Rother FM was 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 2 ...

station serving the English town of

Rotherham Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...

. The station was on air from 2006 until it was closed in 2020 by owners Bauer so that the frequency could be used to broadcast Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire.

Studios and coverage

Rother FM was originally based in

from its studios at Aspen Court in Templeboroug, but later moved to

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

as part of cost saving measures. It covered the Rotherham Borough from its transmitter at Boston Castle, although it could easily be heard in neighbouring areas such as

Sheffield Sheffield is a city in South Yorkshire, England, situated south of Leeds and east of Manchester. The city is the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire and some of its so ...

and

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

Background

Prior to being awarded the licence by

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...

, Rother FM broadcast two

Restricted Service Licence A UK Restricted Service Licence (often called an RSL) is typically granted to radio stations and television stations broadcasting within the UK to serve a local community or a special event. Licences are granted by the broadcasting authority Ofcom ...

broadcasts from the Carlton Park Hotel. The station went on to be awarded the full-time licence and launched at 10am on Sunday 15 October 2006 with presenter James Marriott hosting the first show. It was part of the Lincs FM Group of radio stations and broadcast on the old

Hallam FM Hits Radio South Yorkshire, formerly Hallam FM, is an Independent Local Radio station based in Sheffield, England, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to South Yorkshire and Chesterfiel ...

frequency of 96.1MHz FM. The station broadcast a mix of current chart music as well as well known tracks from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s alongside news, information and competitions.

Closure

Lincs FM Group was purchased by

Bauer Radio Bauer Media Audio UK is a UK-based radio division of Bauer Media Group owning brands; Absolute Radio, Greatest Hits Radio, Jazz FM, Hits Radio, KISS, Planet Rock, Magic, Kerrang! Radio and Heat Radio. History In early 2008, German ma ...

in February 2019 and eighteen months later, most of the group's remaining stations including Rother FM, were rebranded as Greatest Hits Radio.

References

Radio stations established in 2006 Radio stations disestablished in 2020 Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom Radio stations in Yorkshire Rotherham Bauer Radio Greatest Hits Radio {{UK-radio-station-stub