 | |
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Defunct | 2010 |
| Headquarters | Redruth, UK |
| Products | Local Radio |
The Local Radio Company was a British media company, based in Redruth, Cornwall, that owned eleven Independent Local Radio stations in the UK. After takeover talks with UTV Media, UKRD Group and Hallwood Financial, [1] [2] UKRD acquired the majority share of the company in June 2009. [3]
TLRC was formed in 1996 as a joint venture between its majority shareholder Radio Investments Limited and GWR Group plc, with founding Chief Executive Chris Carnegy also holding a small stake. It was designed as a specialist operator of small stations and its initial portfolio consisted of stations transferred from the founders: Spire FM, Gold Radio, KCBC and Boss 603 Cheltenham from RIL, and Isle of Wight Radio from GWR. The group expanded rapidly by acquisitions and new licence wins.
Changes in structure saw a merger between TLRC, RIL and RIL subsidiary Radio Services. At its peak the merged private company owned or invested in 28 stations, spread between Stirling in Scotland and the Isle of Wight, and between Lowestoft and Plymouth. From 2000 Guardian Media Group held a management contract, with its radio chief John Myers taking charge.
The group was sold in 2004 and began a new life as The Local Radio Company plc, [4] [5] an AIM-quoted public company under the leadership of former Jazz FM CEO Richard Wheatly.
For a while, all stations owned by the quoted group, except Fire Radio, broadcast under a contemporary music format known as Music:fun:life. However this was generally not deemed a success so, after the departure of Group Programme Director Gordon Davidson in June 2006 to Emap, most stations developed their own branding.
The playlist offers a mix of new and classic pop music, with some special programming such as Party Anthems or Soul on Sunday. Network programmes broadcast by the group include The Lunchtime Gameshow which returned to the network after a break of 2 years in November 2008, hosted by John Harding and Russ Leighton broadcasting from Minster FM in York to the Northern TLRC stations; the hit40uk chart show; the urban chart show Fresh 40 and the Fierce Angel Radio Show on Saturday nights.
For six months in 2008 there were two new networked shows on the group, including the Saturday Afternoon show with Tim West (which not all stations took) and the Network Weekend Breakfast Show with Danny Mathews (previously on Capital Gold, Key 103, Century and the Magic Network). This was short-lived and, although the shows were well received by the audience / RAJAR, the shows' contracts were only six-months long and, due to the selling of many stations, these shows ceased in late 2008.
Former networked shows, such as the evening music and comedy show Simon James and Hill and late-night phone-in North-South Divided (which was broadcast jointly from studios in London and Durham to pitch listeners in the South of England against those in the North), were dropped in favour of more music-based shows that reflected the daytime sound of the TLRC stations. For a time, Sunday afternoons across the network were dedicated to a premium rate phone-in show hosted by Andy Muir, titled Money on your Mobile.
Network shows were mostly broadcast from Mix 107 in High Wycombe, although they also sometimes came from the alternative network centres at Isle of Wight Radio or Minster FM in York.
In 2005, TLRC made a large number of acquisitions including full control of east Lancashire station 2BR and Bath FM. New licences, Durham FM and Brunel FM, went on air in 2005 and 2006 respectively. In June 2007, TLRC launched Minster Northallerton which was moved into Alpha 103.2's studio outside of the stations border in Darlington. Before selling them, the company had already moved Bath studios to neighbouring Brunel FM in Swindon.
In 2007, TLRC station Isle of Wight Radio won the Sony Radio Academy Award for Radio Station of the Year (under 300,000). In 2008, Silk FM won the same award, having been shortlisted the previous year.
In June 2008, TLRC announced plans to sell six of its stations, 3TR, Bath, Brunel, Ivel, Pennine and Vale, after selling loss-incurring Dune FM earlier in the month. This was followed by Central FM in September 2008. Also in 2008, TLRC made a licensing agreement with GMG Radio for three years to run the rebranded jazzfm.com service as Jazz FM on a number of DAB multiplexes, on digital satellite and on the Internet. [6] The station went live on 6 October 2008, sharing studios with Mix 107 in High Wycombe.
On 7 January 2009, TLRC placed Jazz FM up for sale following a strategic review of the company. [7] The station was sold to former chairman of TLRC, Richard Wheatly, on 9 April 2009 for £1. [8]
In 2009, The Local Radio Company was acquired by UKRD [9] and closed or disposed of long-term loss-making stations, as well as re-branding Alpha Radio, Minster Northallerton and Durham FM Into Star Radio North East. The Local Radio Company Limited was eventually dissolved in 2021. [4]
Alpha Radio is an Independent Local Radio station brand based in Darlington, England, for south County Durham. The brand has been bought and used multiple times, the current third iteration was formerly known as Darlo Radio. The original version was merged into Star Radio, the second into Sun FM.
Pennine FM was an Independent Local Radio station based at Lockwood Park in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. The station closed on 5 April 2010 and returned its licence to the industry regulator Ofcom.
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.
Mix 107 was an Independent Local Radio station, based in High Wycombe, England. It developed from an AM licence known as Elevenseventy and its successor operation Swan FM. The brand was a result of ownership by The Local Radio Company, owners of Mix 96 in neighbouring Aylesbury. Mix 107's building was the head office for the TLRC – a group with 22 other radio stations nationwide prior to its takeover by UKRD Group.
Spire FM was an Independent Local Radio station based in Salisbury, Wiltshire. It was awarded the licence to broadcast to Salisbury and the surrounding areas by the Radio Authority, now Ofcom, in 1991. The station took its name from the spire of Salisbury Cathedral.
Greatest Hits Radio Dorset (North Dorset) (formerly Vale FM) is an Independent Local Radio station which broadcasts to the Blackmore Vale and Cranborne Chase, from Shaftesbury, Dorset, in southern England.
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.
Bath FM was a local independent radio station based at the former Weston railway station in Bath, England. The station was launched in November 1999 and closed on 24 March 2010.
Durham FM was an Independent Local Radio station based in Durham, County Durham, England.
Jazz FM is a radio station broadcasting on digital radio in the United Kingdom and Malta which predominantly plays jazz music, jazz standards as well as blues and soul music. The station, in this incarnation set up by Richard Wheatley, traces its roots back to 102.2 Jazz FM, which first launched in 1990. The current station commenced broadcasting on 6 October 2008.
Isle of Wight Radio is an Independent Local Radio station in Newport on the Isle of Wight. The station began transmitting on 1242 kHz from Briddlesford Farm AM transmitter on 15 April 1990. Isle of Wight Radio switched to FM in March 1998, its main transmitter is at Chillerton Down on 107FM, with three low power relays on 102FM in Cowes, Ventnor and Ryde.
Minster Northallerton was an Independent Local Radio station based in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England.
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.
Rathergood Radio, formerly known as Star Radio, was an Independent Local Radio station. It formerly broadcast in Darlington, County Durham, North Yorkshire and surrounding areas on FM. The County Durham licences were owned and operated by UKRD Group until 31 March 2017, when it was purchased and later rebranded by View TV Group.
Total Sense Media is a company which was incorporated in 2005 and is based in Burgess Hill, East Sussex in the United Kingdom. As of 2015 it operates five radio stations in the South of England, and publishes two magazines.
The Breeze (Bath) was an Independent Local Radio station serving Bath, Somerset.
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.
Sam FM Swindon was an Independent Local Radio station based in Swindon, England, broadcasting on the 107.7 FM frequency between 2006 and 2020.
Greatest Hits Radio Somerset (West Somerset) is an Independent Local Radio station serving Warminster, Westbury / Trowbridge in West Wiltshire / Frome in East Somerset.
The Breeze formerly Quay West and Total Star Somerset was an Independent Local Radio station serving the Sedgemoor District, Bridgwater and West Somerset.