 Final logo used from 2016 till 2020. | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Wigan andSt Helens |
| Frequency | FM: 102.4 MHz |
| History | |
First air date | 1 April 1997 |
Last air date | 31 August 2020 |
| Technical information | |
Transmitter coordinates | 53°30′33″N2°43′11″W / 53.5092°N 2.7197°W /53.5092; -2.7197 |
Wish FM was anIndependent Local Radio station servingWigan inGreater Manchester and theSt Helens area ofMerseyside from studios in theOrrell area of Wigan.
Following its sale to Bauer Radio, the station was closed and merged with theGreatest Hits Radio network in September 2020.
Wish FM broadcast on 102.4 FM from a transmitter, powered by a wind generator, sited onBillinge Hill, St. Helens, Merseyside.
It began broadcasting on 1 April 1997, as the first licence applied for and won by Tony Dewhurst and Jeff Graham of the recently formed Independent Radio Group. The station took its name from the initialsWIgan andStHelens.
The station was based inOrrell, Wigan, but in early 2007, the station's owners approached UK media regulatorOfcom to ask permission to move the station's base toNewton-le-Willows, Merseyside, as part of a plan to share a single building with two other stations from the UTV Radio group:Tower FM andWire FM.
However, after following the sale ofStockport-basedImagine FM, UTV Media (nowWireless Group) decided to keep Wish FM in Orrell, and co-located Wire FM and Tower FM into the Orrell studios.
On 8 February 2019, Wish FM and the Wireless Group's local radio stations were sold toBauer Radio. The sale was ratified in March 2020 following an inquiry by theCompetition and Markets Authority.[1]
On 27 May 2020, it was announced that Wish FM would join Bauer'sGreatest Hits Radio network.[2]
On 13 July 2020, local programming outside weekday breakfast was replaced by networked output from the GHR network, with Wish FM retaining its own branding.[3]
In September 2020, Wish FM merged with six local stations in the North West of England and North Wales, asGreatest Hits Radio North West. The station's local breakfast show was replaced by a regional afternoon show. Localised news bulletins, traffic updates and advertising were retained.[4] The station's Orrell studios were closed.