The Breeze (radio network)
Encyclopedia
The Breeze is a network of independent local radio
stations broadcasting to Bristol
, Bath, Bridgwater
, West Somerset
, Frome
, West Wiltshire
and the Southampton
, Portsmouth
and Winchester
areas of Hampshire
, England
. The station has a 'contemporary easy listening' format, playing classic and recent melodic popular music
aimed principally at listeners over 40.
The stations are operated by media firm Celador
and operates on nine FM frequencies and two DAB
frequencies. All frequencies broadcasting The Breeze were previously separate stations centred on each of the broadcast areas, which have been acquired and combined into one network.
The network launched when Play Radio (a combination of two stations in Hampshire) was acquired by Celador along with an additional station in Portsmouth and rebranded as The Breeze on 4 July 2010. The individual stations have all operated under various owners, formats and identities, with the stations having launched between 1998 and 1999 as a series of local stations focused on a specified broadcast area.
In 2011, Celador acquired two Total Star stations in Bristol and Bridgwater, and successfully applied for the licence to one in Bath, and relaunched all stations as The Breeze. All programming is now identical across all licence areas.
The Breeze is currently based in Southampton
and Bristol
, sharing facilities with the Celador owned Jack FM
franchises.
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:...
stations broadcasting to Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, Bath, Bridgwater
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and a major industrial centre. Bridgwater is located on the major communication routes through South West England...
, West Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, Frome
Frome
Frome is a town and civil parish in northeast Somerset, England. Located at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, the town is built on uneven high ground, and centres around the River Frome. The town is approximately south of Bath, east of the county town, Taunton and west of London. In the 2001...
, West Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
and the Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
and Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
areas of Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The station has a 'contemporary easy listening' format, playing classic and recent melodic popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
aimed principally at listeners over 40.
The stations are operated by media firm Celador
Celador
Celador is a global light entertainment company originally formed as an independent production company in 1983. It has produced a number of popular light entertainment shows and is probably best known for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and co-producing the film Slumdog Millionaire which collected...
and operates on nine FM frequencies and two DAB
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
frequencies. All frequencies broadcasting The Breeze were previously separate stations centred on each of the broadcast areas, which have been acquired and combined into one network.
The network launched when Play Radio (a combination of two stations in Hampshire) was acquired by Celador along with an additional station in Portsmouth and rebranded as The Breeze on 4 July 2010. The individual stations have all operated under various owners, formats and identities, with the stations having launched between 1998 and 1999 as a series of local stations focused on a specified broadcast area.
In 2011, Celador acquired two Total Star stations in Bristol and Bridgwater, and successfully applied for the licence to one in Bath, and relaunched all stations as The Breeze. All programming is now identical across all licence areas.
The Breeze is currently based in Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
and Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, sharing facilities with the Celador owned Jack FM
Jack FM
JACK FM is the alternative name and on-air brand of 60 radio stations in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia. Jack stations play a mix of 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s hits with some current hot adult contemporary singles. Jack's slogan "playing what we want" can also be...
franchises.
History
The Breeze originally launched as a number of stations in the South Coast and West of England.- The Breeze (Bath) was originally launched in 1999 as 107.9 Bath FM before being taken over by Total Star Bath in March 2010. It has been relaunched as The Breeze 107.9 from September 2011.
- The Breeze (Bridgwater and West Somerset) launched in 1998 as Quaywest 102.4. It later acquired a station called BCRfm before being taken over by One Gold Radio and relaunched as Total Star Somerset until August 2011.
- The Breeze (Bristol) originally launched as 107.3 The Eagle in 1999. It was relaunched as The Breeze on 107.2 in February 2011
- The Breeze (Frome & West Wiltshire) started in 2001 as 3TR FM on 107.5 before becoming Total Star in 2010. It was re-branded as The Breeze in November 2011.
- The Breeze (South Coast) was originally three individual stations all launched in 1999 - SouthCity FM (Southampton), Win 107.2 (Winchester) and Radio Victory (Portsmouth). Following subsequent mergers and acquisitions the stations were acquired by Celador in 2010 and rebranded into one station.