As of December 2023, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 122,000 according to RAJAR.[1]
Background
The station was launched in 1992 under the name of Pirate FM 102 with the voice of breakfast presenter Roger Day (a well-known ex-pirate DJ from Radio Caroline and Radio North Sea International). The station's launch Chief Executive was Mike Powell, who specified digital technology so advanced at the time that it was featured on the BBC science programme, Tomorrow's World.
Much of the early success of the station was due to the technical expertise of the first managing director Richard Lawley, who was also a graduate electronic engineer. He was succeeded by the station's initial sales director Joseph Swain. The station has also won numerous awards including 'Station of the Year' (in the 300,000 to 1 million potential audience category) at the 2003 and 2006 Sony Radio Academy awards.[2][3][4]
In September 2005, the station's branding changed from The Southwest's Pirate FM to Cornwall's Pirate FM. Listenership appears to have increased in Cornwall following the move, however it reduced their audience in West Devon (including Plymouth, where Pirate FM had a separate office and studio prior to the rebrand). From "Quarter 4" 2006 Pirate FM's survey area (TSA) was reduced by removing Plymouth & most of West Devon, thus reducing the potential audience significantly but focusing on the core Cornish audience. Pirate FM remains as the number one station by audience reach despite the increased competition.
The Pirate Trust was the charitable arm of Pirate FM that raises thousands of pounds yearly for good causes in Cornwall with their 'Cornwall in Need Appeal'. Yearly fundraisers include the 'Garden Party' and the all-day on-air and online auction known as 'Radiothon'. Radiothon [2007] and Radiothon [2008] were both run in collaboration with free classifieds website itsmymarket.com
Almost all programming is produced and presented locally. From August 2014 until 2020, the station operated a second service on DAB, known as Pirate 2, which aired a series of weekly specialist talk shows, covering topics such as business, farming, education and health and wellbeing.
Pirate FM logo used from 2020 to 2024.
Until 2018, Pirate FM broadcast The Vodafone Big Top 40 chart show (previously The Pepsi Chart & Hit40UK) which was produced from Capital FM in London and syndicated across over 140 commercial radio stations in the UK. However, the show was withdrawn from syndication in 2018 and now broadcasts solely on Heart & Capital stations. The 'Hits UK' show is now presented on the station with Sam Thompson.
In February 2021, the station, along with Lincs FM, began syndicating the UK Chart Show, from Bauer's Hits Radio network, on Sunday afternoons.[5] In recent years, the station has also shared a music playlist and many features with Hampshire-based sister station Wave 105.
Station restructuring and rebrand
On 27 February 2024, station owners Bauer announced Pirate FM would be rebranded as Hits Radio Cornwall from 17 April 2024, as part of a wider relaunch involving 17 local radio stations in England and Wales.[6]
The station would be available on DAB and online only and most of the station's local programming outside weekday breakfast will be replaced with programming from the Hits Radio Network, although local news, traffic bulletins and advertising will be retained.
Pirate's FM frequencies were taken over by a local variant of Greatest Hits Radio, which will include a local afternoon show for Cornwall, local news and traffic bulletins, alongside a largely networked schedule featuring weekday shows with Ken Bruce and Simon Mayo.[7]
The changes were expected to lead to a number of redundancies with freelance contracts being placed under review.[8]
It was later announced that Pirate presenters Scott Temple and Holly Day would host Greatest Hits Radio's local afternoon show.[9]
Programming
Local programming airs 6-10am on weekdays from Bauer’s Redruth studios.[10]
At all other times networked programming airs via Bauer’s London headquarters or from studios in Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle.[10]
News
Bauer's Redruth newsroom broadcasts local news bulletins hourly from 6am-7pm on weekdays, and from 7am-1pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Headlines are broadcast on the half-hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows, alongside traffic bulletins.
National bulletins from Sky News Radio are carried overnight with bespoke networked bulletins on weekend afternoons, usually originating from Bauer's Manchester newsroom.
Branding
Hits Radio Cornwall has one current on air strapline: "The Biggest Hits, The Biggest Throwbacks"
005, made by jingle production company IQ Beats. It was a re-recording of a previous package made for Heart 106.2 in London.
Previous Pirate FM (Former name of Hits Radio Cornwall) straplines were "More music for Cornwall", "Real music variety", "Better variety, more music", "The world's greatest music", "Greatest memories, latest hits" , ''Love Cornwall, Love Music, Love Pirate FM'' and "The latest technology, and the best records too".
Pirate FM adopted the Hits Radio Network slogan 'The Biggest Hits, The Biggest Throwbacks' in 2023, alongside 'Love Cornwall, Love Music'. [11]
Mascot
Intermittently since 1992, the station employed a mascot that accompanies the broadcast team to events.
From launch until the early 2000s, the character was known as "Jasper Parrot", while in recent years, Pirate revisited the concept with a parrot character, named "Dreckly" after an audience vote.
Expansion
Pirate FM was one of the two stations that applied for the licence to serve Plymouth after the licence was handed back by Macquarie's Diamond FM.
The UKRD plan to extend Pirate's service under the name Plymouth's Pirate FM lost out to Radio Plymouth, which was also eventually acquired by Bauer Media Audio UK and merged with the Greatest Hits Radio network.
Related Research Articles
Hits Radio is a network of 26 contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK.
Greatest Hits Radio South Wales is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer Radio as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network. The station broadcasts to Swansea, Cardiff, Newport and surrounding areas from studios in the Llansamlet area of Swansea on DAB.
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.
Greatest Hits Radio North East Scotland is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire on DAB digital radio and online. Owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network of classic hit music stations in England, Scotland and Wales, carrying networked programmes originating mainly from Glasgow and Manchester 24 hours a day, featuring local news and traffic bulletins.
Hits Radio East Midlands is an Independent Local Radio station based in Nottingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to the East Midlands.
Minster FM was an Independent Local Radio station serving York and the surrounding areas such as Selby, Tadcaster, Thirsk, Northallerton and Goole. The station closed on 31 August 2020 and its frequency is now a relay of Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire. It broadcast on 104.7 FM from the Acklam Wold transmitter, near Leavening, on the Yorkshire Wolds.
Yorkshire Coast Radio was an Independent Local Radio station serving Scarborough, Whitby & Bridlington. The station was folded into Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire, as part of a rebrand, on 1 September 2020.
The UKRD Group Ltd was a British media company that owned 15 commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. The name originates from UK Radio Developments. Since its acquisition in March 2019, it has been run as a subsidiary of Bauer Radio.
Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West is an Independent Local Radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester and North West England.
Bauer Media Audio UK is a UK-based radio division of Bauer Media Group owning several brands including Absolute Radio, Greatest Hits Radio, Jazz FM, Scala Radio, Hits Radio, KISS, Planet Rock, Magic, Kerrang! Radio and Heat Radio.
Hits Radio Manchester, formerly Key 103, is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester.
Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire, formerly Signal 1, is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Staffordshire and South Cheshire.
Greatest Hits Radio Plymouth is an Independent Local Radio station serving Plymouth, Devon in England.
Free Radio was a regional group of Independent Local Radio stations in the West Midlands, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network.
Greatest Hits Radio is a classic hits radio network in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK.
A timeline of notable events relating to Bauer Media Audio UK, a British media company established as a division of German company Bauer Media Group in 2008.
Greatest Hits Radio North West is a regional radio network serving North West England and North Wales, as part of Bauer’s Greatest Hits Radio network.
Greatest Hits Radio Midlands is a regional radio station serving the East & West Midlands as part of Bauer’s Greatest Hits Radio network.
This is a timeline of notable events relating to Greatest Hits Radio, a British commercial radio station operated by Bauer Radio. The timeline also covers the Magic and Big City 2 networks, which were the forerunners to Greatest Hits Radio.
Hits Radio South Wales is an Independent Local Radio station based in Swansea, Wales, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. The station broadcasts to Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and Carmarthenshire.
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.
