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Capital Cymru

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Coordinates: 53°01′12″N 4°16′24″W / 53.0199°N 4.2732°W / 53.0199; -4.2732
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Capital
File:Capital Cymru logo.png
Broadcast areaGwynedd and Anglesey
Frequency103.0 MHz
Programming
FormatUrban contemporary, News, Entertainment, Speech, Showbiz, Welsh music, Welsh programming
Ownership
OwnerGlobal Radio
History
First air date
(as Champion 103) 11 December 1998 at 10:03am
Technical information
Transmitter coordinates
53°01′12″N 4°16′24″W / 53.0199°N 4.2732°W / 53.0199; -4.2732
Links
WebsiteCapital Cymru

Capital Cymru is a local, bilingual radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital radio network. The station broadcasts to Gwynedd and Anglesey from studios in Gwersyllt, Wrexham via the Arfon transmitting station.

Previously, the station formed part of the Heart radio network and earlier the Marcher Radio Group.[1] It switched to Capital on Tuesday 6 May 2014. Heart North Wales now covers the region as part of the Heart Network.

History

When it launched in 1998 as Champion 103, it was the first station to serve Anglesey and Gwynedd as a whole, although Marcher Coast 96.3 had been broadcasting to a small part of the area for some time from its Colwyn Bay studios. The station originally broadcast from studios at Parc Menai in Bangor, Gwynedd (later sharing facilities with Heart North Wales Coast) before co-locating to the studios of Heart North West and Wales (now Capital) in Wrexham.[2]

Although its official transmission area takes in most of the Isle of Anglesey and a large part of Gwynedd (as far south as Harlech), the location of its transmitter means the signal carries across Cardigan Bay and can be heard in parts of Pembrokeshire and even the Republic of Ireland.

The station is unique in the Capital FM network, broadcasting a mix of Welsh and English-language programming - local output is presented largely in Welsh and incorporates Welsh language music, with English language local content consisting of peak-time traffic bulletins and daytime news updates. In addition to daily breakfast shows, the station opts out of the network to carry additional local programming including an extended 6-hour afternoon/drivetime show and extra shows on weekend mornings. Network programming is relayed from London at all other times.

The station's local output was not affected by a restructuring of Heart in July 2010, which saw sister stations serving the North Wales Coast, Cheshire & North East Wales and the Wirral merged to form Heart North West and Wales.[3] The former North Wales Coast station on 96.3FM maintains an opt-out for early morning Welsh-language programmes and news bulletins.

On 6 February 2014, Global Radio announced that Heart Cymru would be rebranded as Capital FM, with the Northern licence of Real Radio Wales being sold to Communicorp and relaunched as a new separate Heart station for North and Mid Wales.[4]

The rebranding to Capital took place on Tuesday 6 May 2014. All local output, including extended Welsh language shows, news bulletins and network opt-outs are retained.[5]

Programming

Local programming is produced and broadcast from Capital's Wrexham studios from 6-10am and 1-7pm on weekdays and 9am-4pm at weekends. All networked programming originates from Global Radio's London headquarters, including the syndicated Vodafone Big Top 40 on Sunday afternoons.

The station's local presenters are Alistair James (Capital Breakfast, Saturday mornings), Kev Bach (1-7pm Afternoon & Drivetime) and Cerian Griffith (weekend afternoons).

Capital Reports

Capital Cymru broadcasts hourly local news updates, known as Capital Reports, from 6am-7pm on weekdays and 6am-12pm at weekends with headlines on the half-hour during breakfast and drivetime on weekdays.

On weekdays, Breakfast and drivetime bulletins are broadcast in Welsh only while off-peak bulletins and traffic updates are in English with a bilingual bulletin broadcast at 6am.

The Wrexham and Cardiff Bay newsrooms produce the bulletins, alongside those for Capital North West and Wales and Heart North Wales.

See also

References

  1. ^ RadioToday
  2. ^ Heart radio moves from Bangor to Wrexham, Daily Post, 29 July 2010
  3. ^ OFCOM - Agreed Format Change Request: Heart Anglesey
  4. ^ Martin, Roy (2014-02-06). "Communicorp buys 8 Global stations". RadioToday. Retrieved 2014-02-06.
  5. ^ Global confirms Heart expansion details, RadioToday, 14 April 2014
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