107.1 Rugby FM

Infobox Radio station


name = 107.1 Rugby FM
airdate = August 31, 2002
frequency = 107.1 MHz
share = 17.0%
share as of = September 2007
share source = [http://www.rajar.co.uk/listening/quarterly_listening.php]
area = Rugby
format = Adult Contemporary
owner = CN Group
website = [http://www.rugbyfm.co.uk/ www.rugbyfm.co.uk]

Rugby FM is an Independent Local Radio station in Warwickshire owned by the CN Group and operated as part of its South Midlands division. The station follows the 'great music, local news' format of its sister stations (branded as Touch Radio) in the area, but has retained its launch name, only one of two stations in the Midlands network to do so (the other being the now-disposed Oak 107 FM.)

From 2002 until 2008 it operated from studios on Spring Street in the heart of the town centre. Nowadays, along with the Touch Radio stations in Warwick, Stratford-Upon-Avon and Coventry, the station operates from a new complex based on the Holly Farm Business Park near Kenilworth.

History

Under the directorship of Martin Mumford, Rugby FM launched on August 31, 2002—former Silk FM controller Trevor Thomas was the first voice on-air, also working as the station's programme manager, before leaving to join Warwickshire neighbour The Bear 102.

The station, then owned by the Milestone Group, enjoyed considerable success, and was lauded at one point as the UK's most successful local commercial radio station in terms of audience reach - once at 44% (RAJAR 2003) - attributed to an emphasis on local presence and a substantially different music policy to that of its competitors. Following Mumford's departure in 2005, Julian Hotchkiss became Managing Director of Rugby FM but left a year later following the CN Group's acquisition of the station in early 2006.

In June 2008 the station, in line with other stations in the group was permitted to increase the amount of off-site programming to eight hours per day by regulator OFCOM (something which would a year later become a blanket allowance across the industry) and so as a result, Rugby FM now shares its programmes outside of breakfast with neighbouring Touch Radio stations in the south of the Midlands.

An additional request to reduce the local news provision was also approved and applied on air from July 2007.

The CN Group briefly joined forces with The Local Radio Company to network a weekly premium rate call-to-win programme, "The Big Cash Quiz". Following numerous scandals over the production techniques used by television programmes of the same nature, the show was dropped.

To date the majority of the station is now networked with only Jason Moss' breakfast show between 6-10am the only local show weekday mornings. Other shows are shared with sister station Touch Radio including Louisa Allen (Networked Daytime), Paul Bryant (Networked Drivetime) and Matt Walters (Networked Evenings) - all broadcast from new studios in Honiley nr. Kenilworth.

The station also takes the Blue Revolution programmes The Retro Chart Years and Totally 80s, the latter of which also aired on the station under Milestone.