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Broadcast area | East Riding of Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire |
Frequency | FM: 96.9 MHz DAB: 10D |
RDS | VIKING |
Branding | The Biggest Hits, The Biggest Throwbacks Across East Yorkshire & Northern Lincolnshire |
Programming | |
Format | CHR/Pop |
Network | Hits Radio |
Ownership | |
Owner | Bauer Media Audio UK |
Greatest Hits Radio East Yorkshire & Northern Lincolnshire | |
History | |
First air date | 17 April 1984 |
Former names | Viking Radio Viking FM |
Former frequencies | 102.7 FM 1161 MW |
Technical information | |
Transmitter coordinates | 53°48′11″N0°33′55″W / 53.8031°N 0.5653°W |
Links | |
Webcast | Hits Radio Player |
Website | Hits Radio East Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire |
Hits Radio East Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire, formerly Viking FM, is an Independent Local Radio station based in Leeds, England, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to the East Riding of Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire.
It replaced Viking FM, 40 years to the day after the station originally launched as Viking Radio.
As of March 2024, the station has a weekly audience of 179,000 listeners according to RAJAR. [1]
The station is transmitted from the High Hunsley transmitter on the Yorkshire Wolds, near North Cave, sharing the 200 ft tower with Capital Yorkshire and BBC Radio Humberside, as well as on the Bauer Humberside DAB multiplex from three transmitters, located at nearby Cave Wold, Buckton Barn near Bridlington and Grimsby town centre.
It is also streamed over the Internet via Viking FM's website, making it accessible to listeners from across the United Kingdom. Worldwide webcasting is no longer possible, for licensing reasons.
During the application process for the licence, the station's working title was Humber Bridge Radio; but launched as Viking Radio at 6.55am on 17 April 1984 and broadcast on 102.7 FM and 1161 kHz AM (258m Medium Wave). The first on-air presenter was David Fewster and the first song played was Celebration by Kool & the Gang. [2] In spring 1986, the frequency was changed to 96.9 FM, with BBC Radio Humberside, which had occupied this frequency, moving to 95.9 FM.
Viking was the first commercial radio station in the UK to introduce split programming, doing so to broadcast rugby league commentary on Sunday afternoons without interrupting The Network Chart Show. The rugby was aired on MW with The Network Chart broadcast on FM. On 31 October 1988, Viking Radio split frequencies on a permanent basis and was transformed into Viking FM on 96.9 FM and Viking Gold on 1161 medium wave. The AM station later became Classic Gold, Classic Gold Radio, Great Yorkshire Gold, Great Yorkshire Radio, Magic 1161 and Viking 2 and finally Greatest Hits Radio East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire until the transmitter was switched off on 26 April 2021. [3]
In 1990, The Yorkshire Radio Network, which owned Viking as well as Radio Hallam, Pennine Radio (now known as Pulse 1) and Classic Gold, were bought by The Metro Radio Group. In 1996, the station was bought by EMAP and as a result of a group takeover in 2008, Viking is now owned by Bauer Media Group, as part of the Hits Radio network of radio stations.
In August 2019, Bauer announced Viking FM would cease broadcasting from its Hull studios and co-locate with sister station Hallam FM in Sheffield from Wednesday 2 October 2019 but that it would maintain a local presence in the form of local news, advertising and charity staff. [4] In 2020, Viking FM moved co-located with Pulse 1 in Leeds.[ citation needed ]
On 10 January 2024, station owners Bauer announced Viking FM would be rebranded as Hits Radio East Yorkshire & North Lincolnshire from 17 April 2024, as part of a network-wide relaunch involving 17 local radio stations in England and Wales. [5] The announcement signalled the end of the Viking Radio brand after 40 years of broadcasting. [6]
The station's local programming will not be affected as a result of the relaunch.
In 2005, the station won its first Gold Award at the Sony Radio Academy Awards for "Happy Hour"; a news investigation into binge drinking in the region. They won a Bronze award in 2006 for their series of programmes on subjects like ASBO's and street crime.[ citation needed ]
In 2005, Viking FM's Creative Team (who write and make the adverts) won a Vox Award for a Road Safety ad, in 2006 they won four Vox Awards (Best Campaign, Best Use of Music, Best Media Production and Other) and the London International Awards for Sound Design. In 2007 they achieved a finalist place at the New York Awards and won a United Nations Award for Peace and Human Rights.
The original logo depicted the station mascot "Eric the Viking", this was phased out in the late 1980s when the logo style was shared with its sister stations. This was later phased out and replaced by the Emap Big City 'splash'; used by many stations on the network. In 2015, the logo was overhauled across the Bauer City network and Viking FM has now adopted the 'Your' logo, in line with branding changes to all Bauer City stations.[ citation needed ]
Viking's original package was produced by CBC Creative - further idents were made by JAM Creative Productions, Alfasound and Reelworld. Viking went through a stage starting in the late 1990s of only using voice over sweeper production produced in-house, however, in 2006 a new sung package was commissioned, produced by Wisebuddah. In the same year, it commissioned another sung package from JonesTM (now TM Studios). [7]
Networked programming originates from Bauer's Manchester headquarters. [8] [9]
Local programming is currently produced and broadcast from Bauer's Leeds studios, weekdays 6-10am for The Hits Radio Breakfast Show With Alex & Nicola. [10]
The news operation is based at Bauer's offices in Hull and studios in Lincoln for the most part and during peak times, with local news bulletins hourly from 6am-7pm on weekdays, and from 7am-1pm on weekends. 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 Leeds newsroom.
![]() | This article's list of people may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy.(February 2015) |
BBC Radio Humberside is the BBC's local radio station serving the former county of Humberside which includes the unitary authorities of East Riding of Yorkshire, Kingston upon Hull, North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire.
BBC Radio York is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of North Yorkshire.
Hits Radio is a network of 26 contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK.
Hits Radio Coventry & Warwickshire is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Coventry and Warwickshire.
Hits Radio Herefordshire & Worcestershire is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
Hits Radio West Yorkshire, formerly Pulse 1, is an Independent Local Radio station based in Leeds, England, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to West Yorkshire.
Pulse 2 was an Independent Local Radio station serving Bradford, Kirklees and Calderdale areas from studios in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England.
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.
Hits Radio South Yorkshire, formerly Hallam FM, is an Independent Local Radio station based in Sheffield, England, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to South Yorkshire and Chesterfield.
Classic Gold was a network of three "Gold" music formatted stations which broadcast on AM in Bradford, Hull and Sheffield. They were the sister stations of Pennine Radio, Viking Radio and Radio Hallam respectively and they were part of the Yorkshire Radio Network.
Hits Radio Birmingham is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Birmingham and the West Midlands.
Greatest Hits Radio East Yorkshire & Northern Lincolnshire is an Independent Local Radio station serving East Riding of Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire. The station was replaced by a relay of Magic UK, as part of a restructure, on 1 September 2020.
Stephanie Hirst is an English radio and television presenter on Hits Radio. She has hosted Hit40UK and the weekday breakfast show on Capital Yorkshire Hirsty's Daily Dose.
Nation Radio East Yorkshire, formerly GHR Hull & East Yorkshire and KCFM, is an Independent Local Radio station serving Kingston upon Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire, which is owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting. This new licence was advertised by Ofcom in 2006.
Capital Yorkshire is a regional radio station owned by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire from studios in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
Radio Aire was an Independent Local Radio station, serving Leeds and West Yorkshire.
Hits Radio Liverpool, formerly Radio City, is an Independent Local Radio station based in Liverpool, England, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Merseyside, Cheshire and parts of north Wales.
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 Yorkshire is a radio station regional sub-network serving Yorkshire, Lincolnshire & the North Midlands as part of Bauer’s Greatest Hits Radio network. Whilst all programming is shared either across the region, or nationally, the local areas which were formerly separate stations retain local identities, with local news, travel updates, weather forecasts and advertising. It is not possible therefore to listen to a station branded "Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire".