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Nation Broadcasting

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Nation Broadcasting Limited
Company typePrivate Limited Company
IndustryMedia
Radio Broadcasting
Founded1999
HeadquartersSt Hillary, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales
Area served
United Kingdom
Websitewww.nationplayer.com/nation-broadcasting/

Nation Broadcasting is a British media company headquartered in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It currently owns and operates twelve Independent Local Radio stations across the United Kingdom.

History

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Originally known as Town and Country Broadcasting, the Nation name came into being when the company took over XFM South Wales in May 2008 and rebranded the station as Nation Radio.[1][2][3]

In June 2018, the company changed the name of Thames Radio[4] to Nation Radio,[5] with this service becoming their national service, with DJs such as Mike Read,[6] Russ Williams and Neil Francis, broadcasting online and on DAB in 2021 from Nation Radio UK's studios in London.[7][8]

In February 2019, Nation purchased several former Lincs FM Group and Celador Radio services from Bauer Radio, including The Breeze and Sam FM in the Solent region, and KCFM in East Yorkshire, as these stations overlap with pre-existing Bauer assets Wave 105 and Viking FM.[9]

In September 2022 Nation Broadcasting's franchise agreement with Bauer Radio ended.[10] This resulted in a series of changes being made to Nation-owned services in September and October 2022, dubbed 'The Big Switch',[11] which included the removal of Hits Radio and Greatest Hits Radio content from Nation-owned stations in favour of material largely sourced from Nation Radio UK and Easy Radio.

Stations

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Wales

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Scotland

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Greater London

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North East England

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  • Nation Radio North East, formerly known as Sun FM, which was acquired from UKRD in April 2018.[14] Since March 2020, the former Durham FM and Alpha 103.2 were added to Sun FM, following the purchase of these licenses from Helius Media Group. On 1 May 2024, the station was rebranded to Nation Radio North East.

South East England

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Yorkshire

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East of England

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Digital services

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Nation Broadcasting runs a suite of digital-first thematic music stations, available via DAB+ transmission in a select number of areas, and UK-wide online. As at October 2024, these include:

  • Nation 60s (since 1 December 2021)[15]
  • Nation 70s[16]
  • Nation 80s[17]
  • Nation 90s[18]
  • Nation 00s (on DAB+ across Sailsbury)
  • Nation Hits (contemporary hit music, on DAB+ across Tynemouth)
  • Nation Love (ballads, on DAB+ across Sailsbury)
  • Nation Classic Hits (music from the 60s to the 00s,[19] on DAB+ across Tynemouth and South Shields from 1 Oct 2024; previously Nation New - new and unsigned acts - from March 2023, and prior to that Nation Party)
  • Nation Dance (upbeat music, on DAB+ across Sailsbury)
  • Nation Rocks (guitar music, on DAB+ across Sailsbury since 1 August 2021)

These stations mostly utilise small superlocal DAB multiplexes - as at 2024, in Salisbury, Portsmouth, Basingstoke, West Hull, Tynemouth/South Shields, Glasgow and Wrexham - to broadcast, though Nation 80s is the most widely distributed, also carried on several of the full-line local DAB multiplexes in Wales[20] and one of those in London.[21]

Many of the stations were previously carried on small-scale DAB in Glasgow, but this ended with the closure of the Trial Glasgow multiplex in autumn 2021 (in preparation for the new permanent franchise, won by Nation but later sold to Like Media Group; the launch of Like's multiplex in August 2022 reinstated some Nation stations.) A number of Nation's digital stations were offered on DAB+ in the Channel Islands from August 2021 - the launch of the area's digital multiplex - until being removed in April 2023[22] following the sale of the multiplex to Tindle.

The group also owns stakes in a number of DAB Digital Radio multiplexes.

Former stations

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The group had also owned Radio Hampshire – broadcasting to Southampton and Winchester but this was sold to Play Radio, and then operated under the name The Breeze. Following the purchase of Celador Radio by Bauer Radio in February 2019, the Southampton and Winchester licences, along with a Portsmouth licence subsequently added to the network, were sold to Nation due to overlapping with the existing regional Bauer station Wave 105.

On 31 May 2019, Nation closed Radio Ceredigion and its frequencies are now used to broadcast Nation Radio Wales.[23]

NME Radio

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In July 2010, it was announced[24] that Town and Country Broadcasting was to take over the licence 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 of the venture.

The new NME Radio was launched on Wednesday 1 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.

References

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  1. ^ Shepherd, Rob (30 May 2008). "GCap sells Xfm South Wales". Broadcast. Retrieved 30 May 2008.
  2. ^ "XFM South Wales sold". Radio Today. 30 May 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2008.
  3. ^ "Xfm south Wales: GCap sells station to Town and Country Broadcasting". The Guardian. Retrieved on 31 December 2011.
  4. ^ "All presenters disappear from Thames Radio". radiotoday.co.uk. 17 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Nation Radio to replace Thames Radio". radiotoday.co.uk. 4 June 2018.
  6. ^ "The Heritage Chart". nationradio.uk. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021.
  7. ^ "Schedule".
  8. ^ https://nationradio.uk
  9. ^ "Bauer Media continues to grow with two acquisitions", RadioToday.co.uk 2019-02-05
  10. ^ RadioToday, July 2022
  11. ^ The Big Switch at Nation website
  12. ^ "XFM South Wales sold". Radio Today. 30 May 2008. Retrieved 30 May 2008.
  13. ^ "Xfm south Wales: GCap sells station to Town and Country Broadcasting". The Guardian. Retrieved on 31 December 2011.
  14. ^ UKRD sells Sun FM to Nation Broadcasting
  15. ^ RadioToday, 2021-12-01
  16. ^ "Nation 70s".
  17. ^ "Nation 80s".
  18. ^ "Nation 90s".
  19. ^ RadioToday, 2024-10-01
  20. ^ DAB Ensembles Worldwide
  21. ^ DAB Ensembles Worldwide
  22. ^ Archives 2023, DAB Ensembles Worldwide
  23. ^ Radio Ceredigion withdraws format change request, Radio Today, 31 May 2019
  24. ^ "Radio Today.. with BIONICS: Town and Country save NME Radio". radiotoday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 July 2010.
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