53°4′33.2″N3°1′15.7″W/ 53.075889°N 3.021028°W
 | |
| Broadcast area | Wirral,eastFlintshire |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 97.1MHz |
| Programming | |
| Format | Variety hit radio |
| History | |
First air date | 31 March 1989 |
Last air date | 2 July 2010 |
Heart Wirral(formerlyWirral's Buzz) was anIndependent Local Radiostation broadcasting to theWirral Peninsula,sharing its facilities withHeart WrexhamandGold,inGwersyllt,Wrexham.
History
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The station, owned byGlobal Radio(originally byMarcher Radio Group), broadcast a mix of popular music and presenter chat. Launched in 1989 asMFM 97.1(an opt-out service from the mainMarcher Soundoutput), the station relaunched asWirral's Buzzon 14 February 1999, before becomingHeart Wirralin 2009. The station was broadcast from theStoreton transmitteronStoretonridge inHigher Bebington.Although the area of the licence was Wirral, it could be received as far east asWarringtonand as far west asRuthinin theHeart Wrexhamregion.
In November 2005, it was announced that GCap's formerMarcher Radio Groupstations, includingBuzz,were to be sold. This was due to the fact that they were outside of the company's primary target area, however in 2006 GCap decided to call off the sales. Up until June 2008, the station's line-up of networked shows featured some programming from the Century lineup such as Hairbrush Divas. Century's former ownerCapital Radiomerged with Buzz's former owner GWR to form GCap Media.
Closure
editOn 21 June 2010, Global Radio announced plans to close Heart Wirral and merge the station withHeart Cheshire and North East WalesandHeart North Wales Coastas part of plans to reduce the Heart network of stations from 33 to 15.[1]Heart North West and Wales,began broadcasting from Wrexham on Friday 2 July 2010.[2]
Following Global's purchase of theReal RadioandSmooth Radiostations fromGMG Radioin 2012, Heart North West and Wales was replaced byCapital North West and Wales,as the previousReal Radio North WestandReal Radio Walesstations were rebranded asHeart North WestandHeart Wales,along with the rest of the Real Radio network of stations.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Global Radio to halve number of local Heart stations,mediaguardian.co.uk, 21 June 2010
- ^Heart slims but strengthensArchived26 June 2010 at theWayback Machine,RadioToday, 21 June 2010