Bath FM was a local independent radio station based at the former Weston railway station in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The station was launched in November 1999 and closed on 24 March 2010. The station broadcast to an area with a population of 104,000. In September 2008,

RAJAR Radio Joint Audience Research Limited (RAJAR) was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the BBC and RadioCentre. RAJAR's predecessor was calle ...

figures gave the station a weekly audience reach of 14% and an audience share of 2.7% In December 2008, after the acquisition by South West Radio Ltd, listening figures increased to an audience reach of 15% and an audience share of 3.4%.

Ownership

Bath FM, initially an independent station, was launched in November 1999 as an alternative to

GWR FM Bath Heart 103 (formerly GWR FM Bath) was an independent radio station serving Bath in Somerset, England, broadcasting on 103 MHz FM, on DAB Digital radio and online. History In 1986, a Bath ILR licence was awarded by the IBA. GWR Radio Ba ...

, which also served the city. In February 2006, Bath FM was taken over by The Local Radio Company (TLRC). In June 2008, TLRC sold Bath FM, along with nearby stations

Brunel FM Sam FM Swindon was a commercial radio station based in Swindon, England, broadcasting on the 107.7 FM frequency. The station was formed by The Local Radio Company, who wanted to create a local radio rival to GWR FM (now Heart). It started in ...

and

3TR FM 3TR FM (Three Towns Radio) was a radio station based in the ancient market town of Warminster, Wiltshire, United Kingdom. It broadcast on 107.5 FM to the West Wiltshire, East Somerset and surrounding area, and online via Internet streaming. It ...

, to

Laser Broadcasting Laser Broadcasting was a commercial radio operator based in Darlington in County Durham, England, which was active between 2002 and 2008. History The group was founded in 2002 by Nigel Reeve—one of the launch directors of Classic FM and one-t ...

. On 28 October 2008, Laser Broadcasting were placed into administration. On 29 October 2008, it was announced that Bath FM had been sold to

South West Radio Ltd SouthWest Radio Ltd (or SWR) owned and operated radio stations in Wiltshire and Somerset in the South West of England. The company was founded in 2008 and was based in Exeter, Devon in the United Kingdom. Stations owned *Bath FM which serves ...

. Bath FM was sold alongside Brunel FM, 3TR FM, and two Quaywest stations, following the collapse of previous owner Laser Broadcasting. South West Radio LTD went into administration on 4 August 2009. The assets and contracts were acquired without liability by YMC ltd who ran the stations as a group. On 24 March 2010, the five stations were closed by administrators after multiple refusals on the part of regulator OFCOM to transfer the licenses, following a number of financial issues at the stations following TLRC's sale.

Technical

Bath FM's signal was broadcast from a transmitter based at

Bathampton Down Bathampton Down is a flat limestone plateau in Bathampton, Somerset, England, overlooking the River Avon and the city of Bath. There is evidence of man's activity at the site since the Mesolithic period including Bathampton Camp, an Iron Age hi ...

, next to the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

. In November 2007, Bath FM moved their studios to Swindon, away from their broadcast area, after

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 ...

agreed to a request from The Local Radio Company to co-locate Bath FM with Brunel FM. On 9 September 2008, under Laser Broadcasting, Bath FM moved back into Station House and once again broadcast from the city until its closure. All broadcasting equipment and specialist wiring has now been removed from the premises, a former railway station.

References

External links

Ofcom comment on TLRC takeover

Media UK archive of Bath FM news
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bath Fm Radio stations established in 1999 Radio stations disestablished in 2010 Mass media in Bath, Somerset Radio stations in Somerset 1999 establishments in England