Xfm Scotland

Radio station


name=XFM Scotland
airdate= 19 Nov 1999 as Beat 106; 4 Jan 2006 as XFM Scotland
frequency=105.7 MHz and 106.1 MHz
share = 4.1% (East) / 2.60% (West)
share as of = September 2007
share source = [http://www.rajar.co.uk/listening/quarterly_listening.php]
area=Central Scotland
format =Alternative
owner = GCap Media
website = [http://www.xfmscotland.co.uk www.xfmscotland.co.uk]

XFM Scotland is a regional radio station broadcasting to Scotland's Central Belt, an area surrounding the two cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.

History

It began on 19 November 1999 as Beat 106, a dance music station. The first presenter on-air, at 1:06 p.m. on launch day, was Matt Finlay, who stayed at the station until late 2005. After launch, Beat quickly widened its format to include rock and R&B music. Beat 106 closed on January 1, 2006, playing a countdown of the top 1000 tracks voted for by visitors to its website, entitled "The X-List".

Beat 106 was originally established by the Big Beat Group, headed up by a group of nightclub promoters from Glasgow. However, just a few months into its existence, in July 2000, it was bought by the Capital Radio Group. In 2005, Capital Radio merged with the GWR Group to form GCap Media, creating the UK's largest commercial radio group. The rebranding of Beat 106 to XFM was one of a number of measures announced by GCap to improve their corporate performance following the merger. The original XFM station was Xfm London and the rebranding in Scotland occurred four months before the expected launch of Xfm Manchester.

Normal XFM Scotland programmes were launched by breakfast presenter Dominik Diamond on January 4, 2006.The first record to be played on XFM Scotland was 'Loaded' by Primal Scream. (The first record to be played on Beat 106 was "Revolution" by The Beatles.)

On 11 February 2008 GCap Media announced that they would be selling the analogue licence for the station [cite web | url = http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/feb/11/gcapmedia.digitaltvradio | title = DAB 'not economically viable' | accessdate = 2008-02-11] .

On 28 August 2008, Jim Gellatly announced that his last show would be broadcast that day and he would be leaving the station together with a number of colleagues. [cite web | url = http://www.myspace.com/jimgellatly | title = My last show for Xfm Scotland | accessdate = 2008-08-28] .

Galaxy Scotland

On 27 August 2008 new owners Global Radio announced it will re-brand XFM Scotland as Galaxy Scotland. The re-brand is part of Global Radio’s major strategy to expand the brand across the UK. It is expected that Galaxy Scotland will join the Galaxy Network on the 8th of November 2008. [cite web | url = http://www.radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.3742.2 | title = XFM Scotland to become Galaxy | accessdate = 2008-08-27] .

Current Presenters

Weekday

*Julyan Sinclair "0600-1000 - The Xfm Breakfast Show"

*Fraser Thomson "1000-1300"

*Jo Good "1300-1600"

*Des Clarke "1600-1900 - Xfm Drivetime"

*Jim Gellatly "1900-2200 - Music Response"

*John Kennedy "2200-0100 - X-Posure"

Weekend

*Adam Longworth "Friday 1900-2200 - The Weekender"

*Eddy Temple-Morris "Friday 2200-0100 - The Remix"

*Heather Suttie "0600-1000 - Weekend Breakfast"

*Danny Wallace "Saturday 1000-1400 - The Danny Wallace Show"

*Steve Harris "1400-1800"

*Rick Edwards"Saturday 1800-2100 - The Weekender"

*Marsha"Sunday 1000-1400 - Sunday Roast"

*Katie Parsons"Sunday 2200-0100 - The Rock Show"

Notable Former Presenters

*Dominik Diamond

*Amanda MacKinnon

*Stuart Webster

*McSleazy

*Guy Garvey

*Mash

*Lisa Littlewood

*Ali

*Paul N'Jie

*Simon Foy

*Huggy

*Remote TXT-er - DJMikey J

*Micky Gavin

*Martin Bate

*Stevie Sole

*Susan Hay

References

External links

* [http://www.xfmscotland.co.uk/ Xfm Scotland official site]

* [http://www.xfm.co.uk/ Xfm.co.uk - London & Manchester official site]

* [http://www.galaxyscotland.co.uk/ Galaxy Scotland]

* [http://www.gcapmedia.com/ GCap Media Corporate site]