Timeline of radio in Wales

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a timeline of the development of radio in Wales.

  • 1973
    • No events.
  • 1975
    • No events.
  • 1976
    • No events.
  • 1978
    • Autumn – Four experimental local radio stations broadcast in Wales for a single week: Radio Deeside, Radio Merthyr, Radio Rhondda and Radio Wrexham[1]
    • 13 November – Due to Radio 4's forthcoming transfer from medium wave to long wave, BBC Radio Wales launches as a full-time station on Radio 4's former Welsh medium wave opt-out wavelength of 340m (882 kHz), albeit initially with very limited broadcast hours due to very limited coverage of BBC Radio 4 on FM in Wales.
    • 23 November – All BBC national radio stations change their medium or long wave transmission wavelength as part of a plan for BBC AM broadcasting in order to improve national AM reception, and to conform with the Geneva Frequency Plan of 1975.[2] Radio 1's transmission wavelength is moved from 247m (1214 kHz) to 275 & 285m (1053 & 1089 kHz) medium wave.[3] Radio 2's wavelength is moved from 1500m (200 kHz) long wave to 433 & 330m (693 & 909 kHz) medium wave. Radio 3 is moved from 464m (647 kHz) to 247m (1215 kHz) medium wave. Radio 4 is moved from various medium wavelengths to 1500m (200 kHz) long wave.
  • 1979
    • November – A weekday mid-morning programme launches on BBC Radio Cymru, thereby extending its broadcasting hours to 65 hours each week. Previously, apart from extended news bulletins at lunchtime and early evening, and some off-peak opt-outs, the station had only been on air at breakfast time.

1980s

  • 1981
    • October – BBC Radio Deeside is expanded to cover all of north east Wales and is renamed BBC Radio Clwyd.
  • 1982
    • No events.
  • 1984
    • No events.
  • 1985
  • 24 April – Financial difficulties force South Wales station Gwent Broadcasting to close down after less than two years on air.[5] Its frequencies were later given over to a sustaining service provided by neighbouring station CBC in Cardiff, with which it was trying to merge.[6]
    • 14 October – At 6am, CBC is relaunched as Red Dragon Radio and broadcasts a 24-hour schedule - CBC had previously closed down between 1am and 6am. The station also covers the Newport area, offering a replacement service to Gwent Broadcasting, and provides separate breakfast shows for Cardiff and Newport until the early 1990s.[7]
  • 1986
    • The Home Office sanctions six experiments of split programming on Independent Local Radio. Up to ten hours a week of split programming is allowed. Marcher Sound is one of the stations to take advantage of this so that it can provide some programming in Welsh.
  • 1987
    • No events.
  • 1988
    • 29 September – BBC Radio 1 starts broadcasting on FM in South Wales.[8]

1990s

  • 1990
    • 15 July – Touch AM begins broadcasting in South Wales with the area's FM station being renamed Red Dragon FM.
  • 1991
    • March – BBC Radio Gwent stops broadcasting.
  • 1993
    • 1 July – Radio Maldwyn begins broadcasting on AM to the Montgomeryshire area of Wales.
    • 27 August – Marcher Coast begins broadcasting. The station covers the north Wales coastal area from Llandudno eastwards.
    • October – BBC Radio Clwyd closes, although news opt-outs continue until 2002.
  • 1994
    • 4 September – Galaxy 101 launches a dance music service to the Severn estuary area.
  • 1995
    • 30 September – Swansea Sound's FM frequency becomes a CHR (contemporary hit radio) station called 96.4 Sound Wave, while Swansea Sound continues to broadcast its full service format on 1170 AM.
  • 1996
    • 23 November – Valleys Radio begins broadcasting on MW to the South Wales valleys.
  • 1997
    • No events.
  • 1999
    • The BBC begins creating an FM network for BBC Radio Wales. Previously, apart from in Gwent, the station had only been available on MW.
    • 19 August – BBC Radio 1 broadcasts its first split programming when it introduces weekly national new music shows for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Session in Wales is presented by Bethan Elfyn and Huw Stephens.[9]

2000s

  • 2002
    • 24 May – Wales gets its first community radio station when GTFM begins broadcasting to Pontypridd and surrounding areas. The station is one of 15 trial stations participating in the under an Access Radio experiment and following full evaluation, GTFM was licensed as the first community radio station in Wales under OFCOM's changed rules in 2006[11]
    • 14 July – 102.5 Radio Pembrokeshire begins broadcasting.
    • BBC Radio Wales' news bulletins in north east Wales end.
    • Galaxy 101 is rebranded as Vibe 101.
  • 2005
    • No events.
  • 2006
    • 6 September – Vibe 101 is rebranded as Kiss 101.
  • 2008
    • 16 June – Nation Radio Wales begins broadcasting on FM across South Wales. It replaces Xfm South Wales.[13] It gets the berth following the sale of Xfm South Wales to Town and Country (now Nation Broadcasting) on 30 May 2008.[14][15]
  • 2009
    • March – Following Global Radio's takeover of GCap Media, Champion 103 is 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 is now reduced to ten hours on weekdays and seven hours at weekends.
    • 30 April – Valleys Radio closes after thirteen years on air.

2010s

  • 2013
    • 21 January – Radio Today reports the name change of Nation 80s to Nation Hits, a move allowing the station to air a broader range of music. It is the station's third rebranding since 2009.[18]
    • 29 July – The regional multiplex covering south Wales, MXR Severn Estuary, closes.[19]
    • Nation Radio Wales increases its coverage area across Wales via DAB when it began broadcasting to north-east Wales and parts of Cheshire and Merseyside in March, via MuxCo's Wrexham, Chester and Liverpool multiplex.[20] and in August, the station launches on DAB in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire via the Muxco Mid and West Wales multiplex.
  • 2016
    • 29 February – The UK's second national commercial multiplex starts broadcasting. However, only 73% of the UK's population is able to receive it.
    • 19 September – BBC Cymru launches a pop-up radio station, Radio Cymru Mwy (Radio Cymru More), broadcasting for three months in the run-up to BBC Radio Cymru's 40th anniversary. Consisting of five hours of music-led entertainment programming each weekday, Radio Cymru Mwy is available on DAB in south east Wales and online.[24]
  • 2017
    • 19 September – Nation Radio Wales begins broadcasting on FM in Carmarthenshire (102.9 FM) and Pembrokeshire (107.1 FM)[25]
  • 2018
    • 29 January – BBC Radio Cymru 2 begins broadcasting at 6.30am on 29 January 2018.[26] It airs as an opt-out service from 7-9am on Mondays – Saturdays and from 7-10 am on Sundays.
    • 15 May – Sound Digital announces that it will add 19 transmitters to its network, including in parts of Wales.[27]
    • 24 October – BBC Radio Wales' FM coverage in North East and Mid Wales by taking over 32 transmitters previously used by BBC Radio 3. The changeover allowed an estimated 400,000 listeners to receive Radio Wales on FM, extending its reach to a potential 91% of households in Wales.[28]

2020s

See also

References

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