 | |
| Broadcast area | Cornwall andWest Devon |
|---|---|
| Frequency | DAB: 11B |
| Branding | Cornwall'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 Cornwall | |
| History | |
First air date | 3 April 1992; 33 years ago (1992-04-03) |
Former names | Pirate FM 102 Pirate FM |
Former frequencies | FM: 102.2 MHz (Caradon Hill) FM: 102.8 MHz (Redruth) |
| Links | |
| Website | Hits Radio Cornwall |
Hits Radio Cornwall, formerlyPirate FM, is anIndependent Local Radio station owned and operated byBauer Media Audio UK as part of theHits Radio network. It broadcasts toCornwall andWest Devon on DAB.
As of September 2024, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 88,000 according toRAJAR.[1]
The station was launched in 1992 under the name ofPirate FM 102 with the voice of breakfast presenterRoger Day (a well-known ex-pirate DJ fromRadio Caroline andRadio North Sea International). The station's launch Chief Executive wasMike Powell, who specified digital technology so advanced at the time that it was featured on theBBC science programme,Tomorrow's World.
Much of the early success of the station was due to the technical expertise of the first managing director Richard Lawley, who was also a graduate electronic engineer. He was succeeded by the station's initial sales director Joseph Swain. The station has also won numerous awards including 'Station of the Year' (in the 300,000 to 1 million potential audience category) at the 2003 and 2006Sony Radio Academy awards.[2][3][4]
In September 2005, the station's branding changed fromThe Southwest's Pirate FM toCornwall's Pirate FM. Listenership appears to have increased in Cornwall following the move, however it reduced their audience in West Devon (including Plymouth, where Pirate FM had a separate office and studio prior to the rebrand). From "Quarter 4" 2006 Pirate FM's survey area (TSA) was reduced by removing Plymouth & most of West Devon, thus reducing the potential audience significantly but focusing on the core Cornish audience. Pirate FM remains as the number one station by audience reach despite the increased competition.
The Pirate Trust was the charitable arm of Pirate FM that raises thousands of pounds yearly for good causes in Cornwall with their 'Cornwall in Need Appeal'. Yearly fundraisers include the 'Garden Party' and the all-day on-air and online auction known as 'Radiothon'. Radiothon [2007][1] and Radiothon [2008][2] were both run in collaboration with free classifieds website itsmymarket.com
Almost all programming is produced and presented locally. From August 2014 until 2020, the station operated a second service on DAB, known as Pirate 2, which aired a series of weekly specialist talk shows, covering topics such as business, farming, education and health and wellbeing.
Until 2018, Pirate FM broadcastThe Vodafone Big Top 40 chart show (previouslyThe Pepsi Chart &Hit40UK) which was produced fromCapital FM in London and syndicated across over 140 commercial radio stations in the UK. However, the show was withdrawn from syndication in 2018 and now broadcasts solely onHeart &Capital stations. The 'Hits UK' show is now presented on the station withSam Thompson.
In February 2021, the station, along withLincs FM, began syndicating the UK Chart Show, from Bauer'sHits Radio network, on Sunday afternoons.[5] In recent years, the station has also shared a music playlist and many features withHampshire-based sister stationWave 105.
On 27 February 2024, station owners Bauer announced Pirate FM would be rebranded as Hits Radio Cornwall from 17 April 2024, as part of a wider relaunch involving 17 local radio stations in England and Wales.[6]
The station would be available on DAB and online only and most of the station's local programming outside weekday breakfast will be replaced with programming from theHits Radio Network, although local news, traffic bulletins and advertising will be retained.
Pirate's FM frequencies were taken over by a local variant ofGreatest Hits Radio, which will include a local afternoon show for Cornwall, local news and traffic bulletins, alongside a largely networked schedule featuring weekday shows withKen Bruce andSimon Mayo.[6]
The changes were expected to lead to a number of redundancies with freelance contracts being placed under review.[7]
It was later announced that Pirate presenters Scott Temple and Holly Day would host Greatest Hits Radio's local afternoon show.[8] The pair left Bauer when the afternoon show was replaced by networked programming in October 2024.
On 20 March 2025, Bauer announced it would end its local Hits Radio breakfast show for Cornwall to be replaced by a new national breakfast show for England and Wales on 9 June 2025.[9] Local news and traffic bulletins were retained but the station's Redruth studios were closed.[10]
Hits Radio's final local programme for Cornwall aired on 6 June 2025.[11]
All programming airs via Bauer’s London headquarters or from studios in Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle.[12]
Bauer's newsroom broadcasts local news bulletins hourly from 6am-7pm on weekdays, and from 7am-1pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Headlines are broadcast on the half-hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows, alongside traffic bulletins.
National bulletins fromSky News Radio are carried overnight with bespoke networked bulletins on weekend afternoons, usually originating from Bauer's Manchester newsroom.
Hits Radio Cornwall has one current on airstrapline: "The Biggest Hits, The Biggest Throwbacks"
005, made byjingle production companyIQ Beats. It was a re-recording of a previous package made forHeart 106.2 in London.
Previous Pirate FM (Former name of Hits Radio Cornwall) straplines were "More music for Cornwall", "Real music variety", "Better variety, more music", "The world's greatest music", "Greatest memories, latest hits","Love Cornwall, Love Music, Love Pirate FM" and "The latest technology, and the best records too".
Pirate FM adopted theHits Radio Network slogan 'The Biggest Hits, The Biggest Throwbacks' in 2023, alongside 'Love Cornwall, Love Music'.[13]
Intermittently since 1992, the station employed a mascot that accompanies the broadcast team to events.
From launch until the early 2000s, the character was known as "Jasper Parrot", while in recent years, Pirate revisited the concept with a parrot character, named "Dreckly" after an audience vote.
Pirate FM was one of the two stations that applied for the licence to servePlymouth after the licence was handed back by Macquarie's Diamond FM.
The UKRD plan to extend Pirate's service under the namePlymouth's Pirate FM lost out toRadio Plymouth, which was also eventually acquired byBauer Media Audio UK and merged with theGreatest Hits Radio network in its FM slots and theHits Radio network on its former DAB slot.
