Midlands Radio plc
Encyclopedia
Midlands Radio plc was an independent radio operator, which operated seven radio licences in Birmingham
, Coventry
, Leicester
, Nottingham
and surrounding areas in the United Kingdom
.
Following the introduction of the Broadcasting Act of 1990
, a number of major groups began to lead a consolidation of the market. This led to Midlands Radio plc being purchased by for 18 million by Capital Radio plc, who then sold Trent, Leicester Sound, and Mercia Sound to GWR in 1993, but kept hold of BRMB.
As Mercia and its medium wave frequency were sold in the bundle, GWR announced that 1359 kHz would be rebranded as Classic Gold
. This meant Xtra AM would only continue in Birmingham, and due the presenters urging Coventry listeners to retune to the Birmingham frequency GWR pulled the plug on Xtra AM in Coventry earlier than provisionally agreed.
Under the new ownership, the FM stations were re-launched under GWR's Better Music Mix uniformed format. GEM continued to be live and local 24 hours a day until in 1997, when Tony Lyman's programme was networked from 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. across most of the Midlands and the Home Counties on the Classic Gold network, at this point the name of the station was changed to Classic Gold GEM. More and more shared programming began to creep in and the name GEM finally died on Friday 3 August 2007 at 7.00 p.m., when Classic Gold GEM became part of the Gold Network, following the merger of Classic Gold and Capital Gold. The only remaining local programme (12-4pm weekdays) is pre recorded.
GWR later merged with Capital Radio to form GCAP Media
, this led to the stations giving less and less commitment to the areas they served and often sharing programmes from other bases. GCAP was then acquired by the Global Radio
empire based in Leicester Square, London. Now all stations have lost their heritage names and are simply known as Heart with only 2 local programmes during weekdays.
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Coventry
Coventry
Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
, Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
and surrounding areas in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
AM
- GEM AM - operated on the medium wave frequencies of Radio Trent.
- Xtra AMXtra AMXtra AM was a United Kingdom radio station which was on the air between 1989 and 1998. It was broadcast to much of Birmingham, Coventry and Warwickshire and was the 'oldies' station which took over the mediumwave frequencies of both BRMB and Mercia FM...
- operated on the medium wave frequencies of BRMB and Mercia.
History
Under the control of Ron Coles, Midlands Radio plc was floated on the full stock market in 1990.Following the introduction of the Broadcasting Act of 1990
Broadcasting Act 1990
The Broadcasting Act 1990 is a law of the British parliament, often regarded by both its supporters and its critics as a quintessential example of Thatcherism. The aim of the Act was to reform the entire structure of British broadcasting; British television, in particular, had earlier been...
, a number of major groups began to lead a consolidation of the market. This led to Midlands Radio plc being purchased by for 18 million by Capital Radio plc, who then sold Trent, Leicester Sound, and Mercia Sound to GWR in 1993, but kept hold of BRMB.
As Mercia and its medium wave frequency were sold in the bundle, GWR announced that 1359 kHz would be rebranded as Classic Gold
Classic Gold Digital Network
Classic Gold Digital Network was one of the biggest 'gold' formatted radio networks in the United Kingdom, with a potential audience of 47 million. Classic Gold was broadcast on analogue and DAB digital platforms, as well as Sky channel 0189.-History:...
. This meant Xtra AM would only continue in Birmingham, and due the presenters urging Coventry listeners to retune to the Birmingham frequency GWR pulled the plug on Xtra AM in Coventry earlier than provisionally agreed.
Under the new ownership, the FM stations were re-launched under GWR's Better Music Mix uniformed format. GEM continued to be live and local 24 hours a day until in 1997, when Tony Lyman's programme was networked from 12 p.m. - 3 p.m. across most of the Midlands and the Home Counties on the Classic Gold network, at this point the name of the station was changed to Classic Gold GEM. More and more shared programming began to creep in and the name GEM finally died on Friday 3 August 2007 at 7.00 p.m., when Classic Gold GEM became part of the Gold Network, following the merger of Classic Gold and Capital Gold. The only remaining local programme (12-4pm weekdays) is pre recorded.
GWR later merged with Capital Radio to form 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...
, this led to the stations giving less and less commitment to the areas they served and often sharing programmes from other bases. GCAP was then acquired by the Global Radio
Global Radio
Global Radio UK Ltd. is a British commercial radio company, the largest in the country following acquisitions of Chrysalis Radio and GCap Media.The company's Chief Executive Officer is Stephen Miron, while the Group Chairman is Charles Allen...
empire based in Leicester Square, London. Now all stations have lost their heritage names and are simply known as Heart with only 2 local programmes during weekdays.