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| Broadcast area | Anglesey andGwynedd |
|---|---|
| Frequency | |
| Branding | North Wales' No.1 Hit Music Station |
| Programming | |
| Format | Contemporary hit radio |
| Network | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Global |
| History | |
First air date |
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| Technical information | |
Transmitter coordinates | 53°01′12″N4°16′24″W / 53.0199°N 4.2732°W /53.0199; -4.2732 |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Global Player |
| Website | www |
Capital Anglesey & Gwynedd,[1][2][3] formerly known asCapital Cymru, is a local radio station owned and operated byGlobal. The station broadcasts toAnglesey andGwynedd via theArfon transmitting station.
Previously, the station formed part of theHeart network, and earlier, theMarcher Radio Group.[4] It switched to theCapital network on 6 May 2014.Heart North and Mid Wales now covers the region as part of the Heart network.
Although the official transmission area takes in most of the Isle of Anglesey and a large part of Gwynedd (as far south asHarlech), the location of its transmitter means the signal carries acrossCardigan Bay and can be heard in parts ofPembrokeshire and even inIreland. Capital Cymru is also available on the North West Wales local DABdigital radio multiplex—broadcasting alongside the North Wales Coast feed ofCapital North West and Wales.
Up until February 21, 2025, the station aired local programming in the Welsh language with the Capital network's playlist tweaked to include contemporary Welsh language music.
When it launched in December 1998 asChampion 103, it was the first commercial radio station to serveAnglesey andGwynedd as a whole, although MarcherCoast 96.3 had been broadcasting to a small part of the area for some time from its Colwyn Bay studios.
Originally owned and operated by theMarcher Radio Group, Champion 103 broadcast from studios at Parc Menai inBangor, Gwynedd - later sharing its facilities with Coast 96.3. In 2000, the four Marcher stations - including Champion - were brought by theGWR Group and became part ofThe One Network.
In March 2009, following Global Radio's takeover of GCap Media, Champion was rebranded as Heart Cymru as part of a rollout of the Heart network across 29 local radio stations owned by Global. By this point, local programming had been reduced to ten hours on weekdays and seven hours at weekends.
In July 2010, Global closed the Bangor studios and moved Heart Cymru's operations to the former Marcher headquarters inGwersyllt, nearWrexham. By this point, the three Heart stations servingNorth Wales Coast,Cheshire & North East Wales andthe Wirral were merged into one regional station,Heart North West and Wales. Heart Cymru was not affected by the network restructuring.[5]
On 6 February 2014, Global announced that Heart Cymru would be rebranded as Capital, with the North Wales licence of Real Radio Wales being sold toCommunicorp and relaunched as a new separateHeart station for North and Mid Wales.[6]
Capital Cymru was launched on 6 May 2014. All local output, including extended Welsh language shows, news bulletins and network opt-outs were retained.[7]
On 23 May 2019, Capital Cymru dropped all of Capital's networked programming and introduced a full schedule of local output, including an additional Welsh-language daytime show.[8] The station retained both the Capital branding and the tweakedCHR music playlist.
The Official Big Top 40, simulcast onHeart North Wales, continued to air on Sunday afternoons. Outside programming hours, the station broadcast automated output, including a full hour of Welsh language music at 5am on weekday mornings.[8]
In January 2025, it was reported that Capital Cymru would lose all of its Welsh language programming following the broadcast regulator Ofcom's decision to relax local content obligations for commercial radio, apart from news.[9]
The station ended local programming in Welsh at 7pm on 21 February 2025 before resuming network programming from London two days later, effectively becoming a relay ofCapital North West and North Wales. It now simulcasts a national drivetime show for Wales on weekdays, presented by Josh Andrews and Kally Davies and broadcast from Global's Cardiff Bay studios.[10] Local news and traffic bulletins were retained.
Most networked programming originates from Global's London headquarters.[11]
National programming for Wales is produced and broadcast from Global's Cardiff Bay studios on weekdays from 4-7pm. presented by Josh Andrews and Kally Davies.[12]
Global’s Cardiff Bay newsroom broadcasts hourly localised news updates from 6 am–6 pm on weekdays and 8 am–12 midday at weekends.
Nine more radio stations will be re-branded as Heart on June 22nd, including the former Marcher Group stations in North Wales and North West England.
Heart has gone out of Bangor after the popular radio station decided to close its doors and move to Wrexham. It will shift North Wales operations from its Parc Menai base to the east of the region.
Heart will become region-wide in the North West when the former Marcher stations switch to Capital and Heart appears on the Real Radio North Wales and North West frequencies.
Capital Cymru
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| Defunct local stations | |
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| UK national commercial services | |
| UK national DAB multiplexes | |
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| Linguistics | |
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| Media | |
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