107.1 Rugby FM

Last updated

107.1 Rugby FM
107.1 Rugby FM logo.svg
Broadcast area Rugby
Frequency 107.1 MHz
Programming
Format Adult Contemporary
Ownership
OwnerQuidem
History
First air date
31 August 2002
Technical information
Transmitter coordinates
 52°22′30″N1°16′07″W / 52.3750°N 1.2685°W / 52.3750; -1.2685 Coordinates: 52°22′30″N1°16′07″W / 52.3750°N 1.2685°W / 52.3750; -1.2685
Links
Website www.rugbyfm.co.uk

107.1 Rugby FM was an Independent Local Radio station in Warwickshire. At the time of closure, it was owned and operated by Quidem and broadcast from studios at Honiley, Warwickshire.

History

Under the directorship of Martin Mumford, 107.1 Rugby FM launched on 31 August 2002—former Silk FM controller Trevor Thomas was the first voice on-air, also working as the station's programme manager, before leaving to join Warwickshire neighbour The Bear 102.

The station, then owned by the Milestone Group, enjoyed considerable success, and was lauded at one point as the UK's most successful local commercial radio station in terms of audience reach - once at 44% (RAJAR Q2 2005) - attributed to an emphasis on local presence, and presenters who were recruited on the basis of quality. They also enjoyed a substantially different music policy to that of its competitors. Following Mumford's departure in 2005, Julian Hotchkiss became Managing Director of Rugby FM but left a year later following the CN Group's acquisition of the station in early 2006. The group had been a minority shareholder until this point.

From 2002 until 2008, the station was based at studios on Spring Street in the heart of the town centre. The CN Group acquisition had a number of far-reaching consequences on the output, notably the loss of 20 hours a day of local programming, and the studios being moved out of Rugby town centre into a regional hub in Kenilworth.

Between 2007 and 2009, the CN Group divested of its Midlands radio stations. First to be sold was Oak 107 FM, which went to the Lincs FM Group, who merged it with their licence in nearby Hinckley. Touch FM Banbury was sold a year later to a private consortium, and was subsequently rebranded as Banbury Sound. The remaining Touch stations, with Rugby FM, were sold to Quidem Ltd in Summer 2009, with Banbury Sound picked back up in October 2010 and Oak FM picked up in 2012.

In September 2019, Quidem announced it had entered a brand licensing agreement with Global, citing financial losses. [1] Two months later, following permission from Ofcom to change the station's format, [2] it was confirmed Rugby FM would merge with its sister Quidem-owned stations and launch as Capital Mid-Counties on 2 December 2019. [3] Rugby FM ceased broadcasting at 7pm on Friday 29 November 2019.

Related Research Articles

Jack 2 (radio station) Radio station

Jack 2 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting in Oxfordshire, United Kingdom on the Oxfordshire DAB multiplex and previously in Surrey and Hampshire on DAB and online. Until April 2020, it also broadcast on FM in Oxfordshire on 107.9FM.

Touch FM (Stratford-upon-Avon) Radio station in Stratford Upon Avon

102 Touch FM was an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the town of Stratford-upon-Avon and much of the counties of Warwickshire, Worcestershire, The Cotswolds and the surrounding area in the south of the English Midlands.

96.2 Touch FM was a local radio station serving Coventry and Warwickshire, in the West Midlands, England. The station broadcast from studios at Honiley, near Kenilworth, on 96.2 FM and online.

Oak 107 FM Former Independent Local Radio station in Loughborough, UK

Oak 107 FM was an Independent Local Radio station owned by the CN Group and based on Prince William Road in Loughborough, Leicestershire in the UK.

The Touch FM network was a group of local commercial radio stations owned by Quidem. The network included stations in Coventry, South Staffordshire, Warwick, Stratford-upon-Avon, Nuneaton & Hinckley, Loughborough, Banbury and Rugby.

Banbury Sound was an Independent Local Radio station serving the Banbury and Brackley areas of north Oxfordshire. At the time of closure, it was owned and operated by Quidem and broadcast from studios at Honiley, Warwickshire.

New 107 Oak FM Former Independent Local Radio station in West Leicestershire, UK

The New 107 Oak FM was a local radio station broadcasting in West Leicestershire and Nuneaton North Warwickshire, in the English Midlands. It was owned and operated by Quidem.

Touch FM was an independent local radio station broadcasting to Burton, Lichfield, Tamworth and South Derbyshire, England.

CN Group Limited was formerly an independent local media business based in Carlisle, Cumbria, England, operating in print and radio. It is now owned by Newsquest and their newspapers are printed in Glasgow.

Heart (radio network) British radio network

Heart is a British radio network and brand of 13 adult contemporary local stations operated by Global throughout the United Kingdom, broadcasting a mix of local and networked programming. Ten of the Heart stations are owned by Global, while the other three are operated under franchise agreements. The national version of the network is widely available on Global Player, Freeview, Sky, Freesat, Virgin Media and Digital One DAB.

Lincs FM Group British radio broadcasting company

The Lincs FM Group was based in Lincolnshire, in the UK and was the parent company of several Independent Local Radio (ILR) stations. As of Q2 2019 the group had a combined audience of 524,000.

Global Media & Entertainment British media company

Global is a British media company formed in 2007. It is the owner of the largest commercial radio company in Europe having expanded through a number of historical acquisitions, including Chrysalis Radio, GCap Media and GMG Radio. Global owns and operates seven core radio brands, all employing a national network strategy.

Touch FM (Warwick) Radio station in Kenilworth

107.3 Touch FM was an independent local radio station broadcasting to the Warwick, Leamington Spa and Kenilworth areas of Warwickshire.

Capital (radio network) UK radio network

Capital FM 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 other three are owned and operated under separate franchise agreements.

Smooth Radio (2014) Radio station in London

Smooth Radio is a network of local radio stations broadcasting on FM and MW stations in the United Kingdom. Smooth Radio features a Soft Adult Contemporary radio format. Launched in March 2014, it replaced the national Smooth Radio that had launched in 2010 on FM, and most outlets of Gold on MW.

This is a timeline of the development of independent radio in the UK.

A timeline of notable events relating to Global Radio, a British media company founded in 2007.

This is a list of events taking place in 2019 relating to radio in the United Kingdom.

Capital Mid-Counties Radio station

Capital Mid-Counties is a regional radio station owned by and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Coventry, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, south Staffordshire, the Cotswolds and north Oxfordshire.

Greatest Hits Radio Midlands is a regional radio station serving the East & West Midlands as part of Bauer’s Greatest Hits Radio network.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.