Broadcast area | Gwynedd, Anglesey and North Wales Coast |
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Frequency | |
Branding | Gorsaf Gerddoriaeth Siartiau Orau Gogledd Cymru |
Programming | |
Language(s) | Welsh English (networked programming) |
Format |
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Network |
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Ownership | |
Owner | Global |
History | |
First air date |
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Technical information | |
Transmitter coordinates | 53°01′12″N4°16′24″W / 53.0199°N 4.2732°W |
Links | |
Webcast | Global Player |
Website | www |
Capital Cymru is a local Welsh-language radio station owned and operated by Global. The station broadcasts to Gwynedd and Anglesey from studios in Gwersyllt, Wrexham via the Arfon transmitting station.
Previously, the station formed part of the Heart network and earlier the Marcher Radio Group. [1] It switched to the Capital network on 6 May 2014. Heart North and Mid Wales now covers the region as part of the Heart network.
Capital Cymru's programmes are almost entirely in Welsh—all local output is presented in Welsh and incorporates Welsh-language music, news bulletins and traffic updates. The only English-language programming and the only networked show is The Official Big Top 40 , broadcast on Sunday afternoons.
Although the official transmission area takes in most of the Isle of Anglesey and a large part of Gwynedd (as far south as Harlech), the location of its transmitter means the signal carries across Cardigan Bay and can be heard in parts of Pembrokeshire and even in Ireland. Capital Cymru is also available on the North West Wales local DAB digital radio multiplex—broadcasting alongside the North Wales Coast feed of Capital North West and Wales, which continues to carry Capital's networked programmes.
When it launched in December 1998 as Champion 103, it was the first commercial radio station to serve Anglesey and Gwynedd as a whole, although Marcher Coast 96.3 had been broadcasting to a small part of the area for some time from its Colwyn Bay studios.
Originally owned and operated by the Marcher Radio Group, Champion 103 broadcast from studios at Parc Menai in Bangor, Gwynedd - later sharing its facilities with Coast 96.3. In 2000, the four Marcher stations - including Champion - were brought by the GWR Group and became part of The One Network.
In March 2009, following Global Radio's takeover of GCap Media, Champion was rebranded as Heart Cymru as part of a rollout of the Heart network across 29 local radio stations owned by Global. By this point, local programming had been reduced to ten hours on weekdays and seven hours at weekends.
In July 2010, Global closed the Bangor studios and moved Heart Cymru's operations to the former Marcher headquarters in Gwersyllt, near Wrexham. By this point, the three Heart stations serving North Wales Coast, Cheshire & North East Wales and the Wirral were merged into one regional station, Heart North West and Wales. Heart Cymru was not affected by the network restructuring. [2]
On 6 February 2014, Global announced that Heart Cymru would be rebranded as Capital, with the North Wales licence of Real Radio Wales being sold to Communicorp and relaunched as a new separate Heart station for North and Mid Wales. [3]
Capital Cymru was launched on 6 May 2014. All local output, including extended Welsh language shows, news bulletins and network opt-outs were retained. [4]
On 23 May 2019, Capital Cymru dropped all of Capital's networked programming and introduced a full schedule of local output, including an additional Welsh-language daytime show. [5] The station retains both the Capital branding and much of the network's Contemporary hit radio music playlist.
The Official Big Top 40 , simulcast on Heart North Wales, continues to air on Sunday afternoons. Outside programming hours, the station broadcasts automated output, including a full hour of Welsh language music at 5am on weekday mornings. [5]
The majority of Capital Cymru's output is produced and broadcast from Global's Wrexham studios - including presenter-led programming from 6 am–7 pm on weekdays, 9 am–12 pm on Saturdays and 9 am–4 pm on Sundays with The Official Big Top 40 aired on Sunday afternoons originates from Global's London headquarters. [6]
The station's local presenters are Alistair James (Capital Breakfast and Saturday mornings), Lois Cernyw (covering for Cerian Griffith; weekday daytime), Kev Bach (weekday afternoon), Dafydd Griffith (Sunday mornings) and Owain Llyr (Sunday afternoons). [5]
Capital Cymru broadcasts hourly localised news updates from 6 am–7 pm on weekdays and 6 am–12 pm at weekends. On weekdays, bulletins during local programming are broadcast in Welsh.
Global's newsrooms in Wrexham and Cardiff Bay produce the bulletins, alongside those for Capital North West and Wales, Heart North and Mid Wales and Smooth Wales.
Bangor is a cathedral city and community in Gwynedd, North Wales. It is the oldest city in Wales. Historically part of Caernarfonshire, it had a population of 15,100 at the 2021 census. Landmarks include Bangor Cathedral, Bangor University and Garth Pier. The Britannia and Menai Suspension bridges connect the city to the Isle of Anglesey.
North Wales is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia National Park and the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley, known for its mountains, waterfalls and trails, wholly within the region. Its population is concentrated in the north-east and northern coastal areas, with significant Welsh-speaking populations in its western and rural areas. North Wales is imprecisely defined, lacking any exact definition or administrative structure. It is commonly defined administratively as its six most northern principal areas, but other definitions exist, with Montgomeryshire historically considered to be part of the region.
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.
Heart Wirral was an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the Wirral Peninsula, sharing its facilities with Heart Wrexham and Gold, in Gwersyllt, Wrexham.
BBC Radio Wales is a Welsh national radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the Welsh opt-out service of BBC Radio 4.
Heart South Wales is a regional radio station that broadcasts to South and West Wales from studios in Cardiff Bay. The station is owned and operated by Global Radio and forms part of the expanded Heart radio network of stations.
Clive Warren is a British radio presenter.
Heart North Wales Coast was an independent local radio station broadcast along the North Wales coast, and owned & operated by Global Radio.
The media in Wales provide services in both English and Welsh, and play a role in modern Welsh culture. BBC Cymru Wales began broadcasting in 1923 have helped to promote a form of standardised spoken Welsh, and one historian has argued that the concept of Wales as a single national entity owes much to modern broadcasting. The national broadcasters are based in the capital, Cardiff.
Heart is a network of thirteen independent adult contemporary radio stations in the United Kingdom, broadcasting a mix of local and networked programming. Ten of the stations are owned and operated by Global, while the other three are owned and operated under separate franchise agreements. The national version of the network is widely available on Global Player, Freeview, Sky, Freesat, Virgin Media and Digital One DAB.
Marcher Radio Group Ltd, previously Marcher Sound Ltd, was a British media organisation which operated several radio stations in north Wales and northwest England. The company, now owned by Global Radio founded the independent local radio stations Marcher Sound, Coast 96.3, Buzz 97.1, Champion FM 103, and Wrexham and Chester Gold, part of the Gold Network.
Gold North Wales and Cheshire was a British Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to Wrexham, Chester, Flintshire and some of the Wirral, and was part of the Gold radio network. It is the "sister" station to local FM station, Marcher Sound, launched by Marcher Radio Group in 1989. After a period of sales and takeovers which led to Gold being operated by a separate company to its FM sister station, both are now owned by Global Radio. It is broadcast from Mold Road, Gwersyllt, Wrexham, although most programming comes from London. Gold North Wales and Cheshire was replaced by Smooth Radio in March 2014.
Radio broadcasting in Wales began in 1923 with the inauguration of the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) station at Cardiff. Radio broadcasting has been a prime source of news and entertainment for the population of Wales since that date. As well as the public service provided by the BBC, Wales has private regional and national services producing programmes in both the Welsh and English languages; though the provision of Welsh language radio has been historically inconsistent and politically divisive.
Heart North and Mid Wales is a regional radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to North and Mid Wales from studios in Gwersyllt, near Wrexham.
Capital North West and Wales is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Cheshire, the Wirral Peninsula & North Wales. The station broadcasts from its studios in Gwersyllt, Wrexham, the former headquarters of Marcher Radio Group.
Capital is a network of twelve independent contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom, broadcasting a mix of local and networked programming. Ten of the stations are owned and operated by Global, while the other two are owned and operated under separate franchise agreements.
Heart Cheshire and North East Wales was an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to north east Wales and Cheshire from its Mold Road studios in Gwersyllt, Wrexham, also shared with Gold and Heart Wirral.
This is a timeline of Capital London, previously known as Capital Radio, 95.8 Capital FM or similar variations, from its initial period as an Independent Local Radio station for Greater London to the present day CHR network serving most of the UK.
This is a timeline of the development of radio in Wales.
Nine more radio stations will be re-branded as Heart on June 22nd, including the former Marcher Group stations in North Wales and North West England.
Heart has gone out of Bangor after the popular radio station decided to close its doors and move to Wrexham. It will shift North Wales operations from its Parc Menai base to the east of the region.
Heart will become region-wide in the North West when the former Marcher stations switch to Capital and Heart appears on the Real Radio North Wales and North West frequencies.
Capital Cymru