Capital (radio network)

Capitalis a network of twelveindependentcontemporary hit radiostations in the United Kingdom, broadcasting a mix of local and networked programming. Ten of the stations are owned and operated byGlobal,while the other two are owned and operated under separate franchise agreements.[1]

Capital
Country
United Kingdom
Broadcast area
United Kingdom
HeadquartersLeicester Square,London
BrandingThe UK's No.1 Hit Music Station
Programming
Language(s)
FormatContemporary hit radio
Ownership
OwnerGlobal
History
Launch date3 January 2011;14 years ago(2011-01-03)
Replaced
Coverage
StationsSee list
Links
WebcastGlobal Player
Websitewww.capitalfm.comEdit this at Wikidata

As of September 2024, the stations serve a combined weekly audience of 7.5 million listeners and target a core audience in the 15–34 age group; 57% of all listeners are within this demographic.[2]Thenational version of the networkis widely available on Global Player,Freeview,Sky,Freesat,Virgin MediaandDigital One DAB.Capital is the fifth most-popular radio network in the UK by listeners, and the second largest of the commercial stations afterHeart.[3]

Capital has aplaylist[4]which is updated weekly, and up until around February 2022, featured songs from the last one or two years.[5]Since 2022, Capital has started playing older songs from the 2010s, 2000s, and late 1990s, although unlike fellow hit music stationBBC Radio 1,it does not play rock or alternative music, which is instead played on Capital's sister networkRadio X,while genres such asdrillare played instead on its sister stationCapital Xtra.

History

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Capital Radio, GWR and GCap Media

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Capital started as the independent music radio station for London in the early 1970s.

In the 1990s, Capital Radio became one of the UK's major radio groups via acquisition of a number of local radio stations includingRed Dragon FM,BRMBandPower FM.RivalGWR Groupalso acquired a number of local radio stations in the 1990s, includingLeicester Sound,Ram FM,GWR FM,Chiltern FM,Hereward FM,Marcher SoundandTrent FM,which operated as part of the 33-station Mix network.

Capital Radio and GWR Group's merger in 2005 to formGCap Mediaresulted in the stations being amalgamated into theOne Network.This continued until June 2009 when most of the stations, now in the ownership ofGlobal Radio— who had purchased GCap in 2008 — were rebranded as part ofThe Heart Network.This leftLeicester Sound,Ram FM,Red Dragon FMandTrent FM,which, in 2008, were grouped together to formThe Hit Music Networkwith networked content produced inNottingham,although, apart fromThe Big Top 40 Show,the networked content did not appear on Red Dragon. In January 2011, these stations were rebranded as part of Capital, with the Leicester, Derby and Nottingham stations merged to form one regional station for the East Midlands.

Galaxy

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The first Galaxy radio station, Galaxy 97.2, was launched in 1990 inSouth West England– initially broadcasting solely fromBristol– and operated under theChiltern Radio Group.In 1994 the station won the first regional FM licence and moved frequency to 101.0 MHz, rebranded asGalaxy 101and expanded coverage to includeSouth Wales.At the same time a second studio was opened inCardiffto provide some programming alongside the existing Bristol studio.Chrysalis Radiopurchased the station in 1996 and, a year later, expanded the network by buyingFaze FM's stations:Kiss 102in Manchester andKiss 105in Yorkshire. In 1998, black community stationChoice FMwas acquired in Birmingham. Chrysalis Radio won the North East regional licence in 1999 and sold the original station, Galaxy 101, to theGWR Groupin 2002 (this station is nowKiss 101).

In 2007, Chrysalis Radio was sold to Global Radio and following their subsequent acquisition of GCap in 2008,XFM ScotlandandPower FMwere rebranded under the Galaxy moniker in November 2008. Another rebrand followed in January 2011 when all Galaxy stations were rebranded as Capital.

Capital

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Within the first five months of the network,Capital's flagship London stationregained its position as the most listened-to commercial station in London. However,Manchester,the North East,South WalesandYorkshirelost listeners, contrasting withBirmingham,Central Scotlandandthe South Coastwhere listening figures increased.[6]

On 1 July 2011,Global Radiorequested changes to the formats ofCapital BirminghamandCapital Scotland,which had inherited obligations from previous owners. This was to enable format consistency within all nine Capital stations.[7]On 17 November 2011,Ofcomapproved both format change requests.[8]

On 6 February 2014, Global Radio announced it would be selling two of its Capital stations, in Scotland and South Wales, toCommunicorp.Capital's network programming and brand name is still used by both stations under contract.[9]

Two ex-Heartstations were added to the network on 6 May 2014:Capital Cymru(serving Anglesey and Gwynedd) andCapital North West and Wales,broadcasting from Wrexham.

On 18 January 2016, Global added the formerJuice FMstation inLiverpoolto the network, after approval was given to buy the station fromUTV Mediafor £10 million.[10]

In January 2018, Global added the formerJuice 107.2inBrightonand announced it would launch Capital Brighton on 3 September 2018.[11]

In July 2018, Global brought2BRin Lancashire from UKRD.[12]The station was merged withthe Manchester stationand joined the network on 8 April 2019.[13]

In February 2019, following Ofcom's decision to relax local content obligations for commercial radio, it was announced Capital would replace its local breakfast and weekend shows with additional networked programming from London as of Monday 8 April 2019. This reduced total weekly hours of local programming on each station from 43 to 15.[14]

Capital Cymruretained its own local breakfast and weekend shows due to separate Welsh-language obligations.[15]In May 2019, the station dropped all networked output and introduced a full schedule of local programming, including additional Welsh-language shows.[16]Capital Cymru also retains the network's branding and much of itsCHRmusic playlist.

Local Drivetime shows were retained, but some are now shared between stations. Local news, traffic updates and advertising is retained across all licence areas.[14]

In September 2019, Quidem, the owners of six local radio stations in the English Midlands, announced it had entered a brand licensing agreement with Global, citing financial losses.[17]Two months later, following Ofcom permission to change the stations' formats,[18]it was confirmed they would merge and join the Capital network on 2 December 2019.[19]Quidem continued to ownCapital Mid-Countiesas a franchise until August 2021 when Global took ownership, although Communicorp continues to own their franchises.

On 2 November 2022, Capital rebranded their stations to no longer use the word "FM" in their names; FM had already been removed from their on-air branding. The station logos with the Capital FM name and the station's frequency range were replaced with a blue and orange single-word logo, and Capital Xtra's branding had a colour change.

In April 2023, it was announcedCapital Scotland(owned byCommunicorp) would reintroduce local breakfast, daytime and weekend programming from 2 May 2023, as part of a major expansion of Global's Scottish radio operations.[20][21]

Capital stations in England will end local and regional programming on 21 February 2025. Scotland and Wales will retain their respective local programming.[22][23][24]

List of Capital stations

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As of 2 December 2019, Capital's regional network consisted of twelve stations.

Years Capital station Studios
2014– Capital Cymru Wrexham
2016– Capital Liverpool Liverpool
1973– Capital London London
2019– Capital Manchester and Lancashire Manchester
2019– Capital Mid-Counties Birmingham
2019– Capital Midlands Birmingham
2011– Capital North East Newcastle
2014– Capital North West and Wales Wrexham
2011– Capital Scotland(franchise, owned byCommunicorp) Glasgow
2019– Capital South Segensworth
2011– Capital South Wales(franchise, owned byCommunicorp) Cardiff
2011– Capital Yorkshire Leeds

Production and programming

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Capital stations based inCentral ScotlandandBirminghamproduced and transmitted specialist output for the network on Saturday and Sunday overnights respectively. However, in July 2012, this was replaced with content from 95.8 Capital studios inLeicester Square,London, where all the networked programming is now produced. Drivetime programming on weekdays originates from the local stations' studios.[25]Capital also broadcasts via a number of DAB ensembles that do not correspond with a local FM station, and as an audio channel on the Digital Terrestrial Television and Digital Satellite platforms. These platforms take a national feed with programming (except adverts) identical to that of 95.8 Capital London.

Prior to January 2011, Leicester Sound, Ram FM and Trent FM shared off-peak programming from Trent's studios in Nottingham, whilstGalaxyprogramming came from studios inLeeds.Red Dragon FM and Capital were entirely autonomous, producing all of their own output.

The Capital radio network production and station sound was created by former Capital producer Arden Hanley[26]and was then overseen by Chris Nicoll, who also runs production brand Wizz FX, until his departure in 2015 to join Wisebuddah.[27]Howard Ritchie,[28]Helen Austin[29]and Kayne Harrison are the voiceover artists for 95-106 Capital.

Virgin Mediabecame the first sponsor of 95-106 Capital. The six-figure deal begun on 4 January 2011, with weekday drive-time shows branded asThe Virgin Media Home Runacross all nine stations for a six-month period.[30]

The Official Big Top 40,broadcast on Sundays, is simulcast with Capital's sister network,Heart.

News

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All Capital stations broadcast local news updates under the name ofCapital Reports,every hour from 6am to 6pm on weekdays and from 6am to noon at weekends.

Network opt-outs

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  • In Anglesey and Gwynedd,Capital Cymrubroadcasts local programming 24 hours a day as part of its Welsh language requirements - including presenter-led shows from 6am – 7pm on weekdays and 9am – 4pm at weekends.[16]Welsh language music features in its playlist and local news bulletins are broadcast in Welsh. As of May 2019, the station does not carry any Capital networked programming, apart fromThe Official Big Top 40every Sunday.
  • The North Wales Coast, served byCapital North West and Waleson 96.3 FM, carries an hour-long Welsh-language music programme at 5am on Sunday–Friday mornings.
  • Birmingham, served byCapital Midlandson 102.2 FM, carries a specialist show featuring Afro-Caribbean music on Friday mornings from 2 – 4 am, hosted byCapital Xtrahost Robert Bruce.
  • In central Scotland,Capital Scotlandbroadcasts regional programming from Glasgow from 6am – 7pm on weekdays and 9am – 12pm at weekends, carrying Capital network programming at other times.

Sister stations

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Capital Xtra

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On 3 October 2013, Global Radio announced that the Capital brand will be extended to form a new nationwide digitalrhythmic contemporaryradio station by rebranding Choice FM as Capital Xtra. The rebrand took place at 6:01am on 7 October. Capital Xtra is available onFMin London on 96.9 and 107.1 MHz and nationally on theDigital OneDABmultiplex.[31]In September 2019, Capital Xtra received its own national sister station whenCapital Xtra Reloaded,formerly an online stream through Global Player, was relaunched as a broadcast radio station, transmitting on Digital One in the DAB+ format and playing rhythmic hits from the recent past.

Capital Dance

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On 1 October 2020, Global launched a new dedicatedelectronic dance musicstation broadcast nationally viaDigital Onein DAB+ and online. The station has its own presented shows on Monday to Saturday afternoons and Monday to Thursday evenings, with formerBBC Radio 1XtraDJMistaJamheading the station's lineup at launch.[32]Capital Dance previously simulcast the Capital Network's weekend dance show (The Capital Weekender), however on 30 October 2023 this stopped in favor of a new show (Club Capital Dance) hosted by Capital Dance's own presenters. To enable the addition of Capital Dance to Digital One, other Global stations including Capital Xtra Reloaded and Capital UK had their DAB+ bitrate reduced.

Capital Chill

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On 13 February 2023, Global launched Capital Chill to play exclusivelychill music,via DAB and online.[33]

Capital (Taylor's Version)

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A temporary pop-up station launched onSDL Nationaland Global Player in June 2024, playing solely the music ofTaylor Swift,to coincide with the UK leg ofThe Eras Tour.[34]This was the first time in the UK that a nationalDAB radiostation has been dedicated to a single artist.[34][35]

Capital Anthems

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Launched on 12 September 2024 alongside 11 other newGlobalstations.[36]

Capital TV

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Capital TV broadcast on theSkyandFreesatplatforms from July 2012, and onFreeviewin the Manchester area from October 2012, and was also available online.[37]The channel played non-stop music videos. It closed in October 2018.[38]

Capital FM Arena

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The Capital FM Arena was inNottingham,and was sponsored as part of a deal which began with the predecessor brand Trent FM. In 2016, the naming rights of the Capital FM Arena were handed over to Motorpoint and the arena is now known asMotorpoint Arena Nottingham.[39]

Help a Capital Child

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The Capital London charityHelp a London Childwas founded in 1975 byRichard AttenboroughCBE. It is a grant-giving charity which means that twice a year, the charity provides practical and lasting support to groups working with thousands of youngsters aged 18 and under.

In the first year, £8,000 was raised and grants given to 10 charities in Camden. Since its formation, the charity has raised in excess of £22 million in the London area and awarded grants to areas of great need, directly helping over 1.4 million children and young people.

Grants are awarded to refuge and homelessness projects, support groups for children and young people with a disability, special need or an illness, as well as a range of sports, music, drama and leisure activities, holiday play schemes and residential breaks in the UK, cultural activities, supplementary schools, literacy programmes and much more.

It was the winner of Outstanding Contribution to London Lifestyle at the London Lifestyle Awards in 2010. In the same year, the charity allocated a record amount in grants (£1.6 million), supporting 84,000 children and young people across London.

Help a Capital Child was launched as the main charity of the Capital Network. The first annual event took place from 14 to 16 October 2011 with sister stationLBCalso adopting the charity appeal.

References

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  1. ^UK Tunes into Capital FMMacLaurin Media, 4 January 2011Archived20 March 2012 at theWayback Machine
  2. ^"The Audience | Global".Archived fromthe originalon 18 July 2018.Retrieved4 June2018.
  3. ^"RAJAR".www.rajar.co.uk.Retrieved6 July2022.
  4. ^"Capital FM".Capital.Archivedfrom the original on 28 August 2018.Retrieved28 August2018.
  5. ^"Music Scheduling @ Capital FM & Radio Hamburg".Radioiloveit. 28 April 2013.Archivedfrom the original on 8 June 2013.Retrieved28 April2013.Capital FM is pure CHR and therefore hardly plays anything older than 2 years. The majority of songs is from the last 12 months, with a major focus on current hits.
  6. ^GLOBAL: Capital FM back at #1Archived4 October 2013 at theWayback MachineRadio Today, 12 May 2011
  7. ^Global requests Capital format changeArchived4 October 2013 at theWayback MachineRadio Today, 1 July 2011
  8. ^Ofcom approves Capital format changeArchived21 November 2011 at theWayback MachineRadio Today, 17 November 2011
  9. ^Martin, Roy (6 February 2014)."Communicorp buys 8 Global stations".RadioToday.Archivedfrom the original on 9 February 2014.Retrieved6 February2014.
  10. ^Global confirms Capital to launch in LiverpoolArchived6 October 2015 at theWayback Machine,Radio Today, 5 October 2015
  11. ^"Capital Brighton to launch on 3rd September –RadioToday".Radio Today.2 August 2018.Archivedfrom the original on 2 August 2018.Retrieved14 August2018.
  12. ^Global expands in Lancashire after buying 2BRArchived3 April 2019 at theWayback Machine,RadioToday, 31 July 2018
  13. ^Lancashire's 2BR to join Capital's new national radio networkArchived26 February 2019 at theWayback Machine,RadioToday, 26 February 2019
  14. ^abGlobal to network Capital, Heart and Smooth breakfast showsArchived27 February 2019 at theWayback Machine,RadioToday, 26 February 2019
  15. ^Local Capital and Heart Drivetime programmes remain in WalesArchived30 March 2019 at theWayback Machine,RadioToday, 8 March 2019
  16. ^abExtra Welsh programmes and presenters for Capital CymruArchived23 May 2019 at theWayback Machine,Radio Today, 22 May 2019
  17. ^Quidem enters brand licensing agreement with GlobalArchived11 January 2020 at theWayback Machine,Radio Today, 2 September 2019
  18. ^Ofcom approves format changes for Quidem stationsArchived14 November 2019 at theWayback Machine,Radio Today, 14 November 2019
  19. ^Global confirms Capital FM to replace Quidem stationsArchived28 November 2019 at theWayback Machine,Radio Today, 27 November 2019
  20. ^Global makes major investment in Glasgow broadcast centre,Radio Today, 11 April 2023
  21. ^Fresh new line-ups revealed for Heart Scotland and Capital Scotland,Global, 11 April 2023
  22. ^Global introduces new ‘nations strategy’ and drops local and regional shows in England,Roy Martin, Radio Today, 9 January 2025
  23. ^National presenters confirmed for Heart, Capital and Smooth in England,Roy Martin, Radio Today, 5 February 2025
  24. ^Global confirms new nationwide radio shows for Heart, Capital & Smooth,Global, 5 February 2025
  25. ^"Media Week: Global radio takes Capital national".Archivedfrom the original on 4 October 2013.Retrieved3 October2013.
  26. ^Arden Hanley at Radio TalentArchived26 February 2011 at theWayback Machine
  27. ^"Chris Nicoll at Radio Talent".Archivedfrom the original on 11 December 2010.Retrieved18 April2011.
  28. ^"Howard Ritchie at Radio Talent".Archivedfrom the original on 17 May 2011.Retrieved18 April2011.
  29. ^"Helen Austin".Archivedfrom the original on 5 October 2013.Retrieved3 October2013.
  30. ^Virgin to sponsor nationwide CapitalArchived5 October 2013 at theWayback MachineDigital Spy, 24 December 2010
  31. ^"Global to change Choice to Capital XTRA".Radio Today. 3 October 2013.Archivedfrom the original on 4 October 2013.Retrieved3 October2013.
  32. ^"Jammy move as Global poach Mistajam for Capital Dance", RadioToday.co.uk, 2020-10-01
  33. ^"Global launches Capital Chill radio station on national DAB".RadioToday.13 February 2023.Retrieved13 February2023.
  34. ^ab"Capital's Taylor Takeover!".Global(Press release). 3 June 2024.Retrieved29 July2024.
  35. ^Collins, Steve (3 June 2024)."Capital launches 24/7 Taylor Swift pop-up station on DAB".Radio Today.Retrieved4 June2024.
  36. ^"Global's 12 new radio station names confirmed".Radio Today. 11 September 2024.Retrieved11 September2024.
  37. ^Laughlin, Andrew (12 October 2012)."Capital TV, Heart TV launched on Sky and Freesat".Digital Spy.Archivedfrom the original on 14 October 2012.Retrieved17 October2012.
  38. ^Martin, Roy (11 October 2018)."Global closes Capital TV and Heart TV stations".RadioToday.Archivedfrom the original on 23 October 2018.Retrieved23 October2018.
  39. ^"Capital FM Arena to be renamed Motorpoint Arena Nottingham".29 June 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 1 February 2016.Retrieved10 August2016.
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