Mint

**Mint** is Belgian commercial radio station owned by RTL Belgium. The station broadcasts music related to pop and rock programmings.

## History

Faced on the one hand with the saturation of the FM band and, on the other hand, with the legal vacuum which prevailed at the time, **CSA** (**Conseil Supérieur de l'Audiovisuel**) decided to launch its plan of frequencies "FM 2008" to restore order on the FM band.

The number of available FM networks being less than the number of operators, the **CSA** decided not to give a network to **Mint**, basing its decision on the dominant position of RTL Belgium on the FM band (Bel RTL, Radio Contact, Contact+, Fun Radio, **Mint**). **Mint** was one of the two big losers of the frequency plan, with BFM Belgium.

The 120,000 listeners that Mint was able to reach daily (in just over a year!), The 80,000 signatures on the petition of support, the 30,000 members of the Facebook group **Pour que Mint vive**, the letter of support signed by more than 60 artists (Arid, Marka, Marc Moulin, La grande Sophie, Summer 67, Joshua, Perry Rose, Willow, St. Andrew, Ghinzu, Sharko, Puggy, Suarez, Hooverphonic, Ozark Henry, Thomas Dutronc, Aaron, ...), failed to (re) flex the APF.

On 30 July 2008, at 15:13, **Mint** had already disappeared from Brussels due to the activation of Radio Campus transmitters on 92.1 and **Gold FM** on 106.1, (still within the framework of the "FM 2008" frequency plan) .

On Wednesday, August 13, 2008, **Mint** disappeared completely from the FM band, but continued its usual broadcasts, broadcast on various digital platforms (Streaming, Cable, ADSL, satellite, etc ..), with the slight hope of obtaining, in ultimate resort, the last available FM network (the second urban network **U2**).

On Friday, October 17, 2008, **CSA** announces its decision to award **U2** to Ciel Info - now renamed Twizz Radio then DH Radio, condemning **Mint** and BFM Belgium to silence on the FM. This decision forced the management to end the programs and thank the staff: although still broadcast on multiple digital platforms, **Mint** was not viable without the FM. The last show took place on the same day, from 5 pm to 8 pm. It was sponsored by many artists (Philippe Geluck, Sharko, Ginzu, Willow, Jeronimo, Ozark Henri, Puggy, Saint-André...) and closed by the broadcast of a live version of **Viva la Vida** emptied of **Coldplay** - considered as the hymn of the station.

At the beginning of December 2015, loyal streaming listeners (estimated between 1,000 and 2,000 per day, according to RTL Belgium) hear an announcement on the air: **Mint Recherche des Talents**.

It turns out that RTL Group has found a way to recover frequencies in the provinces of Liège, Luxembourg and Namur, through partnerships with the provincial networks Must FM (Namur / Luxembourg) and Maximum FM (Liège). **Mint** begins a recruitment campaign to reform a team. The return of FM radio is announced for Monday, January 4, 2016.

In the process, the website www.mint.be is relaunched, a new Facebook page is created and the logo of the station is refurbished.

The aim is probably to try to recover a complete network during the next call for applications for FM networks in 2017. This year also corresponding to the announced launch of digital terrestrial radio (DAB +) in French-speaking Belgium, it is likely that the objective, ultimately, is to broadcast **Mint** in digital throughout the territory, if the FM is still not granted.

Note that the frequencies available to **Mint** will not receive FM in Brussels or the provinces of Brabant Wallon and Hainaut.

On 31st August 2019, **Mint** was closed as streaming.

## Logos

Original logo (2007-2008)Last logo (2016-2019)
## External links

* Official website

* Western Europe
* Germany
* Belgium
* Spain
* Scretonia