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UK Broadcast Transmission |
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THE TRANSMISSION GALLERY
| Photos by Ringway Manchester | Page last updated: 2026-08-23 |
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| Manchester United Radio, sometimes known as MUFC radio was the official AM radio station of Manchester United Football Club based at Old Trafford stadium. It was originally the idea of club radio UK, who launched Blackburn’s station in 1993. It was a low power amplitude modulation or LPAM service owned by Manchester United themselves and its goal, no pun intended, was to broadcast live match commentary, interviews, features, and news to fans. It was actually set up and registered under the bracket of a community radio station but its output was only of interest to football fans and as a news and traffic service to travelling supporters approaching the stadium. Manchester United Radio is said in numerous sources to broadcast within an area of approximately fifty miles around Old Trafford stadium but this wasn't true although I'm sure there were a few exceptional circumstances. Being a 1-watt service, it was audible within around a 5-mile radius of the stadium and a fifty square mile range was most likely. |
| Manchester United launched the station on Saturday 5th March 1994 and unfortunately the first broadcast featured a 1-0 defeat against Chelsea. Former Piccadilly Radio presenter Matt Proctor was the creator and presenter of the Match Day show. Not only did it provide live coverage of matches, but it also helped those who were unable to get to the games to find out what was going on so perhaps the name community station was quite fitting after all. The station's output would often be simulcast on the PA system inside Old Trafford. |
| The main show was run and presented by now retired sports journalist Matt Proctor along with his assistant Jayne Mansell. The pair spent two days preparing for the matchday broadcasts. These preparations included the music playlist, recording interviews and writing and editing scripts. Commentary was done by David Hooton. Match summaries were provided by former Manchester United player Wilf McGuinnes who’s now 86 years old. David Meek who was the Manchester Evening News' correspondent on United for 37 years, was match analyst. He passed away in 2018. Rachel Jervis was the stations statistician and sources say that Tom Tyrell provided traffic reports. However, he was considered the voice of Manchester United and was a radio commentator who was well known to United fans. He could be heard on Piccadilly Radio, Key 103, and BBC Radio Manchester, reporting on the club for more than 40 years. He passed away in 2017. I’m sure other personnel were involved too including DJ Keith Fane and I hope other names will pop up in the comments too. |
| Old Trafford Stadium. Manchester United Radio was on the air during the early part of the afternoon or evening and some shows lasted 8 hours. It generally began broadcasting from around three hours before kick-off until around two hours after the final whistle therefore it was able to provide traffic reports for fans approaching the stadium before a game and then leaving afterwards. The Police also used the station as a means of getting messages to fans; perhaps those out to cause trouble. The phone in number was 0161 872 1413, now long disconnected. |
| Originally the studio used tape and later a PC was added for digital editing and it was based in the commentary box in Old Trafford Stadium itself. The transmitter was a 50w Radica model, possibly an AM50, but it ran at a fraction of it’s capability at just 1w. The processor was made by Innovonics. It’s a short lattice antenna with a loading coil near the top and a capacitive hat and copper mat underneath to allow the small structure to effectively radiate it’s 1w output power. It’s still located in a stadium car park. |
| After covering 418 home games, Manchester United quietly retired the station after the 2007-08 season with its final broadcast on August 18, 2008. It was announced that a deal with local Manchester radio station Key 103 had been agreed and the show would be hosted by ex-Manchester united player Mickey Thomas. The news didn’t come as a surprise to fans who felt the club had never made a great deal of effort to publicise Manchester United Radio and the station had been flagging in recent years. It was said that Key 103 would provide build-up and commentary to all of Manchester United's weekend games throughout the season and that midweek matches would be covered by Piccadilly Magic 1152am. |
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