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 ...
. For the National DAB station, see
Hits Radio UK
Hits Radio UK is a national digital radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to the United Kingdom.
As of June 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 1.2 mill ...
.''
Hits Radio Manchester is an Independent local radio station 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
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...
.
As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 247,000 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 call ...
.
History
Piccadilly Radio
Originally known as
Piccadilly Radio
Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West is an Independent Local Radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester and North West Eng ...
, the station commenced broadcasting from studios at Piccadilly Plaza in Manchester city centre at 5am on Tuesday 2 April 1974 - the fifth
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 to launch and the first of its kind in northern England. The first presenter on air was Roger Day and the first song played on air was ''
Good Vibrations
"Good Vibrations" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys that was composed by Brian Wilson with lyrics by Mike Love. It was released as a single on October 10, 1966 and was an immediate critical and commercial hit, topping record ...
'' by
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...
.
In early 1987, due to a nationwide reorganisation of the FM band, Piccadilly moved its VHF (FM) frequency from 97 to 103 FM. A year later, the Government and the IBA began encouraging all ILR stations with multiple frequencies to provide split programming in order to increase listener choice and competition.
Key 103
Piccadilly split its services into two on Saturday 3 September 1988. Key 103 launched at midday on 103 FM while the original Piccadilly Radio service continued on 1152 AM.
The first presenters on air were
Tim Grundy
Timothy Grundy (4 July 1958 – 1 February 2009) was an English television and radio presenter. He was born in Manchester, Lancashire.
Biography
Grundy was born to a Scottish mother and Bill Grundy, the broadcaster remembered for his expleti ...
and Rebecca Want. Other presenters included Peter Baker, Adrian Bell, Tony Michealides, Stu Allan. The first jingle package was produced by Stowe Bowden Wilson and featuring voiceovers from Steve Coogan. The first song played upon launch was '' Alive and Kicking'' by Simple Minds.
Positioning itself as ''Music, not music'', Key 103 aimed at an upmarket audience with a mix of AOR and chart music and high-end specialist output including arts and business programming, comedy and weekly jazz, folk and classical music shows.
The station later opted for a more mainstream format with presenters from Piccadilly 1152 (later ''Piccadilly Gold'') switching to the FM station, and in 1990, the station was rebranded as ''Piccadilly Key 103''. The Piccadilly branding was gradually dropped during the 1990s.
In 1994, the station's owners
Transworld Radio Group Trans World Communications (or TWC for short) was the investment vehicle of businessman Owen Oyston. It operated radio stations and played a part in the Miss World Beauty Pageant.
About
Initially called The Red Rose Group because of its beginning ...
were brought by EMAP. Two years later, both Key 103 and its AM sister station moved from the Piccadilly Plaza studios to new headquarters at Castle Quay in
Castlefield
Castlefield is an inner-city conservation area in Manchester, North West England. The conservation area which bears its name is bounded by the River Irwell, Quay Street, Deansgate and Chester Road. It was the site of the Roman era fort of Mam ...
.
Hits Radio Manchester
On 18 April 2018, station owners Bauer Media announced Key 103 would be rebranded and relaunched as ''Hits Radio Manchester'', a CHR-led music station aimed at 25-44 year olds on Monday 4 June 2018.
The station was merged with The Hits Radio to provide a single national service across the UK on DAB, Freeview and online - as
Hits Radio UK
Hits Radio UK is a national digital radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to the United Kingdom.
As of June 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 1.2 mill ...
In Manchester, Hits Radio continues to provide local news & information, traffic bulletins and advertising on its local platforms - 103 FM, DAB and online.
The ''Key 103'' branding was phased out from Friday 25 May 2018 as the station entered a transition period ahead of the launch of Hits Radio at 6am on Monday 4 June 2018. The first song played on air - decided by an online poll via the ''
Manchester Evening News
The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 20 ...
Take That
Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...
.
The former Key branding was retained by the sister AM station, which rebranded as Key Radio on the same day as the launch of Hits Radio Manchester. The following January, the Key branding was retired when the station rebranded as
Greatest Hits Radio Manchester
Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West is an Independent Local Radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester and North West Eng ...
.
Technical
The station broadcasts on the analogue frequency 103 FM via a transmitter at
Saddleworth
Saddleworth is a civil parish of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. It comprises several villages and hamlets as well as suburbs of Oldham on the west side of the Pennine hills.
Areas include Austerlands, Del ...
, from where broadcasting commenced upon the launch of Piccadilly Radio on 2 April 1974.
The DAB signal is broadcast from transmitters located at Winter Hill and
City Tower, Manchester
City Tower (formerly Sunley House) is a 30-storey skyscraper situated in the Piccadilly Gardens area of Manchester city centre in England. As of 2022, it is the tallest office building in Manchester and outside London, and the eighth-tallest bu ...
on the
CE Manchester
CE Digital is an operator of digital radio in the United Kingdom. It is the licensee for local DAB ensembles in London, Birmingham, and Manchester, and is a joint venture between Bauer Radio and Global Radio. It was originally a joint venture be ...
multiplex. With the addition of Sutton Common, near Macclesfield, the DAB signal has a reliable coverage area that includes Greater Manchester, South Lancashire, most of Cheshire, parts of North East Wales and Merseyside, with much better reception than the FM frequency can provide as 103.0 suffers from co-channel interference from other stations on nearby frequencies.
In May 2016, two additional digital transmitters were launched at Littleborough and Saddleworth.
Programming
All programming is produced and broadcast from Bauer's Manchester studios.
Hits Radio UK
Hits Radio UK is a national digital radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to the United Kingdom.
As of June 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 1.2 mill ...
opts out from Manchester's local service for national news bulletins, traffic updates, relevant information and advertising on its national DAB and TV platforms.
News
As of April 2019, Bauer's Manchester newsroom airs hourly local news bulletins on the hour from 6am-7pm on weekdays and 7am-1pm at weekends.Hits Radio Manchester public file /ref> Headlines air at 30 minutes past the hour during ''Hits Radio Breakfast'' on weekdays, alongside regular traffic bulletins at breakfast and drive.
Syndicated 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 aro ...
in London are carried overnight. Bespoke networked bulletins also air on weekend afternoons, produced from Bauer's Leeds newsroom.
Presenters
Notable current presenters
*
Fleur East
Fleur East (born 29 October 1987) is an English singer-songwriter, rapper and radio presenter on Hits Radio. She competed on the second series of the televised singing competition ''The X Factor'' in 2005 as a member of the girl group Addicti ...
(''Hits Radio Breakfast'': weekday mornings)
*
Gemma Atkinson
Gemma Louise Atkinson (born 16 November 1984) is an English influencer, actress, radio presenter and former glamour model. She played Lisa Hunter in ''Hollyoaks'' (2001–2005, 2022) and in three spin-off series, '' Hollyoaks: After Hours'' (2 ...
and Mike Toolan (weekday drivetime)
*
Wes Butters
Wesley Paul Butters (born 4 May 1979, in Salford), is a radio broadcaster, formerly of BBC Radio 1, and writer.
Early life
Butters attended Buile Hill High School in Pendleton, Salford, and studied at the University of Salford between 1995 a ...
(Sunday mornings)
*
Sarah-Jane Crawford
Sarah-Jane Crawford is an English television and radio presenter, actress, voice-over artist, and DJ best known for her radio work with Hits Radio and formerly with BBC Radio 1Xtra, and television work with E! Network (which she is curre ...
(''The UK Chart Show'', cover)
*
Max George
Maximillian Albert George (born 6 September 1988) is an English singer, best known as the lead singer of the boy band The Wanted.
George started his career as a footballer, playing for Preston North End. After an injury ended his football ca ...
(''Friday Night Hits'')
*
Sheree Murphy
Sheree Victoria Murphy (born 22 August 1975) is an English actress and television presenter, best known for her roles as Dawn in Only Fools and Horses and Tricia Dingle in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', Eva Strong in the Channel 4 soap oper ...
Robin Galloway
Robin Galloway (born 18 December 1961) is a Scottish radio and TV broadcaster currently on air at Pure Radio Scotland as breakfast host. Robin hosts the Robin Galloway Breakfast Show on Pure Radio weekday mornings from 06:00 and is also Group ...
*
Tim Grundy
Timothy Grundy (4 July 1958 – 1 February 2009) was an English television and radio presenter. He was born in Manchester, Lancashire.
Biography
Grundy was born to a Scottish mother and Bill Grundy, the broadcaster remembered for his expleti ...
*
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 ...
*
Gethin Jones
Gethin Clifford Jones (born 12 February 1978) is a Welsh television presenter. He was an active rugby union player while at Manchester Metropolitan University and, after graduation, he began his television career on Welsh language channel S4C a ...
Geoff Lloyd
Geoff Barron Lloyd (born 20 April 1973) is an English radio presenter, television host, podcast host and writer, best known for his talk radio and music shows.
Early life
Lloyd was born in Withington, Manchester, England,Barrie White"Radio's ...
Justin Moorhouse
Justin Moorhouse (born 15 May 1970) is an English stand-up comedian, radio DJ and actor from Manchester. He appeared in '' Phoenix Nights'', '' Looking for Eric'' and Guess The Attendance.
Moorhouse has also appeared as a guest on the Dave TV s ...
Steve Penk
Steve Penk is a British radio and television presenter. He was born in Rusholme, Manchester. Penk has worked for various national and local UK radio stations. Aged just 16 he started his radio career at Piccadilly Radio in 1978 (subsequently r ...
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 ...
*
Graeme Smith
Graeme Craig Smith (born 1 February 1981) is a South African cricket commentator and former cricketer who played for South Africa in all formats. In 2003, he was appointed captain of the national team, taking over from Shaun Pollock. He held t ...
Mike Sweeney
Michael John Sweeney (born July 22, 1973) is a former Major League Baseball designated hitter and first baseman. Sweeney played his first 13 seasons in the majors with the Kansas City Royals, first as a catcher, then at first base and designated ...
*
David Vitty
David Lloyd Vitty (born 24 April 1974) is a radio presenter working in the UK. He worked alongside Chris Moyles at BBC Radio 1, having originally been a broadcast assistant on Moyles' early morning show. He became the show's head writer and ' ...
*
Becky Want
Rebecca Elizabeth Want (born 13 June 1964, Hyde, Cheshire) is a radio and television broadcaster, based in Manchester.
Radio career
Want has worked for the Manchester radio stations Piccadilly Radio and Key 103, where she co-presented the launc ...