Central Radio is a British

Independent Local Radio Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. As a result of the buyouts and mergers permitted by the Broadcasting Act 1990, and deregulation resulting from the Communications Act 2 ...

serving

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

The Fylde The Fylde () is a coastal plain in western Lancashire, England. It is roughly a square-shaped peninsula, bounded by Morecambe Bay to the north, the Ribble estuary to the south, the Irish Sea to the west, and the foot of the Bowland hills to ...

, Preston, Leyland,

Chorley Chorley is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Chorley in Lancashire, England, north of Wigan, south west of Blackburn, north west of Bolton, south of Preston and north west of Manchester. The town's wealth ca ...

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

and

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

areas of Lancashire which covers approximately 981,000 adults. The station launched on 25 September 2008, having changed its name prior to launch from Proud FM, derived from ''Proud Preston'' on the city shield to Central Radio in order to better reflect the transmission area.

Ownership history

UTV

Central Radio launched on 25 September 2008. Following Ofcom relaxations on local programming requirements, the station began taking UTV Radio's networked evening and overnight shows in late March 2009. On 16 December 2009, it was announced by owners UTV Media that the station would be closing on Christmas Eve of that year (24 December) and the station's broadcasting licence returned to the UK broadcasting regulator, Ofcom. UTV cited the unfortunate launch of the station in the midst of a recession as a primary reason for the decision, and the station's consequent unprofitability. UTV did not anticipate the station becoming viable for the foreseeable future, saying:

Niocom

On 24 December 2009, the day that Central Radio was scheduled to close, it was announced that a buyer had been found, revealed to be competitor Niocom in January 2010. The company also operated the neighbouring

Southport Southport is a seaside resort, seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. It lies on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain, West Lancashire coastal plain and the east coast of the Irish Sea, approximately north of ...

station

Dune FM Dune FM was an Independent Local Radio station serving Southport, Sefton and surrounding areas between 1997 and 2012. Origins Dune FM originally broadcast two RSL temporary licences in 1993. The first RSL was broadcast from makeshift stud ...

at the time of the sale. On 12 January 2010, the station co-emplaced and began to share resources with sister station

. A month later,

OFCOM The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, internet, telecommunications and mail, postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-rang ...

granted permission for Central Radio to co-locate with sister station

in Southport. Programme management, production, administrative, engineering and management resources were to be shared between the two stations, but the programming on Central Radio remained editorially focused on the Preston, Leyland and Chorley areas. In December 2010, Niocom sold Dune FM, and from 1 February 2011 the programming syndication ended with Central Radio becoming as a fully independent service.

UKRD

On 14 June 2011 it was announced that UKRD, owners of the 107 The Bee in neighbouring

had purchased the Central Radio licence and planned to merge the service with its East Lancashire station 107 The Bee. Three days later, Central Radio ceased broadcasting with Drivetime presenter - Leyland born Andy Hilbert - playing the final record, ''

Unforgettable Unforgettable may refer to: Film * ''Unforgettable'' (1996 film), a thriller starring Ray Liotta * ''Unforgettable'' (2014 film), a Bollywood film * ''Unforgettable'' (2016 film), a South Korean film * ''Unforgettable'' (2017 film), an America ...

'' by

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, alternatively billed as Nat "King" Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's career as a jazz and Traditional pop, pop ...

. On 1 July 2011, 106.5fm became a simulcast of The Bee but with local news and adverts.

Relaunch in 2022

On 1 September 2022, Central Radio relaunched across the Fylde Coast broadcasting from the new Blackpool MUX at the top of Blackpool Tower. The station launched with a number of familiar former local radio presenters. For the launch, the radio station offered a holiday to Las Vegas as a prize.

Extension into Central Lancashire - September 2023

Exactly 12 months after the initial launch of Central Radio in Blackpool, on 1 September 2023, the station expanded by joining the new Preston & Chorley DAB multiplex which added a further 370,000 adults into the broadcast area.

Extension into East Lancashire - October 2023

In October 2023, the station expanded further into East Lancashire and commenced broadcasting from three new DAB transmitters, located in Blackburn (at the top of Royal Blackburn hospital), Burnley (located at Spen Height) and Accrington (at Accrington Academy) - this extension added a further 430,000 adults into the broadcast area.

Extension into North Lancashire - August 2024

From 1 August 2024, Central Radio absorbed Morecambe-based online station Triple M Radio from founder Tony Simon, with Triple M effectively closed and listeners directed to stream Central in its stead, effectively enlarging Central's target area to include north Lancashire (though the station's FM and digital coverage was unchanged).RadioToday, July 2024

Current Presenters

* Danny Matthews (formerly at

Heart North Lancashire & Cumbria Heart North Lancashire & Cumbria (formerly The Bay) was an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to north Lancashire and south Cumbria from studios in Lancaster. History The ...

) * Dave Salmon (formerly at

Radio Wave Radio waves (formerly called Hertzian waves) are a type of electromagnetic radiation with the lowest frequencies and the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum, typically with frequencies below 300 gigahertz (GHz) and wavelengths g ...

) * Chris Kirk (formerly at

) * Dom Molloy (formerly at The Revolution 96.2) * Mark Walker (formerly at

Smooth Lake District Smooth Lake District is an Independent Local Radio station for the Lakes, owned and operated by Global and part of the Smooth network. Overview Originally known as Lakeland Radio, the station broadcasts from transmitters at Kendal on 100.1&nbs ...

) * Steve Crumley (formerly at

Wish FM Wish FM was an Independent Local Radio station serving Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Wigan in Greater Manchester and the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, St Helens area of Merseyside from studios in the Orrell, Greater Manchester, Orrell ar ...

Tower FM Greatest Hits Radio Bolton & Bury (formerly Tower FM) is an Independent Local Radio station serving the Bolton and Bury areas of Greater Manchester. Following its sale to Bauer Radio, the station was closed and merged with the Greatest Hits Ra ...

) * Martin Emery (formerly at

) * James Macdonald * Ian Davies * Nathan Hill (presenter and owner)

Past presenters

* Aaron Roscoe (Now at

Signal 1 Hits Radio Staffordshire & Cheshire, formerly Signal 1, is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to North Staffordshire and South Cheshire. As of Septemb ...

) * Aidan Bracken (Now at

) * Andy Hilbert (Now at 107 The Bee) * Anna Woolhouse (Now at

Lincs FM Hits Radio Lincolnshire is an Independent Local Radio station serving Lincolnshire and Newark in Nottinghamshire. The station is owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio Network. The station has rebranded from its o ...

) * Brendan Kearney (Now at

96.2 The Revolution Revolution 96.2 was an Independent Local Radio station serving the Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside areas of Greater Manchester. Following its sale to Bauer Media Audio UK, the station was closed and merged with the Greatest Hits Radio network in ...

) * Brent Williams (Now at

) * Chris Buckley (Now at

) * Dave Asher (Now at Peak FM) * Dave Turley (Now at

) * David Duffy (Now at

) * John Cooper (Now at

Rother FM Rother FM was an Independent Local Radio station serving the English town of Rotherham. The station was on air from 2006 until it was closed in 2020 by owners Bauer so that the frequency could be used to broadcast Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshi ...

) * Jon Holling (Now at

) * Kim Shaw (Now at

Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...

) * Mark Blackman (Now at

Silk 106.9 Cheshire's Silk Radio is an Independent Local Radio serving Macclesfield and parts of East Cheshire, owned and operated by neighbouring station Chester's Dee Radio. It broadcasts a mix of current and classic hits alongside local news and sport ...

) * Mark Keen (Now at Radio Wave 96.5) * Neil Jackson (Now at

) * Olly Houldsworth (Now at 107 The Bee) * Paul Harvey (Now at Peak FM) * Paul Jordan (Now at

Hallam FM Hits Radio South Yorkshire, formerly Hallam FM, is an Independent Local Radio station based in Sheffield, England, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to South Yorkshire and Chesterfiel ...

) * Paul Tasker (Now at

) * Phil Johnson (Now at RadioWave 96.5) * Phil King (Now at Mighty Radio) * Scott Wright (Now at 107 The Bee) * Steve Bradshaw (Now at Radio Wave 96.5)

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Mass media in Preston Radio stations in Lancashire Radio stations established in 2008 Radio stations disestablished in 2011 Radio stations established in 2022 Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom