Heart (Radio network)
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| City of license | London |
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| Broadcast area | London, West Midlands, East Anglia, South East England, West of England, Devon, North Wales, Cheshire, Wirral Peninsula |
| Branding | 'More music variety', 'This is Heart', 'Give it some Heart' |
| Slogan | 'More Music Variety' |
| Frequency | 96MHz–107MHz RDS: HEART_xx or HEART___ |
| First air date | 1994 (Heart West Midlands) |
| Format | Hot AC |
| Language | English |
| Audience share | 5.90% (Sept 2010, [1]) |
| Owner | Global Radio |
| Sister stations | Capital FM, XFM, Classic FM, LBC, Choice FM, The Arrow, Chill |
| Website | Heart |
Heart is a radio network of 17 adult contemporary independent local radio stations in central & southern England and north Wales. Each station broadcasts local breakfast and drive time shows and simulcasts network programming at all other times. Sixteen of the Heart stations are owned and operated by Global Radio with one station owned independently as a franchise, (Heart Hertfordshire).
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[edit] History
Heart was launched in the West Midlands in 1994, with a London station following in 1995. Century 106 in the East Midlands became the third station of the Heart network in 2005, when GCap Media sold Century 106 to Heart's then-owner Chrysalis Group. Chrysalis' radio holdings were sold to Global Radio in 2007.
There are two theories of how the original Heart station was given its name. One is that it got its name from being based in the heart of Birmingham. The more commonly held theory is that it is taken from the phrase Heart of England which Birmingham and often the wider West Midlands region is often referred to as.
When GCap Media was taken over by Global Radio in 2008, it announced plans to dissolve the 41 station One Network, with one station (Power FM) becoming part of the Galaxy Network, four stations (BRMB, Beacon Radio, Mercia FM and Wyvern FM) forming a West Midlands regional network (which was latterly sold to Orion Media along with Heart 106), seven stations joining Capital FM to form The Hit Music Network and the remaining 29 stations forming the Heart Network. Heart East Midlands was sold to Orion Media due to the same competition concerns that had forced its earlier sale to Chrysalis, and as a result this was operated by Orion Media using the Heart name and content under licence, until 1 January 2011 when it split from the Heart network, becoming Gem 106. (As a result of this and other changes, including the creation of Capital FM East Midlands, Global Radio placed a relay of Heart 106.2 in place of Galaxy Digital on DAB in Leicester and Nottingham, such that listeners could continue to receive Heart network content in these areas.)
Between June and September 2010, Global Radio merged a vast majority of the Heart stations to create a smaller network of local & regional stations, in line with new OFCOM guidelines on local output requirements.[1]
[edit] List of Heart stations
As of January 2011, the Heart network comprises 17 stations:[2]
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[edit] Programming
The majority of programming is broadcast live from Heart studios in Leicester Square, London, however some output is automated and voice-tracked.
[edit] Networked presenters
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[edit] Network relief presenters
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[edit] Network opt-outs
Heart Cymru opts out of the network schedule for additional Welsh language programming – the station runs a five-hour drivetime show on weekdays from 2-7pm, following an automated hour of non-stop music and airs an extra local programme on Saturday and Sunday afternoons (12-4pm). Heart North West and Wales on 96.3 FM (North Wales Coast) also opts out for an extra hour-long programme in Welsh at 5am on weekday mornings and 7am on Sundays.
[edit] Network presentation
The Heart Network uses a jingle package, composed by the Seattle-based music production company IQ Beats, who also supply packages for Global Radio's Capital network, LBC and Gold network. The network's imaging voiceovers are Alex Hall and Martin Bruce while the sponsorship and promotion voiceovers are Dave Kelly and Anna Butterfield.
[edit] Network restructuring
On 21 June 2010, Global Radio announced plans to restructure the Heart Network. By the end of the restructuing process, the number of stations had been reduced from 33 to 18.[3] Two Hit Music Network stations were also closed and merged with Heart stations.
- The Peterborough and Cambridge stations merged to form Heart Cambridgeshire from Peterborough.
- The Exeter, Torbay, Plymouth, South Devon and North Devon stations merged to form Heart Devon from Exeter.
- The Norwich and Ipswich stations merged to form Heart East Anglia from Norwich.
- The Chelmsford & Southend & Colchester stations and Ten 17 in Harlow merged to form Heart Essex from Chelmsford.
- Hertfordshire's Mercury 96.6 in St Albans rebranded and relaunched as Heart Hertfordshire.
- The Northants, Milton Keynes, Dunstable and Bedford stations merged to form Heart Home Counties from Dunstable.
- The North Wales Coast, Cheshire & North East Wales and Wirral stations merged to form Heart North West and Wales from Wrexham.
- The Dorset & New Forest and Hampshire stations merged to form Heart South Coast from Fareham.
- The Sussex station and Mercury FM from Crawley merged to form Heart Sussex and Surrey from Brighton.
- The Berkshire and Oxfordshire stations merged to form Heart Thames Valley from Reading.
- The Bristol, Somerset and Bath stations merged to form Heart West Country from Bristol.
Stations in Gloucestershire, Kent, London, the West Midlands, the East Midlands and Wiltshire were unaffected by the changes. Heart Cymru, serving Gwynedd and Anglesey, moved its studios from Bangor to Wrexham but retained its extended local output of 10 hours on weekdays and 8 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. Heart North West and Wales retained an opt-out on 96.3FM (the North Wales Coast) for Welsh language programming.
On 1 January 2011, Orion Media, the owners of Heart East Midlands (one of the original three Heart stations) renamed and relaunched the station as 'Gem 106', ending a franchise agreement with Global Radio formed when Global purchased GCap and which allowed it to use the Heart identity and carry networked programming from London.[4] The move saw networked programming largely replaced by local shows.
[edit] Criticisms
In August 2010, listeners in Bedfordshire and Crawley, West Sussex complained about the merger of Heart stations and called for a boycott of the station.[5]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Heart slims but strenghens
- ^ Official website featuring map showing Heart stations
- ^ Global Radio to halve number of local Heart stations, mediaguardian.co.uk, 21 June 2010
- ^ Gem to replace Heart East Mids
- ^ Global Radio faces Heart cuts protest, MediaGuardian.co.uk
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