KMFM West Kent
Encyclopedia
KMFM West Kent is an Independent Local Radio
serving the towns of Sevenoaks
, Tonbridge
, Royal Tunbridge Wells
and the surrounding areas in Kent
, South East England
. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group
.
, in its broadcast area. The station was later purchased by DMG Radio and subsequently re-branded to Mercury FM in December 1999. A year later DMG sold their radio assets to GWR who, in 2002, sold the station to the KM Group following a readvertising of the licence. The station was re-branded to KMFM West Kent in September that year.
The station moved its studios and presenters, along with those of KMFM Maidstone
, to the KMFM Medway
studios in 2008, following Ofcom
approval. The sales team are still based at the KM office in Tonbridge.
The KM Group were awarded a four year extension of the licence, to 7 July 2015, in March 2010.
Like the rest of the KMFM network. the station was relaunched in September 2010 with new jingles, schedule changes and more emphasis on music.
. All other output is networked across the KMFM network.
Until 2007 KMFM West Kent produced its own programmes during daytimes, before it joined up with KMFM Maidstone to network all programmes other than breakfast. The stations joined together with KMFM Medway
to create a West Kent network in April 2009, before all programmes apart from weekday/Saturday breakfast and Sunday afternoons were networked across all KMFM stations in September 2009. In July 2010, Saturday breakfast and Sunday afternoons became networked.
News bulletins come from the KMFM News Centre during peak times, on the hour and every half-hour between 7am - 9am and 4pm - 6pm. Traffic and travel updates are broadcast just before the hour, and every 15 minutes between 7am - 9am and 4pm - 7pm.
Independent Local Radio
Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. The same name is used for Independent Local Radio in Ireland.-Development of ILR:...
serving the towns of Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...
, Tonbridge
Tonbridge
Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London...
, Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-east of central London by road, by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex...
and the surrounding areas in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group
KM Group
The KM Group, formerly known as the Kent Messenger Group until 2008, is a multimedia company based in the county of Kent in South East England...
.
History
KMFM West Kent launched on 8 July 1995 as KFM, broadcasting on 96.2 and 101.6 FM and owned by Kent and Sussex Radio. As well as West Kent, the station also included parts of East Sussex, such as CrowboroughCrowborough
The highest point in the town is 242 metres above sea level. This summit is the highest point of the High Weald and second highest point in East Sussex . Its relative height is 159 m, meaning Crowborough qualifies as one of England's Marilyns...
, in its broadcast area. The station was later purchased by DMG Radio and subsequently re-branded to Mercury FM in December 1999. A year later DMG sold their radio assets to GWR who, in 2002, sold the station to the KM Group following a readvertising of the licence. The station was re-branded to KMFM West Kent in September that year.
The station moved its studios and presenters, along with those of KMFM Maidstone
KMFM Maidstone
KMFM Maidstone is an Independent Local Radio serving the town of Maidstone and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group.-History:...
, to the KMFM Medway
KMFM Medway
KMFM Medway is an Independent Local Radio serving the Medway Towns and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group.-History:...
studios in 2008, following Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
approval. The sales team are still based at the KM office in Tonbridge.
The KM Group were awarded a four year extension of the licence, to 7 July 2015, in March 2010.
Like the rest of the KMFM network. the station was relaunched in September 2010 with new jingles, schedule changes and more emphasis on music.
Programming
KMFM West Kent no longer broadcasts any local programmes. The weekday breakfast show is shared with KMFM MaidstoneKMFM Maidstone
KMFM Maidstone is an Independent Local Radio serving the town of Maidstone and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group.-History:...
. All other output is networked across the KMFM network.
Until 2007 KMFM West Kent produced its own programmes during daytimes, before it joined up with KMFM Maidstone to network all programmes other than breakfast. The stations joined together with KMFM Medway
KMFM Medway
KMFM Medway is an Independent Local Radio serving the Medway Towns and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group.-History:...
to create a West Kent network in April 2009, before all programmes apart from weekday/Saturday breakfast and Sunday afternoons were networked across all KMFM stations in September 2009. In July 2010, Saturday breakfast and Sunday afternoons became networked.
News bulletins come from the KMFM News Centre during peak times, on the hour and every half-hour between 7am - 9am and 4pm - 6pm. Traffic and travel updates are broadcast just before the hour, and every 15 minutes between 7am - 9am and 4pm - 7pm.
Networked presenters
- Nigel Ansell
- Tony BlackburnTony BlackburnTony Blackburn is an English disc jockey, who broadcast on the "pirate" stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s and was the first disc jockey to broadcast on BBC Radio 1 in 1967. In 2002 he was the winner of the ITV reality TV programme I'm a Celebrity.....
- Adam Dowling
- Neil Faraday
- Si Kennett
- Bob Mower
- Kirstyn Reed
- Mike Russell
- Myma SeldonMyma SeldonMyma Seldon is a British television and radio presenter and voiceover artist.-Background:Seldon was born 9 August 1979. She has a 2:1 English/Philosophy B.A. from Leeds University...
- Benedict SmithBenedict SmithBenedict Smith is a disc jockey who formerly presented The Big Drive Home on Hertbeat FM every weekday between 4-8pm before it became a franchise of Jack FM. He presents The Saturday Show on the KMFM network and breakfast on KMFM Maidstone...
- Andy Walker
- John "Webbo" Webster
Former presenters
- Richard Adams
- Dave "Davey B" Bethall
- James Dean
- Vanessa Elms
- Chris Finn
- Tom Hogan
- Louis Hurst
- Dominic KingDominic KingDominic King is a Sony Gold Radio Academy award winning radio broadcaster.-Biography:King started his career as a journalist with the Early Times Newspaper for Young People, before working with the BBC as a youth reporter for the BBC Nature series, presented by Michael Buerk...
- Emma Lee
- Johnny LewisJohnny Lewis (DJ)Johnny Lewis is a DJ who has broadcast across numerous radio stations in his career including Radio Caroline and the KMFM stations.-Early Years:...
- Toby Mackenzie
- Nigel Peacock
- Neil Redding
- Emma Smith
- Richard Walters
- Danny Williams
- Rob Wills
- Jonathan "LJ" Young