Forth 1 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 Edinburgh, Scotland, 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
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
,
Lothian
Lothian (; sco, Lowden, Loudan, -en, -o(u)n; gd, Lodainn ) is a region of the Scottish Lowlands, lying between the southern shore of the Firth of Forth and the Lammermuir Hills and the Moorfoot Hills. The principal settlement is the Sco ...
and
Fife
Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...
.
As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 315,000 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 ...
.
History
Radio Forth
Radio Forth is a group of two Independent Local Radio stations serving Edinburgh, Lothians and Fife. Radio Forth is owned and operated by Bauer, based at studios in Edinburgh and forms part of Bauer's Hits Radio network and Greatest Hits Radio ne ...
was launched on 22 January 1975 by current chairman Richard Findlay. His opening speech included "This, for the very first time is Radio Forth". Steve Hamilton was the first on-air presenter, hosting the breakfast show.
In 1990, Forth was forced to create a new station on its AM frequency. Before this, Radio Forth was broadcast as a single station on both FM and AM frequencies. The FM station was renamed Radio Forth RFM (later simplified to Forth FM) with Donny Hughes broadcasting the first Breakfast Show from the newly revamped Studio F in Forth House. The new AM station became "Max AM" which was later renamed ''Forth AM'' to match its sister station.
In 2000, both stations were relaunched as ''97.3 Forth One'' and ''
1548 Forth 2''. Forth 2 was redesigned as an adult contemporary music station while Forth One continued to play Top 40 songs for the 35s and under.
Radio Forth was owned by Scottish Radio Holdings until 3 June 2005 when British media group
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 ...
took over. In January 2008, EMAP Radio was sold to Bauer and the radio division was renamed
Bauer Radio
Bauer Media Audio UK is a UK-based radio division of the Bauer Media Group.
History
In early 2008, German magazine publisher Bauer bought the radio division of British company Emap, which had been established as East Midland Allied Press in ...
. Ownership changes have led to more networked programming on the station.
On Friday 17 June 2022, Forth 1 broadcast from their studios at Forth House for the final time. During the breakfast show at 7.45 the station played a farewell montage before walking to their new studios at
St James Quarter
St James Quarter is a new retail led, lifestyle district that fully integrates into and enhances Edinburgh’s City Centre providing an inspiring, attractive, and vibrant destination for locals and visitors to live, shop, eat, sleep and play.
...
where the first link was broadcast just after 8am.
The first song played from the new studios was 'New Emotion' by
The Time Frequency
The Time Frequency (TTF) are a Scottish electronic dance music group, founded by Jon Campbell in early 1990.
Members that TTF have included are fellow keyboard players Paul Inglis, Steven Nelson, Kyle Ramsay and later Colin McNeil. Mary Kiani ...
.
Programming
Local programming 'Boogie in the morning' is produced and broadcast from Radio Forth's Edinburgh studios based within
St James Quarter
St James Quarter is a new retail led, lifestyle district that fully integrates into and enhances Edinburgh’s City Centre providing an inspiring, attractive, and vibrant destination for locals and visitors to live, shop, eat, sleep and play.
...
shopping centre from 6am-10am Monday-Friday. The station also produces networked programming on Saturday mornings - ''Boogie and Arlene, also The Big Saturday Football Show with Steven Mill & Ewen Cameron and Sunday Evenings with Micky Gavin.''
Forth 1 also airs networked programming from
Clyde 1
Clyde 1 is an Independent Local Radio station based in Glasgow, Scotland, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Glasgow and West Central Scotland.
As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audi ...
in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
,
Tay FM
Tay FM is an Independent Local Radio station serving Dundee, Perth, Scotland, Perth and Tayside in Scotland. The station is owned by and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK, Bauer and forms part of the Hits Radio network.
As of September 2022, the ...
in Dundee and
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 ...
in Manchester.
News
Forth 1 broadcasts local news bulletins hourly from 6am to 7pm on weekdays and from 7am to 1pm at weekends. Headlines are broadcast on the half-hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows, alongside sport and 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 Scottish bulletins at weekends, produced from
Radio Clyde
Radio Clyde is a group of two Independent Local Radio stations serving Glasgow and West Central Scotland. Radio Clyde is owned and operated by Bauer, based at studios in Clydebank, West Dunbartonshire and forms part of Bauer's Hits Radio and Gr ...
's newsroom in Clydebank.
See also
*
Radio Forth
Radio Forth is a group of two Independent Local Radio stations serving Edinburgh, Lothians and Fife. Radio Forth is owned and operated by Bauer, based at studios in Edinburgh and forms part of Bauer's Hits Radio network and Greatest Hits Radio ne ...
*
Forth 2
Forth 2 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 Edinburgh, Lothian, Fife and West Central Scotland.
As of September 2022, the ...
References
External links
Forth 1Live feedPublic file
{{Radio in Scotland
Bauer Radio
Hits Radio
Radio stations established in 1975
Radio stations in Edinburgh