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BOB fm was an
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 ...
station broadcasting to north
Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. Programming originated from studios at the Old Pump House in Knebworth Park. Launched as Hertbeat FM in 2001, it was subsumed into
Heart Hertfordshire Heart Hertfordshire (previously known as ''Hertfordshire's Mercury 96.6'') is an Independent Local Radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts across Hertfordshire. In 2005, it was ...
on 31 May 2019 shortly after acquisition by media group
Communicorp Bauer Media Audio Ireland (formerly Communicorp Group) is a media holding company based in Ireland, owned by Bauer Media Group. History Communicorp Group Ltd was formed by Denis O'Brien in 1989. It launched its radio operations in Ireland that ...
.


History


Early Years: Radio Hertford and Hertbeat FM

In October 1998, following seven years of lobbying of the
Radio Authority Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected to ...
Radio Hertford was granted a
Restricted Service Licence A UK Restricted Service Licence (often called an RSL) is typically granted to radio stations and television stations broadcasting within the UK to serve a local community or a special event. Licences are granted by the broadcasting authority Ofcom ...
to broadcast for a two-week period to Hertford and surrounding areas. The Radio Authority then invited applications to apply for a long-term Hertford licence. The Radio Hertford consortium submitted a bid to broadcast as Hertbeat FM competing with a rival entrant, Stag FM, backed by The Daily Mail Radio Group. Citing Radio Hertford's lobbying of the Radio Authority, trial broadcast and emphasis on local content, the HertBeat FM bid was awarded a licence in February 2000. The station proposed "an imaginative, music-led service, targeted at discerning 25 to 54-year olds, with intelligent speech that emphasises local news and information." The Old Pump House at
Knebworth Park Knebworth is a village and civil parish in the north of Hertfordshire, England, immediately south of Stevenage. The civil parish covers an area between the villages of Datchworth, Woolmer Green, Codicote, Kimpton, Whitwell, St Paul's Walden ...
was converted into radio studios and production offices. Broadcasting commenced on 3 March 2001 with the inaugural show presented by Robbie Owen, founder and a director of the company, his shows continued throughout the life of the station and on for a period under the new management along with Steve Folland, also amongst the original lineup who continued presenting at the station until November 2013. Other programmes included The Ultimate 80's which was presented by Nigel Cayne. The Hertbeat FM slogan was "Broadcasting to Hatfield, Hertford, Stevenage, Ware and Welwyn Garden City this is 1067 &9 Hertbeat FM". July 2005 saw Hertbeat FM owner Radio Hertford (Commercial) acquired by Shadow Radio Holdings, led by Brett Harley, resulting in a change of directors. The station continued offering locally oriented content, music and request shows using a roster of presenters through the day and night.


Jack FM

On 10 May 2010 HertBeat abruptly rebranded as
Jack FM Jack FM is a radio network brand that is licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits radio format, format, in most cases not using disc jockey, DJs. F ...
– at that time the third Jack FM licensee operating in the UK. Amongst the reasons for terminating HertBeat was confusion with encroaching rival network
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 ...
. The Jack format was mostly automated, initially only "Jack's Breakfast" with Steve Folland surviving as a presenter-led show but later complemented with a Saturday "Interactive Brunch" topical news show presented by newsreader Chris Hubbard and a Sunday "All Eighties" music show with Brett Harley. The rest of the schedule included music, snippets from "Jack's Breakfast", news and other local content. In common with the other UK Jack stations many links between segments were provided by the acerbic Voice of Jack,
Paul Darrow Paul Darrow (born Paul Valentine Birkby; 2 May 1941 – 3 June 2019) was an English actor and writer. He became best known for playing Kerr Avon in the BBC science fiction television series ''Blake's 7'' between 1978 and 1981. His many te ...
, recorded at Jack FM Oxfordshire, often tailored for the local audience. Unlike HertBeat, Jack FM rejected listener's requests, a stance reinforced by the brand slogan, "Playing what we want". In November 2013, as the Jack FM period drew to a close Steve Folland departed the station, replaced by industry veteran Graham Mack.


BOB fm

The station's preparations to broadcast using DAB in addition to FM, triggered another rebranding due to lack of exclusivity of the Jack FM moniker on the DAB multiplex and potential clashes with the growing number of stations then operating as Jack FM franchises. From January to March 2014 listeners were encouraged to suggest new names for the station. Unlike the sudden transformation to Jack FM, the plan to rename the station was trailed extensively. The rebranding was announced on 10 March 2014. The final song played by the station as Jack FM Hertfordshire was "Things Can Only Get Better" by D:Ream, airing shortly before 0800. At 0808 the station was transformed into BOB fm. The inaugural song was "
Hit the Road Jack "Hit the Road Jack" is a song written by the rhythm and blues singer Percy Mayfield and recorded by Ray Charles. The song was a US number 1 hit in 1961, and won a Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Recording, becoming one of Charles' sign ...
" by
Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...
. The station emulated Jack FM's automated format, with links and catchphrase "Turn your knob to BOB", provided by Voice of BOB, Jim McCabe. There was no connection to other broadcasters operating as
Bob FM BOB FM is the on-air brand of a number of FM radio stations in the United States and formerly in Canada. The BOB FM format mostly concentrates on album rock, alternative rock and pop hits from the 1980s and 1990s, especially those popular duri ...
outside the United Kingdom. BOB fm's DAB service ceased in August 2018.


Incorporation into Heart Hertfordshire

In April 2019, Shadow Radio Holdings was purchased by
Communicorp Bauer Media Audio Ireland (formerly Communicorp Group) is a media holding company based in Ireland, owned by Bauer Media Group. History Communicorp Group Ltd was formed by Denis O'Brien in 1989. It launched its radio operations in Ireland that ...
. Earlier in the year Communicorp had acquired
Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...
-based
Heart Hertfordshire Heart Hertfordshire (previously known as ''Hertfordshire's Mercury 96.6'') is an Independent Local Radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts across Hertfordshire. In 2005, it was ...
, which broadcasts in south Hertfordshire, from Adventure Radio. The takeover of BOB fm allowed Heart Hertfordshire to extend its reach throughout the county. A transition began in May with Heart-style jingles, slogans and music interspersed amongst its output. Frequent trailers proclaimed "Heart is coming." On 31 May 2019, the final live presented show, "BOB's Breakfast" with Brett Harley and Chris Hubbard ended with " Are You with Me" by
Lost Frequencies Felix De Laet (born 30 November 1993), known by his stage name Lost Frequencies, is a Belgian DJ and record producer. He is best known for his singles " Are You with Me" in 2014, "Reality" featuring Janieck Devy in 2015, and " Where Are You No ...
. BOB fm ceased broadcasting at 4pm, handing over to
Heart Hertfordshire Heart Hertfordshire (previously known as ''Hertfordshire's Mercury 96.6'') is an Independent Local Radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts across Hertfordshire. In 2005, it was ...
for the station's drivetime show from Watford. The closure of BOB fm coincided with programming changes across the wider Heart radio network. The station still retains local news, traffic updates and advertising - with Chris Hubbard continuing to head up the station's Breakfast News.


Ofcom complaints

* In 2006 Hertbeat ran advertisements for Stevenage Borough Council during an election period that media regulator
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 ...
determined breached rules regarding political content. * During the
2014 Scottish independence referendum A independence referendum, referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or ...
a publicity stunt, involving an on-air rant against Scots and a ban on Scottish music by presenter Graham Mack prompted almost 50 complaints to Ofcom. Ofcom determined the complaints did not warrant investigation. * A lively conversation in May 2018 between a caller and Graham Mack regarding a local
speed camera In kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a non-negative scalar quantity. Introdu ...
patrol was reported to Ofcom. The investigation deemed the broadcast to be in breach of rules regarding potential to cause offence. Graham Mack departed the station during July 2018 shortly before the Ofcom adjudication in August to become Programme Director at London-based
Fix Radio Fix Radio is a national digital radio station in the United Kingdom with associated websites, Facebook, YouTube and podcast channels. It has previously been the silver award winner of the 2023 UK Audio and Radio Industry Awards for best statio ...
. Brett Harley replaced Graham Mack as host of BOB's Breakfast.


Awards

Graham Mack won "Best Radio Personality" Finalist at the New York Festivals International Radio Awards in 2017. BOB fm developed a reputation for the quality of its local news, under the leadership of News Editor Chris Hubbard. Chris Hubbard won "Newsreader of the Year" at the
Independent Radio News Independent Radio News provides a service of news bulletins, audio and copy to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom and beyond. The managing director, Tim Molloy, succeeded long-term MD John Perkins in November 2009. Perkins had been ...
(IRN) Awards, having previously been twice shortlisted. The IRN also awarded the accolade of "News Team of the Year" to the station in 2013 and 2016. Its journalists and reports have also been shortlisted for or won several honours.


References


External links


BOB fm website
- Wayback Machine archive, dated 31 May 2019
Excerpt of CNN interview with Brett Harley, Hertbeat FM
- YouTube
BOB fm YouTube channel archive

Jack fm YouTube channel archive

Hertbeat FM YouTube channel archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:BOB fm (Hertfordshire) Radio stations in Hertfordshire Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom Radio stations established in 2001 Radio stations disestablished in 2019 Knebworth Jack FM stations