Radio Caroline Finds a New Platform: Space

Through four decades, Radio Caroline played the rogue against regulators as it struggled to stay on the air. Now it will be heard via satellite radio thanks to a deal with WorldSpace Corp. The WorldSpace AfriStar satellite will broadcast Caroline’s programming to Africa, the Middle East and most of Europe starting this week. WorldSpace officials called Caroline a “truly unique” station and pointed to its “staunchly loyal” listener base in the United Kingdom and Europe.
In 1964, according to the companies, “Radio Caroline challenged Britain’s broadcasting status quo” when it began broadcasting via MV Caroline, a transmitter-equipped ship anchored in the Irish Sea. It became popular with young people but was targeted for many years by efforts to close the station. “Armed with toughened legislation, the authorities finally halted Caroline’s oceanic broadcasts in the early 1990s,” the companies said. “In recent years, Radio Caroline has been heard via the Astra satellite and the Internet.”