 |
 | |
| Company type | Private Limited Company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media Radio Broadcasting |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | St Hillary, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales |
Area served | United Kingdom |
| Website | www |
Nation Broadcasting is a British media company headquartered in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It currently owns and operates twelve Independent Local Radio stations across the United Kingdom.
Originally known as Town and Country Broadcasting, the Nation name came into being when the company took over XFM South Wales in May 2008 and rebranded the station as Nation Radio. [1] [2] [3]
In June 2018, the company changed the name of Thames Radio [4] to Nation Radio, [5] with this service becoming their national service, with DJs such as Mike Read, [6] Russ Williams and Neil Francis, broadcasting online and on DAB in 2021 from Nation Radio UK's studios in London. [7] [8]
In February 2019, Nation purchased several former Lincs FM Group and Celador Radio services from Bauer Radio, including The Breeze and Sam FM in the Solent region, and KCFM in East Yorkshire, as these stations overlap with pre-existing Bauer assets Wave 105 and Viking FM. [9]
In September 2022 Nation Broadcasting's franchise agreement with Bauer Radio endedd. [10] This resulted in a series of changes being made to Nation-owned services in September and October 2022, dubbed 'The Big Switch', [11] which included the removal of Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio content from Nation-owned stations in favour of material largely sourced from Nation Radio UK and Easy Radio.
Nation Broadcasting runs a suite of digital-first thematic music stations, available via DAB+ transmission in a select number of areas, and UK-wide online. As at December 2021, these include:
Many of the stations were previously carried on small-scale DAB in Glasgow, but this ended with the closure of the Trial Glasgow multiplex in autumn 2021 (in preparation for the new permanent franchise, won by Nation but later sold to Like Media Group, which is due for launch in 2022.)
The group also owns stakes in a number of DAB Digital Radio multiplexes.
The group had also owned Radio Hampshire – broadcasting to Southampton and Winchester but this was sold to Play Radio, and then operated under the name The Breeze. Following the purchase of Celador Radio by Bauer Radio in February 2019, the Southampton and Winchester licences, along with a Portsmouth licence subsequently added to the network, were sold to Nation due to overlapping with the existing regional Bauer station Wave 105.
On 31 May 2019, Nation closed Radio Ceredigion and its frequencies are now used to broadcast Nation Radio Wales. [19]
In July 2010, it was announced [20] that Town and Country Broadcasting was to take over the licence to run the NME's spin-off radio station, NME Radio, after it was reduced to an online only service following DX Media pulling out of the venture.
The new NME Radio was launched on Wednesday 1 September 2010 - with familiar group presenters providing live programming for the national NME Radio service. The station also replaced the now defunct Dabbl station on the Cardiff & Newport DAB Multiplex as well as launching a brand new iPhone app.
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.
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.
Radio X is a British national commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. The station launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station named Q102, before being renamed Xfm in 1992. The station became a legally licensed London-wide station in 1997, and in 2015 began national broadcasting under the name Radio X.
Smooth Chill is a British digital radio station dedicated to chill out, ambient and trip hop music. On 3 September 2019, Chill was rebranded as Smooth Chill to align it with the Smooth Radio brand. It is owned and operated by Global.
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.
Galaxy Digital was a radio station broadcasting through the digital platform across the United Kingdom and was owned by Global Radio. It primarily broadcast in areas where Galaxy was not represented on FM, such as London, Leicester, Nottingham, and Derbyshire. It also formerly broadcast in Central Scotland, until the relaunch of Xfm Scotland as Galaxy Scotland, at which point Galaxy Digital on DAB was replaced with a relay of Xfm London.
The Lincs FM Group was the parent company of several Independent Local Radio (ILR) stations. As of Q2 2019 the group had a combined audience of 524,000. It was based in Lincolnshire, in the UK.
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 the England.
Global Media & Entertainment Limited, trading as Global, is a British media company formed in 2007. It is the owner of the largest commercial radio company in Europe having expanded through a number of historical acquisitions, including Chrysalis Radio, GCap Media and GMG Radio. Global owns and operates seven core radio brands, all employing a national network strategy, including Capital, Heart, Gold, Classic FM, Smooth and LBC.
Nation Radio Wales is a regional radio station, broadcasting to south and west Wales on FM and across Wales on DAB. It is owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting and broadcasts from studios near the St Hilary transmitter on the outskirts of Cowbridge.
Nation Radio South Coast is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting on 106 MHz & 106.6 MHz FM, on DAB on the South Hampshire multiplex across the South Coast of England and on DAB+ across a limited area on the Portsmouth small scale trial multiplex. The station is owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting.
Greatest Hits Radio South West is a regional radio station serving the South West of England, as part of Bauer's Greatest Hits Radio network.
Greatest Hits Radio is a classic hits radio network in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK.
This is a timeline of the development of independent radio in the UK.
A timeline of notable events relating to Global Radio, a British media company founded in 2007.
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.
This is a list of notable events in the timeline of digital audio broadcasting in the UK.
This is a timeline of the development of radio in Scotland.
This is a timeline of the development of radio in Wales.