 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | United Kingdom (digital) |
| Frequency | FM: 96.4 MHz – 107.9 MHz DAB: 7D – 12D |
| Branding | TSA's Hits Radio The Biggest Hits, The Biggest Throwbacks |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | CHR/Pop |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Bauer Media Audio UK |
| Greatest Hits Radio Hits Radio Pride | |
| History | |
First air date | 31 December 1973 (local stations) December 1999 (as Big City Network) April 2011 (as Bauer Place) January 2015 (as Bauer City 1) 4 June 2018 (as Hits Radio Network) |
Former names | Big City Network (2000 - 2011) Bauer Place (2011 - 2015) Bauer City 1 (2015 - 2018) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Rayo |
| Website | Hits Radio |
Hits Radio is a network of 26contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom, owned and operated byBauer Media Audio UK. The network launched in 2018 with the rebranding of Bauer's Manchester station Key 103 and its merger with The Hits,[1] and since then various other local stations have been rebranded under the Hits Radio banner.[2]
As of December 2024, the network has a combined reach of 7.1 million weekly listeners according toRAJAR.[3]
Hits Radio UK broadcasts on DAB in many parts of the UK and online. 25 localised variants air on FM and DAB across England and Wales.
As of May 2024, there are a total of 25local radio stations in the network providing local programming, news, traffic and sport, along with networked output from Hits Radio UK.
The FM network of stations was formerly known as the Big City Network, Bauer Place and Bauer City 1. The national DAB station was formerly known as The Hits.
Until 17 April 2024, most of the stations broadcast under their local identities, such asClyde 1 in Glasgow andRadio City in Liverpool. After this date, only the Scottish stations retained their heritage branding, with English and Welsh stations becoming localised outputs of Hits Radio.
Initially known as the Big City Network, and latterly Bauer Place and Bauer City 1, networked programming on Bauer's local FM stations in Northern England and Scotland was initially confined to off-peak night time and weekend timeslots.
In February 2014, the stations adopted a standardised audio identity package, produced by Wisebuddah, while retaining their local station branding. Two networked shows were also introduced across most stations -Old Skool and Anthems andIn: Demand - produced fromKey 103 in Manchester.[4] Separate schedules for Northern England and Scotland were introduced in August 2015,[5] followed in July 2017 by two networked mid-morning shows for most of the FM stations, produced from Manchester and Glasgow respectively.[6] In February 2017, theFree Radio group of stations in the West Midlands began carrying off-peak programming from the Northern England network, replacing most of its own regional output from Birmingham.
On 19 January 2015, The Hits formed the tagline of the locally brandedBauer City 3 network of radio stations in Northern England and Scotland.[7] The local City 3 branding was dropped on 31 August 2017, in favour of the tagline becoming the name of a national station on all local DAB Multiplexes.[8]
Bauer, on the 4 June 2018, rebranded and relaunched Key 103 in Manchester toHits Radio Manchester aCHR-led music station aimed at 25-44 year olds.[9] Hits Radio Manchester continued to provide local news & information, traffic bulletins and advertising on its local platforms - 103 FM, DAB and online.[10]
The station was merged with national DAB station The Hits, which in turn was rebranded itself asHits Radio UK to provide a single national service across the UK on DAB, Freeview and online.[11] The station's programming networked across 24 local FM stations - all of which opt out at times for local output. Local weekend programming for most of the English stations was replaced with additional network output in July 2019,[12] followed in September 2019 by the introduction of a networked Drivetime show.[13]
Gem in the East Midlands joined the network in July 2019 to carry late night and overnight programming from Manchester.[14]
The Scottish network of stations introduced a networked Drivetime show at the end of March 2020, except for MFR and Radio Borders.[15]
Five stations were acquired to join the network, of which four retained heritage branding:Pulse 1 (Bradford),Signal 1 (Stoke-on-Trent),The Wave (Swansea) andFire Radio (Bournemouth). Pulse, Signal, and The Wave began carrying off-peak programming from the Hits Radio network on 15 June 2020.[16] The fifth,The Breeze (Portsmouth, Southampton and Winchester) rebranded as Hits Radio under a licensing agreement withNation Broadcasting.[17] On 20 July 2020, Pulse 1, Signal 1 and The Wave officially joined the Hits Radio network.[18]
On 31 August 2020,Radio Aire ceased broadcasting and moved to the sisterGreatest Hits Radio network - it merged with twelve other stations to formGreatest Hits Radio Yorkshire.[19]
The same day sawHits Radio South Coast launch, thereby becoming the second FM station to be known on air as Hits Radio. The station had previously broadcast as The Breeze South Coast and the change is made following the purchase in 2019 of The Breeze network from Celador Radio. Nation Broadcasting replaced Hits Radio South Coast with their ownEasy Radio South Coast programming from 19 September 2022, with Bauer providing Hits Radio content thereafter on the South Hampshire DAB multiplex.
In October 2020, it was announced that Hits Radio would launch in Suffolk, taking over the DAB capacity which had been used forGreatest Hits Radio since September (previouslyTown 102), in tandem with the relaunch ofIpswich 102 as Greatest Hits Radio.[20] The change took place on 3 November, at the point Ipswich 102 (andRadio Plymouth) took the GHR affiliation. As in North Yorkshire, a localised feed of Hits Radio is provided, with the ability to split from the network programming content for localised branding, news material and advertising. Hits Radio Suffolk was withdrawn after 1 October 2022, with the capacity reverting to GHR, as a consequence of the FM frequency (the prior Ipswich 102) transitioning toNation Radio Suffolk.
In November 2021, Bauer announced the twoFree Radio breakfast shows - known asHits at Breakfast - would be merged into one regional show across all four Free Radio licences.[21] The merger was permitted under OFCOM's local content guidelines, although all four Free Radio licences retain opt-outs for local news, traffic updates and advertising.
In November 2022, it was announced that CFM in Cumbria would follow Radio Aire in transitioning from the Hits Radio network to Greatest Hits Radio, with the change slated to take place as of April 2023; CFM's local weekday show would remain, moved from breakfast to broadcast in an afternoon slot on GHR, with Hits Radio content continuing to be available in the area over DAB - replacing the localised digital-only version of GHR broadcast to Cumbria since the local DAB multiplex began broadcasting in late 2021. Around the same time as announcing the CFM change, Bauer confirmed that two of the relay transmitters ofSignal 1 would transfer to carrying GHR from January 2023, with the station's main transmitter area - where GHR broadcasts on AM (formerlySignal 2) - retaining the Hits Network positioning.
In January 2023, Bauer announced that Radio Borders would follow CFM in transitioning from the Hits Radio network to Greatest Hits Radio, in April 2023.[22]
In November 2023, Bauer announced that from January 2024, the two individual breakfast shows on both Radio City andRock FM would come to an end and would be merged to form a simulcast show on both stations. The new show is presented byJoel Ross and Leanne Campbell and broadcast from Bauer's Liverpool studios at theHits Radio Tower. The stations continue their separate branding and news bulletins.[23]
In January 2024, it was announced that fifteen of Bauer's local radio stations in England and Wales - which form part of the Hits Radio network - would be rebranded as Hits Radio from 17 April 2024.[24] No changes are expected to the network's local, regional and national programming, including local news and traffic bulletins, as a result of the rebrand.[25]
Kiss was replaced by Hits Radio at 10.00pm on 22 September 2024 across the West-of-England on 97.2 MHz, 101.0 MHz & 106.5 MHz, in London on 100.0 MHz and in Norfolk on 106.1 MHz.[26][27] The first song that played on the former Kiss frequencies wasPink withTrustfall and Hattie Pearson was the presenter who launched the stations. The regional mid-morning show in the West of England ended in 25 October 2024,[28] with the South of England show also ending on the 1 November 2024.[28]
West FM (after 27 years) rebranded to 'Clyde 1 Ayrshire' from 16 September 2024; sharing all output with Clyde 1 whilst retaining local news, weather and travel bulletins.[29] On 6 January 2025, Forth 1’s breakfast show expanded, replacing MFR, Northsound 1 and Tay FM’s separate local breakfast shows,[30]Star Radio was acquired by Bauer on the 10 January, local output ended with the station becoming a relay of Hits Radio.[31]
Local and regional Hits Radio breakfast shows for England and Wales are planned to be replaced by a national breakfast show on 9 June 2025.[32] Local advertising, news and traffic bulletins will continue across all stations. Four main broadcasting hubs will be retained in London, Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast. These will be supported by smaller production centres in Edinburgh, Newcastle and Leeds. As a result the following will cease: Aberdeen, Birmingham, Fareham, Inverness, Lincoln, Redruth, Sheffield and Swansea.[33]
| Hits Radio branded: UK | Studios | Formerly |
|---|---|---|
| Hits Radio UK | Birmingham*,London,Manchester andNewcastle | The Hits |
| Heritage branded: Scotland | Studios | Formerly |
|---|---|---|
| Clyde 1 | Clydebank | — |
| Clyde 1 Ayrshire | West FM | |
| Forth 1 | Edinburgh | — |
| Northsound 1 | — | |
| MFR | — | |
| Tay FM | — |
On 29 July 2020, Bauer announced a spinoff pop-up station to Hits Radio,Hits Radio Pride, which launched at 8am on 28 August 2020. The new station would be the first time a major radio broadcaster in the United Kingdom has launched a station that was targeted to the LGBTQ+ community. The service is taking capacity on a select number of Bauer owned ensembles including Northern Ireland, Liverpool, Swansea, Bradford, Stoke and London. Bauer acquired additional DAB capacity as part of the deal to buy Wireless Group's local radio portfolio in 2019.[34]
In Liverpool, Hits Radio Pride took capacity previously used byRadio City Talk. In Northern Ireland the service replaced Magic Chilled.
The station is sponsored by Cooperative Bank for an initial run of 6 months. Additional content is produced by Reform Radio, as part of a grant awarded by the Audio Content Fund. Tough Talks’; is an 'intimate conversations between contributors from the LGBTQ+ community reflecting on the struggles that they face within society.'[35]
Hits Radio Pride also works with LGBT+ helplineSwitchboard (UK) to promote support services.[35]
The station started online and smart speaker test transmissions on 21 August 2020. It consisted of a looped promo featuring tracks fromMNEK,Kylie Minogue,Calvin Harris,Kim Petras,Years & Years andLady Gaga, along with promo trailers. The multiplex variation request submitted to Ofcom suggested the station would arrive on DAB multiplexes from 26 August 2020.[36]
On Monday 16 September 2024, at 7:00PM (UK) Hits Radio Chilled launched playing “laid back hits and throwbacks”. The first programme was hosted by the Irish singer-songwriter Cian Ducrot with his song ‘All for You‘ being the first song to be played on the station. News jingles had been playing for some weeks before.[37] The station is a rebrand of Magic Chilled.[38]
Hits Radio 90s andHits Radio 00s will be launched on 31 March 2025.[39]
Most of the stations broadcast their own local breakfast shows from 6 to 10 am each weekday - in most cases, these are produced and broadcast from the originating station's studios. However many are grouped together.
Network programming for England and Wales originates from Bauer's London headquarters or studios in Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle.
In Scotland, it originates from Bauer's studios inClydebank (nearGlasgow) andEdinburgh.
Overnight programming andThe Hits UK Chart on a Sunday airs across all Hits Radio stations in England, Wales and Scotland, originating from Bauer's London headquarters.
Until May 2022, CFM, Gem, MFR, Radio Borders and The Wave opted out of networked scheduling, during weekdays, and weekends respectively. This was replaced by networked programming.[40]
As of 23 September 2024, Hits Radio in London, Norfolk and the West of England carry a revised version of the Hits Radio playlist, with some tracks replaced by remixed 'dance' versions; this is likely to fulfil the requirement for 'rhythmic' music on the formerKiss licences. Prior to September 2024 the local Bristol FM/DAB station and digital-only London service had followed the standard Hits playlist, which continues elsewhere.
Bauer's newsrooms across the UK air local news bulletins hourly from 6 am to 7 pm on weekdays and from 7 am to 1 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Headlines are broadcast on the half-hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows, alongside traffic bulletins. National bulletins air on Hits Radio UK.
At weekends, bespoke networked bulletins air from 2 pm (until 6 pm on Saturdays and 4 pm on Sundays) - separate bulletins are produced for England & Wales and for Scotland.
At all other times, mainly evening & overnight, hourly national bulletins originate fromSky News Radio in London.
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