95.8 Capital FM
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| 95.8 Capital FM | |
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| City of license | London |
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| Broadcast area | Greater London |
| Frequency | 95.8 MHz, RDS: CAPITAL Sky Digital: 0109 freesat: 719 Tiscali TV: 610 Virgin Media: 958 (931/932 ex Telewest) DAB Digital Radio (London) |
| First air date | 16 October 1973 |
| Format | Contemporary hits |
| Owner | Global Radio |
| Website | 95.8 Capital FM |
95.8 Capital FM is a popular London radio station owned by the Global Radio group.
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[edit] History
[edit] Early years
The station, which was based on the first two floors of the Euston Tower, was originally named Capital Radio, and was launched by then-chairman Richard Attenborough at 5:00 AM on Tuesday, 16 October 1973. Capital went on air just over a week after news station LBC, making it the second legal commercial radio station in the UK. The first song to be played on Capital was Bridge Over Troubled Water, by Simon and Garfunkel.
Broadcasting on FM and medium wave, it has used 95.8 MHz since its inception, while the medium wave frequency was originally 539 metres (557kHz). This happened to be the same frequency that the Dutch pirate radio station Radio Veronica was using, and the interference between the two meant that neither station could be heard clearly in parts of southern England or Belgium.
In 1975, Capital's medium wave frequency moved to 194 metres (1548 kHz) after Veronica had been closed by the Dutch anti-pirate legislation. As the British government encouraged an end to simulcasting as part of its plan to expand choice in UK radio, a separate service - Capital Gold - was set up in 1988 to broadcast on Capital's medium wave frequency. At the same time, the FM frequency station was relaunched under the name Capital FM. For more information on the early days of Capital Radio, see the Gold page.
[edit] Recent times
As of 1997, the studios of 95.8 Capital FM are based in Leicester Square, which is also home to Capital's parent company, Global Radio. The studio complex is shared with many other stations, including XFM, LBC 97.3 and Heart
The station launched its website in September 1996 resulting in high demand which led to it crashing within a few hours.
Beginning in late 2005, the station went through a number of changes. In December 2005, a new policy of two advertisements in each break to win favour with listeners, though there were more frequent breaks as a result. This policy was changed within a few months.
On 9 January 2006 the station was relaunched under its original name Capital Radio, with a modified line-up of presenters and a slightly tweaked music format. After this re-launch turned out not to have had the desired success, a new Programme Controller was appointed in September 2006. Scott Muller came from the Nova group in Australia, and the station saw another tweak in style.
The changes continued seeing Capital re-branded back to "London's Hit Music Station", a play on the station's earlier brand of "London's Number One Hit Music Station" with noticeable improvements - leading to a rise in audience figures at the end of 2006. The station also changed its on air name to 95.8 Capital Radio, incorporating the frequency of "95.8" back into the station since it was dropped at the January 2006 re-launch.[1]
In March 2007 the station was then renamed Capital 95.8 and its slogan became "The Sound Of London". The marketing campaign combined outdoor, cinema, and print adverts. [2]
RAJAR figures for Q2 2007 showed Capital 95.8 slipping to fourth place in the London radio market ratings, recording the lowest-ever share of the London audience and for the first time falling behind Emap-owned station Magic and Heart, now owned by Global Radio. Capital 95.8's audience share slipped from 4.6 to 4.1 per cent over the quarter.[3]
The station then returned to the 'London's Hit Music Network' tagline on 10 December 2007, with ex-Virgin Radio presenter Greg Burns replacing Lucio on drivetime, and Lucio moving to the evening show. Lucio took over from Bam Bam (Peter Poulton) who left Capital in early December 2007.
On 6 June 2008 Global Radio completed its £375 million takeover of Capital's parent company GCap Media. Since the sale, the station's on-air name has been changed yet again, reverting from Capital 95.8 to 95.8 Capital FM.
[edit] On-Air Schedule
In early 2009, Capital underwent more scheduling changes. They began airing a new custom jingle package from IQ Beats and adopted a very tight CHR playlist. The current line-up is as follows:
Breakfast: Capital Breakfast with Johnny Vaughan and Lisa Snowden
Mid-Mornings: Roberto
Afternoons: The Bassman
Drive-Time: Greg Burns
Evenings: Rich Clarke and Kat Shoob
Nights: Dave Kelly
Overnights: Tony Shepherd
Weekends: Victoria Windsor, Margherita Taylor, Chris Brooks, The Big Top 40 Show, Luke Smith, Kevin Hughes
[edit] The Big Top 40 Show
Current 95.8 Capital FM presenters Rich Clarke and Kat Shoob, present the UK national chart, The Big Top 40 Show, from the Leicester Square headquarters of Global Radio. The Big Top 40 Show is networked from 4pm - 7pm across 140 UK radio stations.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Capital Radio gets another makeover John Plunkett, The Guardian. 25 September 2008
- ^ Second stage of Capital 95.8 campaign UTalkMarketing
- ^ Radio battle gets hot at the top (Times Online)
[edit] External links
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