Heart South is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to the south and south east of England from studios in Fareham, Hampshire.
The station launched on 3 June 2019 as a result of a merger between four sister stations: Heart Solent, Heart Kent, Heart Sussex and Surrey and Heart Thames Valley.
Under relaxed OFCOM requirements for local content on commercial radio, Heart South is permitted to share all programmes between seven licences located in the ITV Meridian broadcast region. [1]
Previously, these licences broadcast as separate stations:
Ocean Sound's West service was split off into Power FM in December 1988 - with the parent service, later known was Ocean FM continuing for the East and North areas.
In 1992, Ocean merged with Southern Sound (latterly Southern FM) to form the Southern Radio Group with the two stations largely sharing output. The company went onto purchase Invicta Radio in 1992, before being brought by Capital Radio plc in 1994.
By 2005, all seven stations entered common ownership when GWR Group merged with Capital to form GCap Media, which in turn was taken over by Global in 2008.
In 2009, six of the stations were rebranded as part of a rollout of the Heart network across 29 local radio stations owned by Global. Fox FM and 2-Ten FM relaunched in March, followed by 2CR, Invicta, Ocean FM, Southern FM. By this point, local programming had been reduced to ten hours on weekdays and four hours at weekends.
During the summer of 2010, Global merged six of the stations into three - with Mercury FM joining the Heart network as a result:
Heart Kent retained its local programming - but across all stations, local output was further cut to seven hours on weekdays. Localised news bulletins, traffic updates and advertising continued to air as opt-outs.
On 26 February 2019, following OFCOM's decision to relax local content obligations from commercial radio, Global announced it would merge the four stations in the South and South East into one. [2]
As of 3 June 2019, regional programming consists of three hours on weekdays, alongside localised news bulletins, traffic updates and advertising. [3] Local breakfast and weekend shows were replaced with network programming from London.
Global's studio centres in Portslade, Reading and Whitstable were closed, although local newsgathering and sales staff were retained. [2] Across the four stations, fourteen local presenters left the Heart network. [4]
All networked programming originates from Global's London headquarters, including Heart Breakfast, presented each weekday by Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden.
Regional programming is produced and broadcast from Global's Fareham studios from 4-7pm on weekdays, presented by Rich Clarke. [4] [5]
Heart South broadcasts hourly local news bulletins from 6am-7pm on weekdays and 6am-12pm at weekends. [5] Separate bulletins are produced for the licence areas previously served by Heart's stations in Berkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Kent, Oxfordshire, Sussex and Surrey.
National news updates air hourly from Global's London headquarters at all other times.
BBC Radio Solent is the BBC's local radio station serving Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight, broadcasting on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Havelock Road in Southampton.
Heart Hampshire was a British Independent Local Radio station serving South Hampshire, West Sussex and Isle of Wight primarily for Portsmouth, Southampton, Winchester and Chichester. The station served an area of England with a high proportion of commuters to London and a higher-than-average disposable income from middle-class families and people over 45. Its target age range was 25–45.
Capital South Coast was a regional radio station owned by operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital radio network. It broadcast to Hampshire from studios in Segensworth, Fareham. In 2019, Capital South Coast was replaced by Capital South following a merger with Capital Brighton.
Heart Kent was an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to Kent from studios at John Wilson Business Park in Whitstable.
Heart Sussex was an Independent Local Radio station which was owned by Global Radio and played commercial, chart-oriented popular music. Broadcast and managed from studios and offices in Portslade, Brighton and Crawley, the station played a mix of pop, rock and RnB with the overall tag line being 'The station for Sussex and Surrey' – replacing Mercury FM.
Wave 105 was a regional radio station based in Fareham, England, owned and operated by Bauer. It broadcast to South Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West Sussex, Wiltshire, and Dorset.
Capital Brighton was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital radio network. It served the Brighton and Hove area broadcasting on 107.2 FM and across Sussex on DAB.
GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group.
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.
Easy Radio South Coast is an Independent Local Radio station based in Southampton, England, owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting. It broadcasts to the South Coast of England.
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 Sussex and Surrey was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to Sussex and Surrey from studios in the Portslade area of Brighton.
Heart Solent was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to southern and western parts of Hampshire, West Sussex, Dorset and Isle of Wight.
This is a timeline of the development of independent radio in the UK.
A timeline of notable events relating to Heart, a 22-strong network of hot adult contemporary commercial radio stations operated by Global.
Capital Midlands is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Birmingham, parts of the Black Country and the East Midlands from studios at Brindleyplace in Birmingham City Centre.
Capital South is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Hampshire and Sussex from studios in Segensworth, Fareham.
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.
Heart West is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts in South West England from studios in Bristol.
Capital Mid-Counties is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Coventry, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, south Staffordshire, the Cotswolds and north Oxfordshire.
