Central Radio is a British Independent Local Radio serving

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

The Fylde The Fylde () is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the foot of the Bowland hills t ...

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

, Leyland,

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth came pr ...

, Blackburn and

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...

areas of Lancashire which covers approximately 981,000 adults. The station launched on 25 September 2008, having changed its name prior to launch from Proud FM, derived from ''Proud Preston'' on the city shield to Central Radio in order to better reflect the transmission area.

Ownership history

UTV

Central Radio launched on 25 September 2008. Following Ofcom relaxations on local programming requirements, the station began taking UTV Radio's networked evening and overnight shows in late March 2009. On 16 December 2009, it was announced by owners UTV Media that the station would be closing on Christmas Eve of that year (24 December) and the station's broadcasting licence returned to the UK broadcasting regulator, Ofcom. UTV cited the unfortunate launch of the station in the midst of a recession as a primary reason for the decision, and the station's consequent unprofitability. UTV did not anticipate the station becoming viable for the foreseeable future, saying:

Niocom

On 24 December 2009, the day that Central Radio was scheduled to close, it was announced that a buyer had been found, revealed to be competitor Niocom in January 2010. The company also operated the neighbouring Southport station

Dune FM Dune FM was an Independent Local Radio station serving Southport, Sefton and surrounding areas between 1997 and 2012. Origins Dune FM originally broadcast two RSL temporary licences in 1993. The first RSL was broadcast from makeshift stud ...

at the time of the sale. On 12 January 2010, the station co-emplaced and began to share resources with sister station

. A month later,

OFCOM The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

granted permission for Central Radio to co-locate with sister station

in Southport. Programme management, production, administrative, engineering and management resources were to be shared between the two stations, but the programming on Central Radio remained editorially focused on the Preston, Leyland and Chorley areas. In December 2010, Niocom sold Dune FM, and from 1 February 2011 the programming syndication ended with Central Radio becoming as a fully independent service.

UKRD

On 14 June 2011 it was announced that UKRD, owners of the 107 The Bee in neighbouring Blackburn had purchased the Central Radio licence and planned to merge the service with its East Lancashire station 107 The Bee. Three days later, Central Radio ceased broadcasting with Drivetime presenter - Leyland born Andy Hilbert - playing the final record, ''Unforgettable'' by Nat King Cole. On 1 July 2011, 106.5fm became a simulcast of The Bee but with local news and adverts.

Relaunch in 2022

On 1 September 2022, Central Radio relaunched across the Fylde Coast broadcasting from the new Blackpool MUX at the top of Blackpool Tower. The station launched with a number of familiar former local radio presenters. For the launch, the radio station offered a holiday to Las Vegas as a prize.

Extension into Central Lancashire - September 2023

Exactly 12 months after the initial launch of Central Radio in Blackpool, on 1 September 2023, the station expanded by joining the new Preston & Chorley DAB multiplex which added a further 370,000 adults into the broadcast area.

Extension into East Lancashire - October 2023

In October 2023, the station expanded further into East Lancashire and commenced broadcasting from three new DAB transmitters, located in Blackburn (at the top of Royal Blackburn hospital), Burnley (located at Spen Height) and Accrington (at Accrington Academy) - this extension added a further 430,000 adults into the broadcast area.

Extension into North Lancashire - August 2024

From 1 August 2024, Central Radio absorbed Morecambe-based online station Triple M Radio from founder Tony Simon, with Triple M effectively closed and listeners directed to stream Central in its stead, effectively enlarging Central's target area to include north Lancashire (though the station's FM and digital coverage was unchanged).RadioToday, July 2024

Current Presenters

* Danny Matthews (formerly at

Heart North Lancashire & Cumbria Heart North Lancashire & Cumbria (formerly The Bay) was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to north Lancashire and south Cumbria from studios in Lancaster. History The Bay The sta ...

) * Dave Salmon (formerly at

Radio Wave Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies of 300 gigahertz (GHz) and below. At 300 GHz, the corresponding wavelength is 1 mm (short ...

) * Chris Kirk (formerly at

) * Dom Molloy (formerly at The Revolution 96.2) * Mark Walker (formerly at

Smooth Lake District Smooth Lake District is an Independent Local Radio station for the Lakes, owned and operated by Global and part of the Smooth network. Overview Originally known as Lakeland Radio, the station broadcasts from transmitters at Kendal on 100.1 ...

) * Steve Crumley (formerly at Wish_FM &

Tower_FM Greatest Hits Radio Bolton & Bury (formerly Tower FM) is an Independent Local Radio station serving the Bolton and Bury areas of Greater Manchester. Following its sale to Bauer Radio, the station was closed and merged with the Greatest Hits Rad ...

) * Martin Emery (formerly at

) * James Macdonald * Ian Davies * Nathan Hill (presenter and owner)

Past presenters

* Aaron Roscoe (Now at

Signal 1 Signal 1 is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Staffordshire and South Cheshire. As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 172,000 listeners a ...

) * Aidan Bracken (Now at

) * Andy Hilbert (Now at 107 The Bee) * Anna Woolhouse (Now at

Lincs FM Lincs FM is an Independent Local Radio radio station serving Lincolnshire and Newark in Nottinghamshire. The station is owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio Network. As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of ...

) * Brendan Kearney (Now at

96.2 The Revolution Revolution 96.2 was an Independent Local Radio station serving the Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside areas of Greater Manchester. Following its sale to Bauer Radio, the station was closed and merged with the Greatest Hits Radio network in November ...

) * Brent Williams (Now at

) * Chris Buckley (Now at

) * Dave Asher (Now at Peak FM) * Dave Turley (Now at

) * David Duffy (Now at

) * John Cooper (Now at

Rother FM Rother FM was a local radio station serving Rotherham. The station was folded into Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire, as part of a rebrand, on 1 September 2020. Studios and coverage Rother FM was originally based in Rotherham but later moved to Don ...

) * Jon Holling (Now at

Tower FM Greatest Hits Radio Bolton & Bury (formerly Tower FM) is an Independent Local Radio station serving the Bolton and Bury areas of Greater Manchester. Following its sale to Bauer Radio, the station was closed and merged with the Greatest Hits Rad ...

) * Kim Shaw (Now at

Heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

) * Mark Blackman (Now at

Silk 106.9 Cheshire's Silk 106.9 is an Independent Local Radio serving Macclesfield and parts of Cheshire East, East Cheshire, owned and operated by neighbouring station Dee 106.3, Chester's Dee Radio. It broadcasts a mix of current and classic hits alongs ...

) * Mark Keen (Now at

Radio Wave 96.5 Radio Wave was an Independent Local Radio station serving Blackpool, The Fylde and surrounding areas. It broadcast from studios in the Layton area of Blackpool via a specially constructed transmitter atop Blackpool Tower. Following its sale ...

) * Neil Jackson (Now at

) * Olly Houldsworth (Now at 107 The Bee) * Paul Harvey (Now at Peak FM) * Paul Jordan (Now at

Hallam FM Hallam FM is an Independent Local Radio station based in Sheffield, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to South Yorkshire. As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 283,000 ...

) * Paul Tasker (Now at

) * Phil Johnson (Now at RadioWave 96.5) * Phil King (Now at Mighty Radio) * Scott Wright (Now at 107 The Bee) * Steve Bradshaw (Now at

)

References

External links

Official website

Predicted coverage area
{{Authority control Mass media in Preston Radio stations in Lancashire Radio stations established in 2008 Radio stations disestablished in 2011 Radio stations established in 2022 Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom