Rock 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 Manchester, 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
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
,
North West England
North West England is one of nine official regions of England and consists of the ceremonial counties of England, administrative counties of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside. The North West had a population of ...
.
As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 209,000 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 ...
.
Overview
Originally launched in 1982 as Red Rose Radio, transmitting on 97.3 MHz and 999 kHz (301m MW). The FM frequency transmission changed when the station split to 97.4 MHz in 1990.
In 1990,
Red Rose Radio
Red Rose Radio was the first UK Independent Local Radio station to be licensed for Lancashire by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA). Although a company of that name was incorporated in 1978 (as Red Rose Radio Limited), the licence was awa ...
was split into two stations - Red Rose Rock FM using the
FM frequency and Red Rose Gold on the
medium wave
Medium wave (MW) is the part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM radio broadcasting. The spectrum provides about 120 channels with more limited sound quality than FM stations on the FM broadcast band. During the daytime ...
frequency. Rock FM was given its name as the station was initially going to be based in Blackpool, Lancashire. However the agreement for the studio premises subsequently fell through and the station remained in Preston.
The managing director was Dave Lincoln, with Mark Matthews as programme director, and at that time the station was owned by the Miss World Group, later known as
TransWorld Communications 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 beginnings ...
(owned by
Owen Oyston
Owen John Oyston (born 3 January 1934) is an English former businessman best known as the former majority owner of Blackpool Football Club. Oyston was convicted of rape and indecent assault of a 16-year-old girl in 1996. He served three years and ...
) and which subsequently became part of
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 ...
(previously ''EMAP Radio'').
The total survey area of the station for
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 ...
is broadly defined as western, southern and central
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
including parts of
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority, combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: City of Manchester, Manchester, City of Salford, Salford ...
and
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan county, metropolitan and ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England, 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Merse ...
, but the station is audible on FM from
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 ...
down into
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
towards
The West Midlands and minor parts of North
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...
For over thirty years, Rock FM was based at studios in a converted church (
St. Paul's) in
Preston. The station consistently rates as the number one commercial radio station in its target service area by reach, share and hours. Over a quarter of all adults in its market listen every week.
In January 2020, Bauer announced Rock FM would cease broadcasting from its Preston studios and co-locate with
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 ...
at Bauer's Northern headquarters in Manchester the following month. The station retains local news, advertising and charity staff at offices elsewhere in the city.
As of February 2020, the station broadcasts from studios outside its broadcast area at Bauer's
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
headquarters.
Programming
All of Rock FM's programming is produced and broadcast from Bauer's headquarters in the
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, A34 road, Quay Street, Deansgate and A56 road, Chester Road. It was the site of the Roma ...
area of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
.
Rock FM - Public File
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News
Rock FM broadcasts local news bulletins hourly from 6am-7pm on weekdays, 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 ar ...
are carried overnight with bespoke networked bulletins on weekend afternoons, originating from Bauer's Manchester newsroom.
References
External links
*
{{Coord, 53.8, N, 2.6, W, display=title
Bauer Radio
Hits Radio
Radio stations in Lancashire
Mass media in Preston
Radio stations established in 1982
1982 establishments in England