Wessex FM was a local radio station for the Weymouth, Dorchester and Bridport areas of

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

, originating from studios in Dorchester. It broadcast on 97.2 MHz in Weymouth and Dorchester (from the Bincombe Hill transmitter), and on 96.0 MHz in Bridport (from the Bridport transmitter).

History

Early days

A group of local radio enthusiasts had been campaigning to have an Independent Local Radio (ILR) station in Dorset for some time, and eventually the Radio Authority issued the licence early in 1993. This was probably one of the last totally independent commercial radio stations in the country. Having found a suitable premises in the centre of Dorchester, studio construction began while Roger Kennedy started recruiting the on-air team and deciding on the programme format. Roger also suggested the station's on-air name - Wessex FM - and the original strapline - "From the Heart of Dorset". The station went on the air at 10am on 4 September 1993, with several special guests including veteran presenter Tony Blackburn.

Wessex FM before its closure

Until its closure on 31 August 2020, it had a reach percentage of 42%.

Programming

All of Wessex FM's programming was produced and broadcast from its Dorchester studios. Presenter-led programming aired from 6am – midnight on weekdays, 6am – 6pm on Saturdays and 8am – 4pm on Sundays. All other output was automated.

Closure

Wessex FM was purchased by Bauer Media in 2019 along with other stations in the

UKRD Group The UKRD Group Ltd was a British media company that owned 15 commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. The name originates from UK Radio Developments. Since its acquisition in March 2019, it has been run as a subsidiary of Bauer Radio. H ...

. On 27 May 2020 it was announced that Wessex FM will become

Greatest Hits Radio Greatest Hits Radio is a classic hits radio network in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer. Overview The network launched on 5 January 2015 as the "Bauer City 2 Network", and rebranded on 7 January 2019 due to the success of Rad ...

from early September 2020. The station went through a transitional period where its playlist was changed over to the 70s, 80s and 90s era and jingles changed to reflect the station playing "greatest hits". Wessex FM was finally rebranded to

at 6:00am on 1 September 2020.

External links

* - now defunct, so redirects to successor website.

References

Radio stations in Dorset Bauer Radio Radio stations established in 1993 West Dorset District Weymouth and Portland Wessex 1993 establishments in England Greatest Hits Radio {{UK-radio-station-stub