Nation Radio South Coast

Last updated

Nation Radio South
Broadcast area Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight and West Sussex
Frequency FM: 106.0 MHz
106.6 MHz

DAB: 11C (South Hampshire)

DAB+ 8A (Small-scale Salisbury)
Branding“The Best Variety of Hits”
Programming
Format Classic and Contemporary Hits
Network Nation Radio
Ownership
Owner Nation Broadcasting
Operator Nation Broadcasting
Easy Radio South Coast
History
First air date
1 October 2006
Former names
Original 106
The Coast
Jack FM
Sam FM
Greatest Hits Radio
Links
Website Nation Radio South

Nation Radio South is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting on 106 MHz & 106.6 MHz FM, on DAB on the South Hampshire and Bournemouth multiplexes 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.

Contents

The station is owned by Nation Broadcasting which was under a licensing agreement with operator Bauer Radio. In September 2022, the agreement ended and the station has become part of the Nation Radio network. [1]

As of September 2024, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 127,000, according to RAJAR. [2]

A number of former Wave 105 presenters including Steve Power, Tony Shepherd, Andy Jackson, Gary Parker, Tim Allen, Selina Ross and Kate Weston can be heard on Nation Radio South.

History

Original 106 & The Coast

The station was originally launched in 2006 as Original 106 (Solent), owned by Canwest, which then sold the station to Celador in August 2008. [3] It was replaced by The Coast 106 on 30 October 2008, and while initial RAJAR results were encouraging with a healthy increase over those posted by Original, the weekly reach stagnated at around 115,000 by early 2011.

Jack FM

Celador then rebranded the station as Jack FM , [4] to bring it in line with its sister station in Bristol, from 4 July 2011. All prior presenters except Robin Caddy were removed from the station, which switched to a format also used by Celador's other Jack stations - a presenter-led breakfast show (hosted by Bam Bam), [5] a Saturday morning "World Of Sport" show presented by Robin Caddy and automated music interspersed with topical one-liners in between songs voiced by actor Paul Darrow at other times.

Sam FM

Sam FM South Coast logo used from 2015-2020 Sam FM South Coast logo.png
Sam FM South Coast logo used from 2015-2020

On 1 April 2015, the station was rebranded again as Sam FM, which runs with a strapline of We're In Charge - the station controls the music and doesn't play requests - interspersed with topical one-liners in between songs by Gareth Hale who is referred to as The Voice of Sam FM. [6] However, as of the end of 2019 these one-liners have long since been withdrawn.

In March 2019, Sam FM South Coast was taken over by Nation Broadcasting following the sale of Celador Radio to Bauer Radio.

On 1 December 2019, Sam FM no longer shared programming with its sister stations in Bristol and Swindon and took the tagline The South's Greatest Hits. This appears to have had an effect on the playlist, with less rock and more pop tracks being played than previously.

Greatest Hits Radio

It was announced that from 27 May 2020, Sam FM will become Greatest Hits Radio in early September after Nation Broadcasting agreed a licensing agreement with Bauer Radio. [7] From 1 September 2020 Greatest Hits Radio was launched at 6am.

Nation Radio

On 19 September 2022, the station relaunched as Nation Radio South.

Programming

Local programming is broadcast from 11pm to 4am Monday to Friday with Tim Allen on Overnights, 4-6am Gary Parker on Early Breakfast, 1-3pm Tony Shepherd and 3pm-7pm, presented by Steve Power alongside his former Wave 105 co-host Selina Ross. Other local programming occurs over the weekend. The rest of the time it takes networked programming from Nation Radio UK with opt-outs for news, sport, travel and weather updates.

Transmitters

Analogue (FM)

Transmitter SiteFrequencyPowerRDS NamePI CodeArea
Chillerton Down 106 MHz4000WNATIONC385 (C485 Switched) Isle of Wight, South Hampshire, West Sussex and West Dorset
Crabwood Farm 106.6 MHz20WNATIONC385 (C485 Switched) Winchester
West Howe 106.6 MHz310WNATIONC385 (C585 Switched) Bournemouth & Poole

Following the station's previous launch, Coast 106 made use of a restricted service licence from Ofcom to re-broadcast the station to Guernsey. This was done to promote the station to Guernsey residents for when they travelled to England.

Digital (DAB)

Multiplex NameBitrateShort LabelLong LabelSIDFormat
NOW S Hants80Kb/sNationNation RadioC4E5MP2 MONO

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hits Radio</span> UK contemporary radio network

Hits Radio is a network of 26 contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hits Radio Cornwall</span> Local radio station in Cornwall, England

Hits Radio Cornwall, formerly Pirate FM, is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Cornwall and West Devon on DAB from studios in Redruth.

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, Neath Port Talbot and South Carmarthenshire from studios in the Llansamlet area of Swansea on DAB.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wave 105</span> Radio station in Fareham

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 Tayside & Fife is an Independent Local Radio station based in Dundee, Scotland, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network. It is broadcast in Dundee, Perth and Tayside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hits Radio East Midlands</span> Radio station in Nottingham

Hits Radio East Midlands is an Independent Regional 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tindle Radio</span> Radio group in the British Isles

Tindle Radio is a media company which owns commercial radio stations and a DAB multiplex business in the Channel Islands and the Republic of Ireland. It has its head office in Farnham, Surrey, shared with Tindle Newspapers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridge FM (Wales)</span> Radio station in Bridgend

Bridge FM is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to Bridgend County Borough and the surrounding areas. It is owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting and broadcasts on 106.3 FM from studios at the St Hilary transmitter in the Vale of Glamorgan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swansea Bay Radio</span> Local radio station in Swansea Bay, Wales

Swansea Bay Radio is an Independent Local Radio station that broadcasts to Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and South Carmarthenshire. It is owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting and broadcasts on 102.1 FM and DAB from studios near the St Hilary transmitter in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire is an Independent Local Radio station serving West Yorkshire on 96.3 and 106.8 FM, DAB, online and via the app.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easy Radio South Coast</span> Radio station in Southampton

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Original 106 (Scotland)</span> Radio station in Aberdeen

Original 106 is an Independent Local Radio station owned by DC Thomson and broadcasting to Aberdeenshire and the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nation Broadcasting</span> British media company

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hits Radio Manchester</span> British radio station

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire</span> Radio station in Stoke-on-Trent

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jack FM (United Kingdom)</span> Radio station in Oxford, United Kingdom

JACK FM was an adult hits format radio station that broadcast on 106.8 MHz FM in Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, and on DAB in Oxfordshire. Between 2016 and 2017 it also broadcast in Surrey and parts of Hampshire. The station shared premises in Eynsham, Oxfordshire, with its sister stations JACK 2 and JACK 3.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam FM (Bristol)</span> Radio station in Bristol

Sam FM was an adult hits format radio station that broadcast on 106.5 MHz FM in Bristol, United Kingdom and owned by Bauer Radio. The station formed part of the Hits Radio network, although its entire output and playlist was locally produced and took no network programming. It ceased broadcasting on 6 September 2021 when it rebranded to Hits Radio Bristol & The South West.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greatest Hits Radio</span> UK classic hits radio network

Greatest Hits Radio is a classic hits radio network in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nation Radio Suffolk</span> Radio station in Ipswich

Nation Radio Suffolk is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting. It broadcasts from Ipswich in Suffolk.

Greatest Hits Radio Midlands is a regional radio station serving the East & West Midlands as part of Bauer’s Greatest Hits Radio network.

References

  1. "Nation Broadcasting removes Bauer branding from its stations". 13 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  2. "RAJAR".
  3. radiotoday.co.uk Archived 18 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Radio Today: Jack FM to Replace The Coast
  5. RadioToday:Bam Bam launches Jack FM South Coast
  6. Radio Today: Celador's JACK stations to become Sam FM: 1 April 2015
  7. Clarkson, Stuart (27 May 2020). "Most acquired Bauer stations to become Greatest Hits Radio". RadioToday. Retrieved 12 September 2020.

50°54′20″N1°23′50″W / 50.90556°N 1.39722°W / 50.90556; -1.39722