- Real Radio North West
-
105.4 Real Radio 
Broadcast area North West England Frequency 105.4 MHz /
DAB: 12C (MXR Digital North West)First air date 8 September 1998 (As Century FM) Format Hot AC Audience share 4.10% (March 2011, [1]) Owner GMG Radio Website realradionorthwest.co.uk 105.4 Real Radio is an independent local radio station controlled by GMG Radio. It is the flagship station of the Real Radio network and has a regional license to broadcast to North West England. The station was part of the Century Network for over ten years until it was rebranded in 2009.
The station was launched in 1998 as Century Radio, part of Border Radio Holding's Century Network. Capital Radio Group took over the station in 2000, and GCap Media in 2005. GMG Radio acquired the Century stations in 2006, rebranding them in 2009 to conform to the branding and network programming of the other stations in the Real Radio network.
Contents
Launch as Century 105.4
The station was born as Century Radio in 1998 as the second Century station in the UK, the first being Gateshead-based 100-102 Century Radio. Owned by Border Television, the station was set up by managing director John Myers, who had also established the north east station. Like the first station, Myers also presented the breakfast show under the pseudonym Morgan.
The station's launch was the subject of an episode of a BBC Two fly-on-the-wall documentary Trouble at the Top, mainly following Myers. The episode, entitled "Degsy Rides Again", showed Myers' attempts to train lunchtime phone-in host Derek Hatton, a controversial local ex-politician who had never before presented on radio. Myers was not confident enough in Hatton for him to appear on pre-launch publicity, although his show "The Degsy Debate" performed well at the first RAJAR. Also amongst its launch presenters was controversial shock jock Scottie McClue.[1]
The documentary also covered the station's acquisition of exclusive commentary rights for Manchester United F.C.'s games. They remained United's official radio partner for almost a decade until selling the rights to Xfm Manchester for the 2007–08 season.
Myers left the group to head GMG Radio, overseeing the launch of the similar Real Radio brand. Capital Radio bought the Century network, and was subsequently acquired by GCap Media. GMG Radio acquired the Century stations in October 2006, reuniting Myers and John Simons (programme director on the original Gateshead station) with the brand.[2]
Present
The station operates from studios in Laser House, an office-building in Salford Quays. Also housed in this building are Real Radio's sister stations 100.4 Smooth Radio and 106.1 Rock Radio; plus the GMG Radio operated Channel M. The programming team is led by Programme Director Dave Shearer.
As well as 14 hours of local output on weekdays, 12 hours on Saturdays & 10 hours on Sundays, the station produces and broadcasts networked programming for four other Real Radio stations in the North East of England, Yorkshire, Wales and Central Scotland. The station's factual production team is headed by James Rea (as group Head Of News) and Christian Spooner (as local Head of News).
The station is also simulcast on Channel M at various times of the day. Originally, the station was used as a soundtrack to its breakfast traffic cameras programme which provided live footage from Manchester's traffic cameras. However, when the traffic camera footage programme ended, the simulcast hours were expanded and the in-vision is now just a holding slide of the station logo with two lines of scrolling text containing news and sports headlines and the song that the station is currently playing.
Programming
Weekdays
Time Main presenter(s)/programme Location 0100 – 0600 All Request Night Shift: Marc Henry / Jo Lloyd / Oli Kemp Manchester 0600 - 0900 Breakfast with Ditchy & Salty: David Ditchfield & Paul Salt 0900 - 1300 Darren Parks 1300 - 1600 Debbie Mac 1600 - 1900 Home Time with Glen & Lorna: Glen Hunt & Lorna Bancroft 1900 - 2300 David Heane 2300 - 0100 On Air with Ryan Seacrest [3] Los Angeles Weekday variations
Day Time Main presenter/programme Location Monday 0000 - 0600 All Request Night Shift: Marc Henry / Jo Lloyd / Oli Kemp Manchester Friday 1900 - 2300 High School Days: David Heane Saturday
Time Main presenter(s)/programme Location 0100 - 0600 All Request Night Shift: Marc Henry Manchester 0600 – 1000 Oli Kemp 1000 – 1400 Glen Hunt & Lorna Bancroft 1400 - 1800 David Heane 1800 – 0000 Real Club Classics: Debbie Mac Sunday
Time Main presenter(s)/programme Location 0000 - 0600 All Request Night Shift: Marc Henry Manchester 0600 – 1000 Oli Kemp 1000 - 1300 Darren Parks 1300 - 1600 Jo Lloyd 1600 – 1900 The Vodafone Big Top 40: Rich Clarke & Kat Shoob Leicester Square, London 1900 – 0000 Marc Henry Manchester Past presenters
- Wes Butters (left 25 September 2011; now with BBC Leeds)
- Steve Jordan (left August 2011; now with Yorkshire Coast Radio)[4]
News and sport
Real Radio is the home of the biggest of three GMG radio news "hubs". The local head of news is Christian Spooner, leading a team of 12 journalists. Bulletins are broadcast on the hour between 6 am and 6 pm with headlines on the half-hour between 6 am & 9 am and 4 pm & 6 pm. Sport is broadcast during these extended news bulletins and at 4.30 pm and 5.30 pm on weekdays.
News
In the evenings (8pm-midnight), GMG's news team in Manchester provide opt-in bulletins for all Smooth & Real stations in England and Wales (Real Radio North East, Real Radio Yorkshire, Real Radio Wales, Real Radio North West, Smooth Radio West Midlands, Smooth Radio East Midlands, Smooth Radio North West and Smooth Radio North East, Smooth Radio London). Between 1am and 5am, the stations carry Sky News Radio bulletins provided by IRN in London.
As Century, the station won three awards in the 2008 IRN Awards, including for Best Scoop, in which they managed to obtain an interview from a witness who saw the shooting of Liverpool schoolboy Rhys Jones.
References
- ^ "Degsy Rides Again", Trouble at the Top, BBC Two, March 1999
- ^ "Fellowship for John Simons". Radio Today. 2006-12-18. http://www.radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.1434.2. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
- ^ Ryan Seacrest joins Real Radio Radio Today, July 2011
- ^ Steve Jordan joins Yorkshire Coast Radio Radio Today, 12 September 2011
External links
Guardian Media Group National newspapers: The Guardian · The Observer
International newspapers: The Guardian Weekly
Real Radio: North East · North West · Scotland · Wales · Yorkshire
Smooth Radio: Smooth Radio · Smooth Radio (Scotland)
Real Radio XS: 96.3 Scotland · 106.1 Manchester · Digital
Other stations: Jazz FM (licensed to Jazz FM Investments Ltd) ·
Television: Channel M Online: guardian.co.uk · paidContent Other: Trader Media Group · EMAP (joint owner with Apax Partners) · The Beaver
Radio stations in Greater Manchester, England FM Stations 88.4 (Gaydio) • 89.3 & 89.8 (BBC Radio 2) • 91.5 & 91.9 (BBC Radio 3) • 93.7 & 94.1 (BBC Radio 4) • 94.4 (Salford City Radio) • 95.1 & 104.6 (BBC Radio Manchester) • 96.2 (96.2 The Revolution) • 96.9 (ALL FM) • 97.2 (Wythenshawe FM) • 97.7 (XFM) • 98.9 & 99.3 (BBC Radio 1) • 99.7 (Oldham Community Radio) • 100.4 (Smooth) • 101.1 (Classic FM) • 102.0 (Capital FM Manchester) • 102.4 (Wish FM) • 103.0 (Key 103) • 103.6 (Tameside Radio) • 104.9 (Imagine FM) • 105.4 (105.4 Real Radio) • 106.1 (Rock Radio) • 107.4 (Tower FM)AM Stations DAB Stations: Absolute Radio • Asian Sound Radio • BBC Radio 1 • BBC Radio 2 • BBC Radio 3 • BBC Radio 4 • BBC Radio 5 Live • BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra • BBC 6 Music • BBC Radio 7 • BBC Asian Network • BBC World Service • BBC Radio Manchester • Classic FM • Capital FM Manchester • Gold - Manchester • Heart • Heat • Kerrang • Key 103 • Piccadilly Magic 1152 • Planet Rock • 105.4 Real Radio • Smooth Radio • talkSPORT • The Arrow • Traffic Radio • XFM
Multiplexes: CE Manchester (local) • MXR North West (regional)United Kingdom Radio Markets: Aberdeen • Glasgow • London • Liverpool • Manchester • West Midlands • West Yorkshire • Worcester
See also: List of radio stations in the United Kingdom Categories:- Salford media
- Radio stations in Manchester
- Radio stations established in 1998
- GMG Radio
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