Hits Radio West Yorkshire
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(January 2017) |
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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | West Yorkshire |
| Frequency | FM:97.5 MHz (Bradford) FM: 102.5 MHz (HuddersfieldandLeeds) DAB:11B (Bradford,CalderdaleandKirklees) DAB: 12D (Leeds andWakefield) |
| Branding | West Yorkshire’s Hits Radio The Biggest Hits, The Biggest Throwbacks |
| Programming | |
| Format | CHR/Pop |
| Network | Hits Radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Bauer Media Audio UK |
| Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire | |
| History | |
First air date | 16 September 1975 (48 years ago) |
Former names | Pennine Radio Pennine FM The Pulse Pulse 1 |
| Links | |
| Website | planetradio |
Hits Radio West Yorkshire,formerlyPulse 1,is anIndependent Local Radiostation based inLeeds,England, owned and operated byBauer Media Audio UKas part of theHits Radionetwork. It broadcasts toWest Yorkshire.
As of March 2024, the station has a weekly audience of 184,000 listeners according toRAJAR.[1]
History[edit]
The station originally launched in 1975 as a Bradford-based service calledPennine Radio.
Pennine Radio[edit]
In 1984 the station won the licence for the neighbouring West Yorkshire areas ofKirkleesandCalderdaleand in December of that year the station began broadcasting to all of the western half of the county.
In 1987, the station was part of theYorkshire Radio Networkwhich also ownedViking FMandHallam FM,and the following year saw the station's MW frequencies start to be used for a Yorkshire-wide station called Classic Gold.[2]The FM service was renamed to Pennine FM. Yorkshire Radio Network was bought out byNewcastlebasedMetro Radio Group(owners ofMetro RadioandTFM).Pennine Radiobecame Pennine FM in the late 1980s when theAMfrequency was split off to create the original incarnation ofClassic Gold.
The Pulse/Pulse 1[edit]
On 30 August 1991, Pennine FM was rebranded as "The Pulse" in a bid to revive flagging fortunes.
The Metro Radio Group itself was bought out byEMAPin 1996 and ownership rules at the time meant that as they already owned neighbouringRadio AireinLeedssomething had to be sold on, and that was The Pulse and its sister stationClassic Goldwhich were purchased in a management buyout from senior staff and ex-Metro Group executives. The new company was calledThe Radio Partnership,it was at this time that the station moved to number one position in the West Yorkshire radio market for the first time in its history.
The Radio Partnership expanded over the years to include other stations, such asSignal RadioinStoke-on-Trent.In 1999,Kelvin MacKenzie'sTalk Radio UKbought The Radio Partnership and formedThe Wireless Groupto include the national broadcaster and a series of local stations. In July 2005 The Wireless Group was bought out by UTV Group. In September 2016, The Wireless Group was purchased byNews UK.
On 8 February 2019, Pulse 1 and the Wireless Group's network of local radio stations were sold toBauer.[3]
In May 2020, Bauer announced that Pulse 1 would join theHits Radionetwork, while retaining its on-air branding.[4]Pulse 1 began carrying off-peak programming from the Hits Radio network on 15 June 2020[5]and the station officially joined the Hits Radio network on 20 July 2020.[6]
In September 2020, Pulse 1 began broadcasting to the eastern part of West Yorkshire on DAB following the closure of sister stationRadio Aire.[7]
In March 2021, Bauer closed Pulse 1's Bradford studios and moved the station to the former Radio Aire studios in Leeds, co-locating withGreatest Hits Radio Yorkshire.
Hits Radio rebrand[edit]
On 10 January 2024, station owners Bauer announced Pulse 1 would be rebranded asHits RadioWest Yorkshire as part of a network-wide relaunch involving 17 local radio stations in England and Wales.[8][9]
The name was changed on 17 April 2024, however the station’s local programming was not affected as a result of the relaunch.
Service area[edit]
The main 102.5FMsignal comes from the Vicars Lot transmitter close to theM62betweenScammonden Damand junction 23, close to theScammondenarched bridge. This signal covers most of West Yorkshire, including eastern areas of the county such asLeeds,Wakefield,CastlefordandKnottingley.
It can be heard as far south asDoncasterandSheffield,and also to the west of the Pennines inLancashireandGreater Manchester.The signal is much stronger, and the transmitter at a higher altitude than the Idle transmitter.
The 97.5 FM signal coversBradford,and comes from theIdletransmitter, which is on the top of Idle Moor, between Idle andShipley.The Idle transmitter also carries national radio frequencies,Capital Yorkshireon 105.6 FM,Sunrise Radio Yorkshireon 103.2 FM andHeart Yorkshireon 107.6 FM.
Programming[edit]
Networked programming originates from Bauer's London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Newcastle studios.[5]
Local programming is produced and broadcast from Bauer's Leeds studios each weekday from 6–10 am forThe Hits Radio Breakfast Show With Mylo & Rosie.[6]
News[edit]
Bauer's Leeds newsroom broadcasts local news bulletins hourly from 6 am–7 pm on weekdays and from 7 am–1 pm on weekends. Headlines are broadcast on the half-hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows. The station simulcasts hourlySky News Radiobulletins at all other times.
Former sport programming[edit]
Pulse 1 aired extensive local sports coverage, including live match commentaries onBradford Citymatches, led by Jason Thornton and former City strikerIan Ormondroyd,and a weekly rugby league magazine show, presented byBradford BullsCEORobbie Hunter Paul.[10]
References[edit]
- ^"RAJAR".
- ^"Yorkshire Radio Network - The Knowledge - Media UK".Archived fromthe originalon 28 October 2005.
- ^"Bauer buys Wireless Group's local radio stations".8 February 2019.
- ^"Dozens of local radio stations to vanish across England".The Guardian.27 May 2020.Retrieved29 May2020.
- ^abRadio Today: Hits Radio networking starts on new Bauer stations
- ^abBauer starts to roll out Hits and Greatest Hits to new radio stationsStuart Clarkson, Radio Today, 9 July 2020
- ^Radio Aire to become Greatest Hits Radio,Radio Today, 16 July 2020
- ^"Fifteen local stations get set for Hits Radio rebrand".Bauer.10 January 2024.Retrieved10 January2024.
- ^"Bauer to rebrand heritage FM stations in England and Wales to Hits Radio".RadioToday.10 January 2024.Retrieved10 January2024.
- ^"Pulse 2 MatchDay:LIVE".Pulse 2.
External links[edit]