular programs at 6.00pm on Saturday 2nd August 1958. This was the not too inspiring launch:
Europe's first commercial offshore radio station was on the air. To the surprise and dismay of the Danish Labour Government, Radio Mercur became increasingly popular with listeners and advertisers. Initial broadcasting hours were from 7.30 - 9.30am and 5.00pm - midnight. Programs consisted of short 15 or 30 minute segments, most of which were sponsored by advertisers who quickly recognized the commercial potential of this new medium.
The station's frequency of 93.12 MHz had been chosen as it lay strategically
between the frequencies then used for the Danish 1st and 2nd Networks in the Copenhagen area, so listeners tuning their radios to either of these stations stood a good chance of unintentionally discovering Radio Mercur. However, it was quickly found to be causing interference to a station in Sweden, so Radio Mercur then changed to a new frequency of 89.55MHz at the beginning of September 1958.
In 1959, with more experience and a fresh injection of capital, Radio Mercur was able to improve both program content and the technical quality of its transmissions. It adopted an aggressive marketing policy and projected its huge commercial potential to prospective advertisers. The result was that Radio Mercur quickly succeeded in attracting even more advertisers and program sponsors, and as a consequence became a very viable commercial operation. Here’s a commercial with a jingle you might recognize, for the denture cleaner ‘Pepsodent’ followed by an ID:
During the summer of 1959 an English language program “Copenhagen Today” was introduced, with music and entertainment information for visiting tourists. A weekly English language program from London was also broadcast as were a number of English language commercials, notably a campaign for Roses Lime Juice.
A presenter by the name of Charles Richards introduced the novel concept of teaching English by Music. If you remember the Voice of America’s slow speed newscasts, this show was quite like that with slowly and deliberately spoken links between music tracks. :
Radio Mercur continued steadily to increase in popularity and maintain its challenge to the Danish state radio network throughout 1959 and 1960. At the end of 1960, a much larger 450 ton ship, the Habat, was acquired and renamed the Cheeta 2. This was then fitted out with all the necessary radio equipment, including a new 8kW Siemens transmitter and a fully operational on-board studio. From 1st February 1961, Cheeta 2 then became the broadcasting base on a new frequency of 88 MHz.
The transmitter from the original Cheeta was later installed on Cheeta 2, and on 7th April 1961, offshore broadcasting history was made by Radio Mercur when the station started experimental stereo transmissions. To achieve this the station used both transmitters on board the Cheeta 2, the left channel on 88 MHz and the right on 89.55 MHz, so listeners with two radios could hear the then novel stereo effect.
In mid-1961, despite Radio Mercur's success, disaffected management staff who felt program standards were falling, left and started their own station, Radio DCR (Danmarks Commercielle Radio). They obtained a ship called the Lucky Star which was fitted out as a radio station in Belgium with German transmitting equipment and an American-made antenna system. Radio DCR started broadcasting on 15th September 1961 on 93.94 MHz (announced as 94 MHz) with a power of 20 kW - significantly stronger than Radio Mercur.
As with Radio Mercur, DCR's programs were pre-recorded in landbased studios in Copenhagen and taken out to the ship for later transmission. DCR was on the air on weekdays from 3.30 to 11.00pm and on Sundays from 9.00am to midnight, covering most of eastern Denmark with its powerful transmitter. The new station's style and program content differed significantly from those of Radio Mercur, with more classical music, operas, plays and discussions being broadcast. In the face of competition from the new offshore station, Radio Mercur immediately increased its broadcasting hours to 6.00am to 12 midnight.
In November 1961 the original Cheeta resumed her role as a radio ship from a new anchorage between the largest island, Zeeland, and the second largest island, Funen, to the west. This enabled Radio Mercur to achieve wider coverage of Denmark by the introduction of a second service. Radio Mercur West used two directional antennas to beam programs to Aarhus to the north and Odense to the west.
A few weeks later in December 1961, it was decided to swap the locations of the two ships, with the larger Cheeta 2 being better able to cope with the rougher seas at the western anchorage, while the Cheeta could ride at anchor in the calmer waters of The Sound off Copenhagen. This exchange of anchorages took place on 16th December 1961.
Radio Mercur programs were still recorded in the Copenhagen studios but now two copies of tapes were made, one for each ship. The same pre-recorded programs were broadcast simultaneously from both ships.
After less than three months on the air the programming format of the second Danish offshore broadcaster, DCR, had become very similar to that of the state radio network and the station failed to achieve real popularity either with listeners or advertisers. By contrast, the first offshore station, Radio Mercur, was reported to have had a turnover of 6 million Krone (£420,000) during 1961 and with two ships on the air was attracting large audiences and advertising revenue.
Talks started between representatives of DCR and Radio Mercur, with a view to a merger of the rival stations, under the Radio Mercur call-sign. This occurred, and DCR ceased broadcasting on 29th January 1962. From 12th February, DCR’s ship the Lucky Star took over the broadcasts of Radio Mercur East on 88 MHz.
Concerned about the growth and popularity of the offshore stations and the threat they posed to the state monopoly on broadcasting, the Danish parliament introduced legislation on 3rd April 1962 to make it an offence for Danish nationals to supply, broadcast from, advertise on or assist an offshore station in any way. This was done in concert with similar legislation in Sweden, Norway and Finland. The legislation was finally approved and went into effect at midnight on 31st July 1962.
Radio Mercur, the first European station to broadcast from the high seas, closed its 'West' station from the Cheeta 2 on 10th July 1962. Radio Mercur East on board the Lucky Star anchored off Copenhagen continued to broadcast for a further three weeks, closing only when the new law came into effect at midnight on 31st July 1962, almost exactly four years after the station’s initial launch in 1958. The final hour was a nostalgic look back at the history of the station with program excerpts and 'good luck' messages from former announcers.
In a move later copied by the BBC in its creation of Radio 1 in September 1967, three months after the closure of Radio Mercur, the Danish state radio system, Danmarks Radio, started Program 3, with a format remarkably similar to Mercur's, but of course without any commercials. Many of the former Radio Mercur staff were, however, taken on by Danmarks Radio to present Program 3.
Here in Wavescan, we don't normally focus much on FM stations in Wavescan, but Radio Mercur was pivotal to the development of private radio broadcasting not only in Denmark, but also in Sweden, The Netherlands, Belgium, Great Britain, New Zealand, Israel and New York, so we felt her story deserved to be told.
Back to you, Jeff.
