Swansea Sound

Greatest Hits Radio South Wales (formerly Swansea Sound) is Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer Radio as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network. The station broadcasts to Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, East Carmarthenshire and South West Wales from studios in the Gowerton area of Swansea.

History

Launch

Swansea Sound began broadcasting at 6a.m. on Monday 30 September 1974. The first voice heard on air was its managing director, Charles Braham:

''"Bore da. Good Morning. As managing director I am very proud to say for the very first time that this is Swansea Sound bringing independent radio to Wales, to entertain, to inform and above all give yourselves a real involvement in community matters..."''

Chris Harper presented the station's first breakfast show, opening with MFSB's ''Love Is The Message''. At its launch, it was the first and only commercial radio station in Wales and the seventh in the United KingdomThe Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press 2008. - it was also the first independent radio station to broadcast a bilingual service in the English and Welsh languages.

Originally, the station broadcast on 257 metres (1170 kHz) AM and 95.1 FM before moving its FM frequency to 96.4 in the early 1980s.

Frequency split, launch of The Wave (1995)

Until the early 1990s, FM adoption in the UK was relatively low, so it was common practice among stations to simulcast their programming on both AM and FM frequencies. Starting in the late 1980s, the UK government and the IBA required that ILR and BBC stations cease simulcasting and provide separate services on their AM and FM frequencies.

In September 1995, Swansea Sound's FM frequency became a CHR (contemporary hit radio) station called ''96.4 Sound Wave'' (now 96.4 The Wave), while ''Swansea Sound'' continued to broadcast its full service format on 1170 AM.

Sale to UTV Media (2006)

In 2006, UTV Media purchased the Wireless Group, owners of radio stations across the UK including Swansea Sound. It gave the station a new jingle package, logo and slogans, as well as a significant expansion to local programming.

In late 2016, UTV's television assets were sold to ITV plc. The radio division of the company was later sold to News UK, and renamed back to its original name, the Wireless Group.

At News UK, its sister stations included TalkSport and the relaunched Virgin Radio UK.

Station sale; rebrand as Greatest Hits Radio (2020)

On 8 February 2019, Swansea Sound was sold alongside The Wave and the Wireless Group's network of local radio stations to Bauer Radio. The sale was ratified in March 2020 following an inquiry by the Competition and Markets Authority.

Under the terms of the deal, both Swansea Sound and The Wave, along with over 40 stations brought by Bauer in a “hold separate” ownership until early 2020.

On 27 May 2020, Bauer announced that Swansea Sound would rebrand and join the Greatest Hits Radio network from 1 September 2020.Most of acquired Bauer stations to become Greatest Hits Radio
Stuart Clarkson, Radio Today, 27 May 2020

Most of the station's local output - including Breakfast, daytime and Welsh language shows - was retained due to conditions placed on the station's AM broadcast licence by OFCOM.

As of April 2021, Greatest Hits Radio broadcasts 15 hours of local programming each weekday, four hours on Saturdays and six hours on Sundays, alongside hourly local news bulletins and peak-time traffic updates.

In July 2022, Greatest Hits Radio ended broadcasting on its medium-wave transmitter (1170 kHz) in South West Wales, after nearly 48 years on air.

See also

* Greatest Hits Radio
* The Wave

References

External links

*

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Radio stations in Wales
Mass media and culture in Swansea
Radio stations established in 1974
Bauer Radio
Bauer Group (UK)