CFM is an
Independent Local Radio
Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. As a result of the buyouts and mergers permitted by the Broadcasting Act 1990, and deregulation resulting from the Communications Act 2003, ...
station based in Carlisle, England, owned and operated by
Bauer as part of the
Hits Radio
Hits Radio is a network of 25 contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK.
As of October 2022, the network has a combined reach of 6.6 million weekly listeners according to RAJAR.
Overv ...
network. It broadcasts to
Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
and South West
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 135,250 listeners according to
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 ...
.
On 29 November 2022, Bauer announced that CFM will rebrand to
Greatest Hits Radio
Greatest Hits Radio is a classic hits radio network in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer.
Overview
The network launched on 5 January 2015 as the "Bauer City 2 Network", and rebranded on 7 January 2019 due to the success of Ra ...
in April 2023. Robbie Dee will present the only non-networked programme, which will air each weekday between 1pm and 4pm.
History
The station was launched by its original owners,
Border Television
ITV Border, previously Border Television and commonly referred to as simply Border, is the Channel 3 service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the England/Scotland border region, covering most of Cumbria, Dumfries and Galloway, the S ...
at 8am on 14 April 1993 when managing director and breakfast show host
John Myers played "
The Best
Best or The Best may refer to:
People
* Best (surname), people with the surname Best
* Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer
Companies and organizations
* Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain
* Best Lock Corporatio ...
" by
Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...
as its first song.
Originally CFM only broadcast from their
Caldbeck mast to Carlisle on and Penrith, from the top o
Beacon Hill on . In September 1995, they also started transmitting to West Cumbria from their transmitters at
Broughton Moor
Broughton Moor is a village and civil parish in Cumbria, England. It is situated on an extensive moor about north of Broughton, north west of Cockermouth, south of Maryport and north of Workington.
According to the 2001 census it had a ...
() and
Whitehaven
Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is th ...
().
From its launch, the station broadcast from premises adjacent to the
ITV Border
ITV Border, previously Border Television and commonly referred to as simply Border, is the Channel 3 service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the England/Scotland border region, covering most of Cumbria, Dumfries and Galloway, the S ...
studios in Durranhill, Carlisle. In April 2010, CFM moved to a new base at Atlantic House in Kingstown, Carlisle.
In 2005,
Emap
Ascential plc, formerly EMAP, is a British business-to-business media business specialising in exhibitions & festivals and information services. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
History
Ric ...
bought CFM and branded it as one of its
Big City Network of stations. Three years later, Emap was bought by Bauer.
Previously, CFM has won numerous industry awards including the Radio Academy's North West Station of the Year 2005 and Emap Station of the Year 2006. In May 2013, CFM became the first radio station to broadcast from a nuclear reprocessing site at
Sellafield
Sellafield is a large multi-function nuclear site close to Seascale on the coast of Cumbria, England. As of August 2022, primary activities are nuclear waste processing and storage and nuclear decommissioning. Former activities included nucle ...
,
West Cumbria
Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...
.
CFM was one of two stations within the
Hits Radio
Hits Radio is a network of 25 contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK.
As of October 2022, the network has a combined reach of 6.6 million weekly listeners according to RAJAR.
Overv ...
Network that did not broadcast on DAB (the other being
Radio Borders
Greatest Hits Radio Scottish Borders and North Northumberland is an Independent Local Radio station based in Edinburgh, Scotland, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to the Scottish Borders ...
based in Galashiels). This was due to the lack of local DAB multiplexes in Cumbria. However, in May 2019, Ofcom announced plans to advertise three local multiplexes in Cumbria & South West Scotland. Bauer made the sole application to Ofcom to run the North & West Cumbria DAB Multiplex, stating that they planned to place CFM as well as other Bauer owned stations on it, alongside
BBC Radio Cumbria
BBC Radio Cumbria is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Cumbria. It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in Carlisle.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 71,000 listene ...
. In December 2019, Ofcom confirmed that the multiplex licence would be awarded to Bauer Digital Radio, with the multiplex originally expected to begin transmission in late 2020. However, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this had been pushed back to 1 December 2021.
On 1 December 2021, the DAB Multiplex for North and West Cumbria was switched on (the subsequent multiplex for South Cumbria and North Lancashire owned by MuxCo was also switched on but does not carry the same stations as the Bauer owned one), and CFM along with a number of other Bauer owned radio stations as well as BBC Radio Cumbria began broadcasting for the first time on DAB in the area.
Network programming approval
In March 2021, it was announced that Bauer had received approval for full networking in North West England. It was hinted that CFM may move from its Carlisle studios to Bauer's
Radio City Liverpool studios in the
Radio City Tower
Radio City Tower (also known as St. John's Beacon) is a Radio masts and towers, radio and observation tower in Liverpool, England, built in 1969 and opened by Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II. It was designed by James A. Roberts Associates in B ...
, or the network's Manchester headquarters. It was also expressed that Bauer may reduce CFM's local programming to the minimum legal requirement of 3 hours per day.
On 21 April 2022, Bauer announced that local programming outside weekday breakfast would be replaced with further networked output from Hits Radio. Local news bulletins and traffic updates were not affected.
Programming
Networked programming originates from Bauer's Manchester headquarters.
Local programming is produced and broadcast from Bauer's Carlisle studios on weekdays from 6-10am.
CFM - Public File
/ref>
News
Bauer's Carlisle newsroom broadcasts local news bulletins hourly from 6am-7pm on weekdays and from 7am-1pm on weekends. Headlines are broadcast on the half-hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows, alongside traffic bulletins.
National bulletins from Sky News Radio
Sky News Radio is the radio arm of Sky News, owned by Sky UK. It has been operating since June 1999, providing a news bulletin service for UK commercial radio stations operators across the UK and for a number of English-speaking radio stations ar ...
are carried overnight with bespoke networked bulletins on weekend afternoons, usually originating from Bauer's Leeds newsroom.
Notable past presenters
* Rich Clarke (Heart South
Heart South is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to the south and south east of England from studios in Fareham, Hampshire.
The station launched on 3 June 2019 as a result of a me ...
)
* Lucy Horobin
Lucy Clare Horobin (born 17 October 1979 in Canterbury, Kent) is a British radio presenter well-known for presenting Heart London Drivetime with Jason King. She attended Nottingham Trent University where she achieved a BA (Hons) in Broadcast ...
(Heart Dance
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 ...
)
* Dave Kelly ( Radio City)
* John Myers (deceased)
* Jason King (Heart London
History
Heart London is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format. Across London and its neighbouring counties, it can be heard on 106.2 MHz.
...
)
* Joel Ross
Joel Ross (born Joel Hogg 31 May 1977) is a multi award winning British radio DJ and television presenter. He has worked with a co-host Jason King (known on-air as JK). He currently presents the Rock FM Breakfast Show.
Career Best known ...
(Rock FM Rock Radio is a former British radio network.
Rock Radio or Rock FM may also refer to:
*Rock FM (Spanish radio station)
*Rock FM (British radio station), based in Preston, Lancashire
* Rock FM 91.9, a radio station based in Johannesburg, South Af ...
)
* Tim Shaw
References
External links
*
*
*
*
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Bauer Radio
Hits Radio
Radio stations in Cumbria
Radio stations established in 1993
1993 establishments in England