Hallam FM 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
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
, 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
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...
.
As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 283,000 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
The station started broadcasting on 1548 kHz/194m
AM, 95.2 and 95.9 MHz
FM under the name of Radio Hallam from its studios at Hartshead in Sheffield City Centre on 1 October 1974. The first presenter heard on air was ex-
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
DJ Johnny Moran - the first record he played was ''I've Got the Music in Me'' by
Kiki Dee
Pauline Matthews (born 6 March 1947), better known by her stage name Kiki Dee, is an English singer. Known for her blue-eyed soul vocals, she was the first female singer from the UK to sign with Motown's Tamla Records.
Dee is best known for h ...
, which stuck after a minute and a half.
On 1 October 1985, Radio Hallam's broadcast area significantly increased when it began to broadcast to all of
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...
. In 1987, Radio Hallam merged with neighbouring
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
stations
Pennine Radio in Bradford and
Viking Radio
Viking 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 the East Riding of Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire.
As of September 2022, the ...
in Hull to form the now-defunct
Yorkshire Radio Network
The Yorkshire Radio Network was a group of three radio stations which shared programmes in the evening and at weekends. YRN was made-up of Pennine Radio in Bradford, Viking Radio in Hull and Radio Hallam in Sheffield.
History
YRN was based ...
.
The frequencies were changed during the 1980s to 96.1 FM for
Rotherham
Rotherham () is a large minster and market town in South Yorkshire, England. The town takes its name from the River Rother which then merges with the River Don. The River Don then flows through the town centre. It is the main settlement of ...
, 97.4 FM for
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
, 102.9 FM for
Barnsley, and 103.4 for the remainder of South Yorkshire. After a take-over of the parent company YRN by the
Metro Radio Group, the AM frequency became
Great Yorkshire Gold. As part of Hallam's licence agreement, the Rotherham transmitter ceased to be used by the station in the 1990s. Hallam also moved its studio facilities to 900 Herries Road, close to
Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
's
Hillsborough ground. The office space at Hartshead was formerly used by the ''
Sheffield Star
''The Star'', often known as the ''Sheffield Star'', is a daily newspaper published in Sheffield, England, from Monday to Saturday each week. Originally a broadsheet, the newspaper became a tabloid in 1993. ''The Star'', the weekly ''Sheffield ...
'' newspaper.
As the
Metro Radio group was bought by
EMAP, Hallam FM also became part of the
Big City Network in Northern England. In 2011, Bauer Media's
Big City Network was replaced by the Place Portfolio, containing the group's local radio stations.
As of October 2019, Hallam FM's Sheffield studios are shared with sister Yorkshire station
Viking FM, following the closure of Viking's studios in Hull.
Broadcasting
Hallam FM's main competitors are
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
,
Capital Yorkshire
Capital Yorkshire is a regional radio station owned by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire from studios in Leeds, West Yorkshire, E ...
&
Heart Yorkshire
Heart Yorkshire (previously Real Radio Yorkshire) is a regional radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to South and West Yorkshire from studios in Leeds. . Other local competing stations include
BBC Radio Sheffield
BBC Radio Sheffield is the BBC's local radio station serving South Yorkshire and north Derbyshire.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital television and via BBC Sounds from studios on Shoreham Street in Sheffield.
According to RAJAR, the statio ...
,
Greatest Hits Radio North Derbyshire and
Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire.
The station broadcasts on analogue frequencies on 97.4 FM (
Tapton Hill, Sheffield), 103.4 FM (Clifton, near the
M18) and 102.9 FM (Ardsley) in
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire a ...
,
Doncaster
Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...
and
Barnsley respectively. Almost the whole region is covered on 103.4 FM. The station also broadcasts via
DAB on the
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 ...
multiplex, and online and via their app.
Programming
Networked programming originates from Bauer's Manchester studios.
The station's flagship breakfast show, ''
Big John @ Breakfast
Big John @ Breakfast is the current breakfast show on local radio station Hallam FM, in South Yorkshire, England, and has been on air since 2000.
It is presented by "Big" John Harrison and Liesl Soards, along with producer James Crookes.
The s ...
'', is produced and broadcast from Bauer's Sheffield studios, weekdays from 6-10am.
News
Bauer's Sheffield newsroom broadcasts local news bulletins hourly from 6am-7pm on weekdays, and from 7am-1pm on Saturdays and Sundays. 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 aro ...
are carried overnight with bespoke networked bulletins on weekend afternoons, usually originating from Bauer's Leeds newsroom.
Notable past presenters
*
Steve Banyard
Steve Banyard (born 1963, in England) is best known as a football commentator and broadcaster. In particular, he's known for working on the worldwide television feed of the Premier League and Italy's Serie A, as well as major FIFA and UEFA tourna ...
*
Tom Binns
Christopher Thomas Binns (born 1970) is a British comedian, best known for his character Hospital Radio DJ Ivan Brackenbury.
Career
Binns was nominated at the Edinburgh Festival for the Edinburgh Comedy Award 2007 for his hospital radio DJ ch ...
*
Jon Culshaw
*
Daryl Denham
Daryl Denham is a British disc jockey, radio presenter and songwriter.
Early career
Denham's career started at school, where he was active in producing pop music productions in school concerts, organizing pop quizzes and writing and performing p ...
(now at
BBC Radio Kent
BBC Radio Kent is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Kent.
It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at The Great Hall in Tunbridge Wells.
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of ...
)
*
Stephanie Hirst
Stephanie Hirst is an English radio & TV presenter currently heard on Hits Radio. She has hosted '' Hit40UK'' and the weekday breakfast show on Capital Yorkshire '' Hirsty's Daily Dose''.
Career
Hirst started her career at age 12 at 96.3 R ...
(now at
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 ...
)
*
Keith Skues
Richard Keith Skues MBE, AE (born 4 March 1939) is a British radio personality. His career spans over 60 years.
Biography
Skues was born in Timperley, Cheshire. His broadcasting career began on the British Forces Network in Cologne, Germany, in ...
*
Cindy Kent
The Settlers are an English folk music, folk-orientated music group, originally from the English West Midlands urban area, West Midlands, who formed in the mid-1960s. The band folded in the early 1980s, relaunched in 2018, and disbanded again i ...
(now at Serenade Radio)
*
Stuart Linnell
Stuart Linnell MBE BAHons HonMA is a semi-retired UK radio and television broadcaster, particularly well known in Coventry and Warwickshire, and in Northamptonshire. He is Chair of Healthwatch Coventry, and Chair of Coventry Community Digital Ra ...
(now at Serenade Radio)
*
Scottie McClue
Colin Lamont (born 20 June 1956), better known by his shock jock on-air radio persona of Scottie McClue, is a broadcaster and former newscaster.
Career
Lamont was educated at Greenock Academy, the University of Glasgow, the Royal Scottish Acad ...
(now at
Nation Radio Scotland)
*
Chris Rogers
*
Matthew Rudd (now at
Absolute 80s
Absolute Radio 80s is a national digital radio station, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Absolute Radio Network.
History
Absolute Radio 80s launched at 7.00pm on 4 December 2009, replacing Absolute Xtreme.
The marketing plan for Abs ...
)
References
External links
Hallam FMClifton transmitterTapton Hill/Crosspool transmitter
{{Hits Radio
Radio stations established in 1974
Bauer Radio
Hits Radio
Mass media in Sheffield
Radio stations in Yorkshire