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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Luton, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard, Hemel Hempstead, St Albans, Hatfield, Stevenage, Hitchin, Welwyn Garden City, Tring, Berkhamsted and Aylesbury |
| Frequency | |
| Programming | |
| Format | Hot AC |
| History | |
First air date | 15 October 1981 (as Chiltern Radio) |
Last air date | 16th July 2010 |
Heart Dunstable (formerly 97.6 Chiltern FM) was an Independent Local Radio station based in Chiltern Road in Dunstable, Bedfordshire.
Together with sister stations 96.9 Chiltern FM, Northants 96 and Horizon Radio, the station formed the Chiltern Radio Network, which became the Chiltern Radio Group. The Chiltern Radio Group underwent a number of ownership changes as Britain's radio ownership rules were liberalised, first becoming part of the GWR Group's Mix Network in September 1995, during which time networked programming from the group's headquarters in Bristol was introduced to off-peak hours (after 7pm).
When GWR merged with Capital Radio in May 2005 to form GCap Media, the combined group's local FM network, including Chiltern, was renamed the One Network for advertising clients, though the station was still called Chiltern on air (even returning to the heritage branding Chiltern Radio for a time). GCap was itself bought out by Global Radio in 2008, with the new owners planning to operate many of their new acquisitions under Global's existing Heart and Galaxy brands. As a result, in January 2009, Chiltern Radio was rebranded by its owners Global Radio as Heart, this move ended, after 28 years, the use of the Chiltern Radio brand name.
On 21 June 2010, Global Radio announced plans to close Heart Dunstable and merge the station with Heart Milton Keynes, Heart Northants and Heart Bedford as part of plans to reduce the Heart network of stations from 33 to 16. [1] The new station, Heart Home Counties , began broadcasting from Dunstable on 16 July 2010. [2]
Past presenters included Mark Smith, Philippa Collins, Conrad Alexander, Paul McKenna, Graham Torrington, Dale Winton, NJ Williams, Martin Collins, Jeremy Beadle and Chris Moyles.
Heart Northants was an Independent Local Radio station serving Northamptonshire.
Heart Norwich was an Independent Local Radio station for Norfolk and North Suffolk, including Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, until early 2009. The station, now part of the national Heart Network, is owned and operated by Global Radio.
Heart Gloucestershire was a British Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to Gloucestershire from studios in Gloucester.
Heart North Devon was an Independent Local Radio station in North Devon.
Heart Hertfordshire is an Independent Local Radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts across Hertfordshire from studios in Watford.
GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed on 9 May 2005. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. On 31 March 2008 the company agreed a takeover by Global Radio for £375 million. This was completed on 6 June 2008, and the company became a wholly owned subsidiary of Global Radio.
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 Capital Radio Network' when the companies merged in 2005. Its main regional radio network rival was the Big City Network, owned by Bauer Group.
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.
Classic Gold WABC was a United Kingdom radio station, broadcasting to much of Wolverhampton and Shropshire from studios in Dunstable. Regional news, weather, events and community information, local advertising and a four-hour live weekday regional programme came from a studio centre in Wolverhampton, home also to Beacon Radio.
Heart Milton Keynes was an Independent Local Radio station for Milton Keynes and North Buckinghamshire. Broadcasting on 103.3FM from the Bow Brickhill transmitter, the station was part of Global Radio's Heart Network. The station's flagship shows were Heart Breakfast with Wes Venn and Heart Drivetime with Lucy Ellis.
Heart Bedford was an Independent Local Radio station based in the Priory Business Park in Bedford, Bedfordshire in England.
The Hit Music Network was a collection of five Independent Local Radio stations operating in the United Kingdom and owned by Global Radio. Created on 25 June 2008, the stations were formerly owned by GCap Media before its takeover by Global and, with the exception of 95.8 Capital FM, were all part of The One Network. 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 GCap Media purchase and purchased by Orion Media. Mercury FM Crawley, Ten 17 in Harlow and Hertfordshire's Mercury 96.6 joined the Hit Music Network at that point, until 26 July 2010. Red Dragon FM in South Wales, whilst part of the Hit Music Network, remained local 24 hours a day, taking none of the network programmes.
Chiltern Radio Network was the parent group of several Independent Local Radio stations in the 1980s and 1990s. These were divided across two networks: The Hot FM and SuperGold.
Heart Thames Valley was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to Berkshire, Oxfordshire, north Hampshire and parts of west Buckinghamshire from studios in Reading, southern England.
Heart Essex was an Independent Local Radio station, serving the county of Essex and parts of East Hertfordshire. It was launched on 12 September 1981, broadcasting from Southend-on-Sea and since 27 October 2004 from Chelmsford, both in Essex.
Heart West Country was a regional radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network, broadcasting to Bristol and Somerset.
Heart Four Counties was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire.
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.
Heart East is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to the East of England from studios in Milton Keynes.