How Fuse FM Transitioned to 24/7 Broadcasting for 150+ Student Members

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Fuse FM, the official student station at the University of Manchester, manages over 150 student volunteers and 77 weekly shows. With Radio.co, the station successfully transitioned to 24/7 broadcasting for the first time in its 20-year history — enabling automation, scalability, and seamless content management.

150+ student members

77 weekly shows

24/7 broadcasting for the first time

20-year student station legacy

See how Fuse FM uses Radio.co

Challenge.

Managing Scale Without Technical Overhead

Fuse FM is entirely run by student volunteers, producing a diverse mix of programming — from news and politics to music and entertainment.

With:

150+ active members
77 shows per week
Continuous onboarding of new students

The station needed a platform that was:

Simple enough for rapid student onboarding
Robust enough to manage large-scale scheduling
Capable of supporting 24/7 automation
Reliable for live and pre-recorded programming

The technology had to feel “transparent” — allowing students to focus on editorial quality rather than technical complexity.

Solution.

Automation & Cloud-Based Control

Radio.co provided Fuse FM with a cloud-based platform capable of handling live and scheduled content at scale.

The platform enabled:

Effortless onboarding for new student members
Automated overnight scheduling for continuous broadcasting
Simple management of 77+ shows per week
Recording live shows and repurposing them as on-demand content
Distribution to external platforms such as Mixcloud

By introducing automation, Fuse FM unlocked 24/7 broadcasting for the first time in its history.

Students could manage programming from anywhere while maintaining full control over output.

Results.

24/7 Broadcasting & Expanded Opportunities

The move to continuous broadcasting marked a major operational milestone.

Key outcomes:

Successful transition to 24/7 scheduling
Increased airtime opportunities for student members
Improved operational efficiency for large volunteer teams
Stronger portfolio-building opportunities for aspiring broadcasters

Fuse FM strengthened its position as a leading student station while providing members with real-world, career-ready experience.

Radio.co helped our station in so many different ways! It's allowed us to go 24-hour broadcasting.

Station Manager

Over a decade of supporting broadcasters large and small.

Radio.co provides enterprise-grade broadcast management built for teams. Centralised control, predictable performance, and flexible scheduling give marketing, operations, and content teams the tools to run audio with confidence.