The licence for the entertainment service saw eight organisations applying, many of them with established entertainment pedigrees. Associated Television, run by Lew Grade, was one of them, as was the long-established Isle of Man broadcaster Manx Radio. Others were specially formed companies: Piccadilly Radio under the leadership of the film producer Lord Brabourne, Network Broadcasting headed by the writer Lord Willis and the broadcaster Ned Sherrin, the actor and comedian Bernard Braden’s London Radio Independent Broadcasters and London Independent Broadcasting which included the impresario Robert Stigwood, the then radio producer John Whitney, the record and electronics company EMI, and Mecca Leisure Group. The theatre director Peter Hall (director) supported Artists in Radio.