GMG Radio
Encyclopedia
GMG Radio is the radio division of the Guardian Media Group
. The group is based in Laser House, Salford Quays
in Greater Manchester
. The advertising division is in Old Trafford, Manchester. John Myers was the Chief Executive Officer
, his deputy Stuart Taylor replaced him in April 2009. John Simons
is the group's programme director.
due to commercial viability issues. In March 2005, the Guardian Media Group rejected a £115 million bid from the Chrysalis Group
for the GMG Radio division. In June 2005 London station 102.2 Jazz FM
was rebranded to 102.2 Smooth FM
after disappointing RAJAR
figures. At the same time, ejazz.fm was renamed to jazzfm.com and initially appeared on DAB in Yorkshire, South Wales and the Severn Estuary
and on Sky Digital
. On October 18 2006, it was announced that GMG Radio had bought the two Century branded stations from Gcap Media
. The Century brand was originally launched by Myers and Simons in North East England
in 1994, whilst they were at Border Television
.
In August 2006 GMG sold its share in Rolling News channel DNN
. The five regional stations on DAB were then closed down by Chrysalis to be replaced by LBC
. On December 18 2006, it was announced that GMG Radio had bought the four Saga Radio branded stations. GMG rebranded the Saga stations along with its existing Smooth FM stations in March 2007 to Smooth Radio. On October 6 2008 jazzfm.com was relaunched as Jazz FM across a number of DAB multiplexes in the UK, using space on local and regional multiplexes from existing GMG Radio stations as well as launching on digital television platforms. In November 2008 GMG was awarded with the last analogue licence in the UK (covering north and mid Wales
). They intend to operate the licence using the Real Radio
(Wales) format basing its studios in Wrexham
. On December 18 2008, it was announced that Century Radio was to be re-branded as Real Radio on March 30th 2009.
GMG radio announced that out of peak time hours news would be shared by news hubs. As a result there is one in Glasgow, one in London and the largest which is Century Radio headquarters in Manchester, headed by James Rea. Manchester broadcast a "Sky News" type bulletin, in which all GMG Radio stations in northern England Opt in on the hour.
Guardian Media Group
Guardian Media Group plc is a company of the United Kingdom owning various mass media operations including The Guardian and The Observer. The Group is owned by the Scott Trust. It was founded as the Manchester Guardian Ltd in 1907 when C. P. Scott bought the Manchester Guardian from the estate of...
. The group is based in Laser House, Salford Quays
Salford Quays
Salford Quays is an area of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, near the end of the Manchester Ship Canal. Previously the site of Manchester Docks, it became one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the United Kingdom following the closure of the dockyards in...
in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
. The advertising division is in Old Trafford, Manchester. John Myers was the Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
, his deputy Stuart Taylor replaced him in April 2009. John Simons
John Simons
John Simons is a British radio executive, the current group programming director for GMG Radio.Simons began his career in 1979, before fronting the Breakfast Show on Radio Tees from 1983 to 1985 , and moving to BBC Radio Nottingham.In 1994 he was invited to be part of the team who launched Century...
is the group's programme director.
History
On July 12 2004, GMG Radio relaunched ejazz.fm, a dedicated jazz website. In January 2005 it launched a service, named Hear It, Buy It, Burn It, to permit users to legally download music from its station's websites. In February 2005, Myers announced that they have scrapped plans to launch Channel M Radio, a 24-hour news and talk station for ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
due to commercial viability issues. In March 2005, the Guardian Media Group rejected a £115 million bid from the Chrysalis Group
Chrysalis Group
Chrysalis Group is a UK media company. It was founded by Chris Wright, who remains chairman and was listed the 1,000th richest person in the UK in The Times Rich List 2009...
for the GMG Radio division. In June 2005 London station 102.2 Jazz FM
102.2 Jazz FM
102.2 Jazz FM was a local jazz and soul music station for London run by GMG Radio. The station was based and broadcast from Castlereagh Street in London to around 15.5 million people within the broadcasting area...
was rebranded to 102.2 Smooth FM
102.2 Smooth FM
102.2 Smooth FM was an Independent Local Radio station for Greater London. It replaced 102.2 Jazz FM on the 7 June 2005 at 10am, with the help of R&B singer Lemar and the then breakfast show host Jon Scragg...
after disappointing RAJAR
RAJAR
RAJAR was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the British Broadcasting Corporation and the RadioCentre...
figures. At the same time, ejazz.fm was renamed to jazzfm.com and initially appeared on DAB in Yorkshire, South Wales and the Severn Estuary
Severn Estuary
The Severn Estuary is the estuary of the River Severn, the longest river in Great Britain. Its high tidal range means it has been at the centre of discussions in the UK regarding renewable energy.-Geography:...
and on Sky Digital
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
. On October 18 2006, it was announced that GMG Radio had bought the two Century branded stations from Gcap Media
GCap Media
GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed in May 2005. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. On 31 March 2008 the company agreed a takeover by...
. The Century brand was originally launched by Myers and Simons in North East England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
in 1994, whilst they were at Border Television
Border Television
Border Television is the ITV franchise holder for the Border region, spanning the England/Scotland border and covering Dumfries & Galloway region, a small part of the south-west area of Ayrshire, the Scottish Borders, parts of north and west Northumberland and the majority of Cumbria...
.
In August 2006 GMG sold its share in Rolling News channel DNN
DNN
DNN may refer to:*Digital News Network, a rolling news service on Digital Radio in the United Kingdom.*Dalton Municipal Airport, a city-owned public-use airport in Dalton, Georgia .*DotNetNuke, an open source website based on ASP.NET....
. The five regional stations on DAB were then closed down by Chrysalis to be replaced by LBC
LBC
LBC Radio operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio...
. On December 18 2006, it was announced that GMG Radio had bought the four Saga Radio branded stations. GMG rebranded the Saga stations along with its existing Smooth FM stations in March 2007 to Smooth Radio. On October 6 2008 jazzfm.com was relaunched as Jazz FM across a number of DAB multiplexes in the UK, using space on local and regional multiplexes from existing GMG Radio stations as well as launching on digital television platforms. In November 2008 GMG was awarded with the last analogue licence in the UK (covering north and mid Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
). They intend to operate the licence using the Real Radio
Real Radio
Real Radio is a network of adult contemporary independent local radio stations in England, Scotland and Wales and is operated by . Each station broadcasts local breakfast through to drive time shows and network programming in the evening and through the night...
(Wales) format basing its studios in Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...
. On December 18 2008, it was announced that Century Radio was to be re-branded as Real Radio on March 30th 2009.
GMG radio announced that out of peak time hours news would be shared by news hubs. As a result there is one in Glasgow, one in London and the largest which is Century Radio headquarters in Manchester, headed by James Rea. Manchester broadcast a "Sky News" type bulletin, in which all GMG Radio stations in northern England Opt in on the hour.
Stations
- Smooth Radio (UK)
- Smooth Radio (Scotland)105.2 Smooth Radio105.2 Smooth Radio is a Scottish Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to Glasgow and the surrounding area, owned & operated by GMG Radio and broadcasting from studios at Baillieston in the East End of Glasgow. The station replaced Saga 105.2 FM at 6am on Monday 26 March 2007 and competes...
- Real Radio (Scotland)Real Radio (Scotland)Real Radio Scotland is an Independent Local Radio station in Central and Southern Scotland, owned and operated by GMG Radio. The station broadcasts from studios at Ballieston in the east end of the Glasgow on 100.3 & 101.1FM and on DAB.- Background :...
- Real Radio (South Wales)
- Real Radio (Yorkshire)Real Radio (Yorkshire)Real Radio Yorkshire is an independent local radio station that broadcasts across South and West Yorkshire. It is the third regional radio station within the Real Radio brand...
- Real Radio (North East)
- Real Radio (North West)
- 106.1 Real Radio XS (North West)
- 96.3 Real Radio XS96.3 Rock Radio96.3 Real Radio XS is a Scottish local radio station owned and operated by GMG Radio. It is based at Ballieston to the east of Glasgow and broadcasts to Renfrewshire, West Central Scotland and Central Scotland....
(Scotland) - Jazz FM (UK) - Licensed out to Richard Wheatly and his company Jazz FM Investments Ltd.