The Hit Music Network was a collection of five

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, ...

stations operating in the United Kingdom and owned by Global Radio. Created on 25 June 2008, the stations were formerly owned by

GCap Media GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed in May 2005. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. ...

prior to its takeover by Global and, with the exception of

95.8 Capital FM Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. I ...

, were all part of

The One Network The One Network was the collective name for thirty-eight regional Independent Local Radio licences operated by GCap Media in the United Kingdom. It was formed from the combination of GWR Group's 'The Mix Network' and Capital Radio Group's 'The ...

. Initially the network included Trent FM, Ram FM, Leicester Sound, Mercia FM, and Beacon Radio Wolverhampton until the latter two we removed as they were part of the disposal by Global Radio after the

purchase and purchased by

Orion Media Orion Media was a UK commercial radio group, founded in 2009 after a management buy-in, with backing from Lloyds Development Capital. It was created from the enforced sale of several radio stations in the English Midlands previously owned by Gl ...

Mercury FM Mercury FM was a radio station in the Surrey and Sussex area of the United Kingdom that was founded on 20 October 1984 and closed on 25 July 2010. The station broadcast on FM 97.5 MHz in Horsham and 102.7 MHz in East Surrey and ...

Crawley,

Ten 17 Ten-17 was an Independent Local Radio station, broadcast from studios at the Latton Bush Centre in Harlow. The station launched in May 1993 and served Harlow, East Herts and West Essex until its closure on 25 July 2010. History Ten 17 came int ...

in Harlow and Hertfordshire's Mercury 96.6 joined the Hit Music Network at that point, until 26 July 2010.

Red Dragon FM Capital South Wales is a regional radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Cardiff and Newport and the surrounding areas from studios in Cardiff Bay. History The statio ...

in South Wales, whilst part of the Hit Music Network, remained local 24 hours a day taking none of the network programmes (except the Big Top 40). Its core audience was 18- to 34-year-olds. Networked programming originated from Trent FM's studios in Chapel Quarter, Nottingham under Programme Director Dick Stone. The network was rebranded and merged with

The Galaxy Network Galaxy was a radio network owned by Global Radio and broadcast across the British Isles on FM in regional areas of England and Scotland, through the digital platform with Sky and DAB and online respectively. Stations included stations: Galaxy Bi ...

in January 2011 to form '

The Capital FM Network Capital is a network of twelve independent contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom, broadcasting a mix of local and networked programming. Nine of the stations are owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment, while the oth ...

', comprising eight stations in London, Scotland, South East Wales, the West & East Midlands and northern & southern England broadcasting under the Capital FM identity. Local programming on the stations is restricted to daily breakfast and weekday drivetime shows (alongside some local specialist output) with

Trent FM Trent FM was an Independent Local Radio station which broadcast to Nottinghamshire. The station merged with two other East Midlands stations, Leicester Sound and Ram FM to form Capital FM East Midlands (part of Global's Capital FM Network) on M ...

Leicester Sound Leicester Sound was an Independent Local Radio station which broadcast to Leicestershire. The station merged with two other East Midlands stations, Trent FM and Ram FM to form Capital FM East Midlands (part of Global's Capital FM Network) on M ...

and

Ram FM Ram FM was an Independent Local Radio station, which broadcast to central and southern parts of Derbyshire on 102.8 FM. The station merged with two other East Midlands stations, Trent FM and Leicester Sound to form Capital FM East Midlands (p ...

merged to form ''

Capital FM East Midlands Capital East Midlands was a regional radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital radio network, broadcasting to the East Midlands from studios in Nottingham. It launched on 3 January 2011 following the merger of Tren ...

'' from Nottingham.

History

The One Network was formed following the merger of GWR Group and Capital Radio in 2005, merging GWR's ''Mix Network'' with Capital's ''Capital FM Network'' and was relaunched in September 2007. In 2008, Global Radio acquired GCap and announced plans to break up the One Network, with most stations being rebranded as

Heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

, one becoming a

Galaxy A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. ...

station and the remaining others retaining their 'heritage' brand as a new network (mainly as the stations overlapped with existing Heart stations).RadioToday
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On Air

A schedule containing network shows - from Trent FM's studios in Nottingham - and local shows at various times was set for The Hit Music Network, but did not operate on

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

South East Wales South East Wales is a loosely defined region of Wales generally corresponding to the preserved counties of Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and Gwent. Highly urbanised, it includes the cities of Cardiff and Newport as well as large towns in th ...

. The Big Top 40 Show was broadcast throughout the whole of the ''Hit Music Network''. The Hit Music Network was renowned for its high rotation of songs and tight presentation. The presenters often ensured the most songs possible were played in an hour. This was a direct contrast to the BBCs CHR station

Radio 1 Radio 1 or Radio One most commonly refers to: *BBC Radio 1, a music radio station from the BBC ** BBC Radio 1Xtra, a digital radio station broadcasting black music *CBC Radio One, a talk radio station operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporatio ...

, where the presenters stop music and have longer 'personality' links, as opposed to the speedlinks of the Hit Music Network. Unlike Radio 1, the network did not play alternative, rock or classic hits music.

Capital Network

On Monday 3 January 2011, all Hit Music Network & Galaxy Network stations were rebranded as "Capital FM", forming a new

Capital FM Network Capital is a network of twelve independent contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom, broadcasting a mix of local and networked programming. Nine of the stations are owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment, while the oth ...

. All programming with the exception of breakfast, drivetime, weekend afternoon and some local specialist output originates from

London. Stations rebranded: * 103.2 & 97.4 Red Dragon FM - 97.4/103.2 Capital FM "South Wales' No.1 Hit Music Station" *

and

- 96-106 Capital FM "East Midlands' No.1 Hit Music Station" * Galaxy Birmingham - 102.2 Capital FM "Birmingham's No.1 Hit Music Station" *

Galaxy Manchester Capital Manchester was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital radio network. The station broadcast from their studios at Global's Manchester HQ in the XYZ Building in Spinningfields, Manchester. In Apri ...

- 102 Capital FM "Manchester's No.1 Hit Music Station" *

Galaxy North East Capital North East is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to North East England from studios in Newcastle upon Tyne. The station launched on 1 June 1999 as Galaxy 105–106, r ...

- 105-106 Capital FM "North East's No.1 Hit Music Station" *

Galaxy Scotland Capital Scotland (formerly known as Beat 106, XFM Scotland, and later Galaxy Scotland) is a regional radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global. It broadcasts to Scotland's Central Belt, an area surrounding the two cities o ...

- 105-106 Capital FM "Scotland's No.1 Hit Music Station" *

Galaxy South Coast Capital South Coast was a regional radio station owned by operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital radio network. It broadcast to Hampshire from studios in Segensworth, Fareham. In 2019, Capital South Coast was replaced by Capital So ...

- 103.2 Capital FM "South Coast's No.1 Hit Music Station" *

Galaxy 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, Engl ...

- 105 Capital FM "Yorkshire's No.1 Hit Music Station"

Stations

(

) *

(

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

) *

(

) *

(

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

) *

(

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

) *

(Harlow, East Hertfordshire & West Essex) - until Monday 26 July 2010 * Hertfordshire's Mercury 96.6 (South Hertfordshire) - until Monday 26 July 2010 *

(East Surrey & North Sussex) - until Monday 26 July 2010 *

Mercia FM Free Radio Coventry & Warwickshire is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Coventry and Warwickshire. As of September 2022, the stati ...

(Coventry)- until 2009 *

Beacon Radio Free Radio Black Country & Shropshire is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Shropshire, Wolverhampton and the Black Country. As of Sep ...

(Wolverhampton)- until 2009 Ten 17 and Mercury FM were merged with Heart stations in Essex and Sussex & Surrey and the independently owned Mercury 96.6 was rebranded as Heart Hertfordshire.

References

External links