Town and Country Broadcasting
Encyclopedia
Town and Country Broadcasting Limited (formerly UK Sports Radio Limited) is a media company registered in Wales
. It currently owns and operates seven radio stations across Wales
. It is owned and managed by Jason Bryant (formerly of talkSPORT
and Virgin Radio
)
Stations in the group include:
The group also owns a significant stake in Dee 106.3
- the local radio station for Chester and Deeside as well as majority stakes in a number of yet-to-launch DAB Digital Radio multiplexes as part of a joint venture with multiplex operator MuxCo. The group had also owned Radio Hampshire - broadcasting to Southampton and Winchester but this was closed and sold and now operates under the name Play Radio.
Bay Radio, Bridge FM and Nation Radio all originate from the company's main headquarters in Neath
, while Radio Pembrokeshire, Radio Carmarthenshire, Radio Ceredigion and Scarlet FM are broadcast from Narberth
.
The group's South West Wales
stations broadcast a chart show called The Welsh Chart Show, containing the top 10 singles, albums, websites, games & movies of today, while selecting a chart from a previous year.
The new NME Radio was launched on Wednesday 1st September 2010 - with familiar group presenters providing live programming for the national NME Radio service. The station also replaced the now defunct dabbl
station on the Cardiff & Newport DAB Multiplex as well as launching a brand new iPhone app.
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...
. It currently owns and operates seven radio stations across 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...
. It is owned and managed by Jason Bryant (formerly of talkSPORT
TalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
and Virgin Radio
Virgin Radio
Absolute Radio is one of the UK's three Independent National Radio stations. The station rebranded to its current name at 7.45am on 29 September 2008.The station is based in London and plays popular rock music...
)
Stations in the group include:
- 102.5 Radio Pembrokeshire (PembrokeshirePembrokeshirePembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, 2006) - 97.1 Radio Carmarthenshire (CarmarthenshireCarmarthenshireCarmarthenshire is a unitary authority in the south west of Wales and one of thirteen historic counties. It is the 3rd largest in Wales. Its three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford...
, 2006) - 97.5 Scarlet FM (LlanelliLlanelliLlanelli , the largest town in both the county of Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed , Wales, sits on the Loughor estuary on the West Wales coast, approximately west-north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town is famous for its proud rugby...
, 2006) - 102.1 Bay Radio (SwanseaSwanseaSwansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
& NeathNeathNeath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
, 2006) - 106.3 Bridge FM106.3 Bridge FMBridge FM is the local commercial radio station broadcasting in south Wales' Bridgend County Borough and the surrounding areas on a frequency of 106.3 MHz....
(BridgendBridgendBridgend is a town in the Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of the capital, Cardiff. The river crossed by the original bridge, which gave the town its name, is the River Ogmore but the River Ewenny also passes to the south of the town...
, purchased from Tindle Radio, 2007) - Radio CeredigionRadio CeredigionRadio Ceredigion is a bilingual local radio station that serves the Welsh county of Ceredigion.-History:From its launch on 14th December 1992, the station broadcast a bilingual schedule with roughly half-and-half proportion of English and Welsh output, much of it community-oriented, from studios...
(AberystwythAberystwythAberystwyth is a historic market town, administrative centre and holiday resort within Ceredigion, Wales. Often colloquially known as Aber, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol....
, purchased from Tindle Newspapers in March 2010) - Nation RadioNation RadioNation Radio launched on 16 June 2008 as a regional radio station broadcasting to the South Wales area from Neath.Nation Radio took over the Ofcom broadcasting licence held by Xfm South Wales when GCap Media sold the station to Town and Country Broadcasting for an unspecified fee on 30 May 2008....
(South WalesSouth WalesSouth Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, formerly known as Xfm South Wales until purchased from GCap MediaGCap MediaGCap 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...
(now Global RadioGlobal RadioGlobal 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...
), 30 May 2008) - NME RadioNME RadioNME Radio is the radio station from NME magazine, that broadcasts in a new commercially oriented alternative music format. It first began broadcasting on 24 June 2008.- History :...
(NationalNationA nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
Operated in partnership with IPC MediaIPC MediaIPC Media , a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Inc., is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom, with a large portfolio selling over 350 million copies each year.- Origins :...
, September 2010)
The group also owns a significant stake in Dee 106.3
Dee 106.3
Dee 106.3 is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the city of Chester. It has its studios at 2 Chantry Court in Chester. The transmitter is on top of the Steam Mill building in Chester city centre, next to the Shropshire Union Canal and reaches much of Flintshire.It was the first...
- the local radio station for Chester and Deeside as well as majority stakes in a number of yet-to-launch DAB Digital Radio multiplexes as part of a joint venture with multiplex operator MuxCo. The group had also owned Radio Hampshire - broadcasting to Southampton and Winchester but this was closed and sold and now operates under the name Play Radio.
Bay Radio, Bridge FM and Nation Radio all originate from the company's main headquarters in Neath
Neath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
, while Radio Pembrokeshire, Radio Carmarthenshire, Radio Ceredigion and Scarlet FM are broadcast from Narberth
Narberth
Narberth may refer to:*Narberth, Pembrokeshire, a town in Wales*Narberth, Pennsylvania, a town in the United States*Narberth , a traditional hundred of Pembrokeshire in Wales...
.
The group's South West Wales
South West Wales
South West Wales is a region of Wales. A definition consisting of the unitary authorities of Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire is used by a number of government agencies and private organisations including:*BBC...
stations broadcast a chart show called The Welsh Chart Show, containing the top 10 singles, albums, websites, games & movies of today, while selecting a chart from a previous year.
NME Radio
In July 2010 it was announced the Town and Country Broadcasting was to take over the license to run the NME's spin off radio station, NME Radio, after it was reduced to an online only service following DX Media pulling out.The new NME Radio was launched on Wednesday 1st September 2010 - with familiar group presenters providing live programming for the national NME Radio service. The station also replaced the now defunct dabbl
Dabbl
dabbl, was a user-controlled radio station broadcast on the Internet and on DAB Digital Radio in Cardiff 24 hours a day and in London from 7pm to 6am daily. Its content was chosen by members of Absolute Radio's website VIP Service, who select songs which are then voted for. Songs with the most...
station on the Cardiff & Newport DAB Multiplex as well as launching a brand new iPhone app.