KMFM Medway

KMFM Medway

Broadcast area	Chatham, Gillingham, Rochester
Slogan	The Music You Want, The News You Need Kent's Music Station
Frequency	100.4 MHz (Hoo peninsula) 107.9 MHz (Medway towns) RDS: kmfm_med
First air date	1 September 1997
Format	Adult contemporary music
Audience share	4.1%[1] (RAJAR Q1 2008, [1])
Owner	KM Group
Website	www.kmfm.co.uk/medway

KMFM Medway is an Independent Local Radio serving the Medway Towns and the surrounding areas in Kent, South East England. It is part of the KMFM group of radio stations in the county, which are part of the KM Group.

History

KMFM Medway launched on 1 September 1997 as Medway FM, broadcasting on 100.4 and 107.9 FM, following a four year campaign^[2]> The station was fined £5,000 during its first year of operation by the Radio Authority after it intentionally adjusted the power of its transmitter on two separate occasions, which was against the terms set out in the licence^[3].

The station was later purchased by DMG Radio in 2000 and subsequently re-branded to Medway’s Mercury FM, as the firm wished to brand all its local stations by the same name. A year later DMG sold their radio assets to GWR who, in 2002, sold the station to the Kent Messenger Group following the problem of the group's "station ownership point" as stipulated by the Radio Authority^[3]. The station was re-branded to KMFM Medway in September that year^[4].

In 2004, KMFM Medway was relocated from premises on Rochester High Street to Medway House on Medway City Estate in Strood, where it shares an office with the KM-owned Medway Messenger.

Like the rest of the KMFM network, the station was relaunched in September 2010 with new jingles, schedule changes and more emphasis on music.

Programming

The station currently broadcasts locally from Strood during weekday breakfast. All other output is networked across the KMFM network.

Until 2007 KMFM Medway produced its own programmes during daytimes. It joined up with KMFM West Kent and KMFM Maidstone to create a West Kent network in April 2009^[5], before all programmes apart from weekday/Saturday breakfast and Sunday afternoons were networked across all KMFM stations in September 2009^[6]. In July 2010, Saturday breakfast and Sunday afternoons became networked.

News bulletins come from the KMFM News Centre during peak times, on the hour and every half-hour between 7am - 9am and 4pm - 6pm. Traffic and travel updates are broadcast just before the hour, and every 15 minutes between 7am - 9am and 4pm - 7pm.

Presenters

Local presenters

• Mike Russell

Networked presenters

• Nigel Ansell
• Tony Blackburn
• Adam Dowling
• Neil Faraday
• Si Kennett
• Bob Mower
• Kirstyn Reed
• Mike Russell
• Myma Seldon
• Benedict Smith
• Andy Walker
• John "Webbo" Webster

Former presenters

• Richard Adams
• Dave "Davey B" Bethall
• Vanessa Elms
• Chris Finn
• Louis Hurst
• Oli Kemp
• Dominic King
• Emma Lee^[7]
• Bob Le-Roi ^[2]
• Johnny Lewis
• Toby Mackenzie
• Ed Matthews
• Tim Murphy^[8]
• Louise Perry^[9]
• Neil Redding
• Benedict Smith
• Martin Smith^[10]
• James Walker
• Richard Walters^[11]
• Rob Wills
• Jonathan "LJ" Young

Medway FM (Roadshow Crew)

• Lesley Smith
• Simon Smith
• Ian James
• Jane
• Faye
• Graham Brazier

References

1. ^ KMFM Medway at MediaUK
2. ^ ^{a b} Bob Le-Roi Profile
3. ^ ^{a b} Aircheck UK: Kent
4. ^ KMG stations re-named
5. ^ Agreed Change of Format: KMFM West Kent and Maidstone (Page 2)
6. ^ KMFM to share more programming
7. ^ Aircheck Downloads
8. ^ Tim Murphy Online
9. ^ Louise Perry: Presenter: Radio
10. ^ Martin Smith - radioseagull.com
11. ^ Full Career History - richardwalters.co.uk

External links

• KMFM Medway