Marcher Radio Group
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Marcher Radio Group Ltd, previously Marcher Sound Ltd, was a British media organisation which operated several
radio stations Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio signal, audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a lan ...
in north
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and northwest
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. The company, now owned by
Global Radio Global Media & Entertainment Limited, trading as Global, is a British media company formed in 2007. It is the owner of the largest commercial radio company in Europe having expanded through a number of historical acquisitions, including Chrysal ...
founded the
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 ...
stations
Marcher Sound Heart Cheshire and North East Wales (formerly Marcher Sound and previously MFM 103.4) was an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to north east Wales and Cheshire from its Mold Road studios in Gwersyllt, Wrexham, also shared with Gold ( ...
,
Coast 96.3 Heart North Wales Coast (formerly Coast 96.3 and originally Marcher Coast FM) was an independent local radio station broadcast along the North Wales coast, and owned & operated by Global Radio. The station, which broadcast from studios in Colwy ...
,
Buzz 97.1 Heart Wirral (formerly Wirral's Buzz) was an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the Wirral Peninsula, sharing its facilities with Heart Wrexham and Gold (British radio network), Gold, in Gwersyllt, Wrexham. History The station, ...
, Champion FM 103, and Wrexham and Chester Gold, part of the Gold Network.


History

The company was established in 1983 after successfully acquiring a local radio licence to broadcast
Marcher Sound Heart Cheshire and North East Wales (formerly Marcher Sound and previously MFM 103.4) was an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to north east Wales and Cheshire from its Mold Road studios in Gwersyllt, Wrexham, also shared with Gold ( ...
to
Wrexham Wrexham ( ; ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in the North East Wales, north-east of Wales. It lies between the Cambrian Mountains, Welsh mountains and the lower River Dee, Wales, Dee Valley, near the England–Wales border, borde ...
,
Deeside Deeside () is the name given to a predominantly industrial conurbation of towns and villages in Flintshire and Cheshire on the England–Wales border, Wales–England border lying near the canalised stretch of the River Dee, Wales, River Dee t ...
and
Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...
on 95.4
MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...
FM/ VHF (from the Wrexham-Rhos Relay) and 1260
kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...
AM/
Mediumwave Medium wave (MW) is a part of the medium frequency (MF) radio band used mainly for AM broadcasting, AM radio broadcasting. The spectrum provides about 120 channels with more limited sound quality than FM stations on the FM broadcast band. Duri ...
. The station launched on 5 September 1983. After a review, the frequency changed to the more familiar 103.4
MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...
. In 1989 the station opened an FM relay to cover the coastal areas of north east
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and
The Wirral The Wirral Peninsula (), known locally as the Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide, and is bounded by the Dee Estuary to the west, the Mersey Estuary to the east, and Liverpool ...
on 97.1
MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...
from the Moel-y-Parc transmitting station. Due to IBA rulings, the company ceased
simulcasting Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...
and started broadcasting different services on each frequency. The newer 103.4 FM frequency became MFM 103.4, the 97.1 FM frequency became MFM 97.1, and the 1260 AM frequency became Marcher Gold. In 1993, the company acquired the rights to broadcast to the north Wales coast on 96.3FM, including
Llandudno Llandudno (, ) is a seaside resort, town and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 UK census, the community â ...
,
Holywell Holywell may refer to: England * Holywell, Bedfordshire * Holywell, Cambridgeshire * Holywell, Cornwall * Holywell, Dorset * Holywell, Eastbourne, East Sussex * Holywell, Gloucestershire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Ho-Hoo#Hol, location in ...
and eastern
Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...
, and named the service Marcher Coast FM. In 1998, Marcher launched
Champion 103 Capital Anglesey & Gwynedd, formerly known as Capital Cymru, is a local radio station owned and operated by Global. The station broadcasts to Anglesey and Gwynedd via the Arfon transmitting station. Previously, the station formed part of the He ...
broadcasting to Anglesey and
Gwynedd Gwynedd () is a county in the north-west of Wales. It borders Anglesey across the Menai Strait to the north, Conwy, Denbighshire, and Powys to the east, Ceredigion over the Dyfi estuary to the south, and the Irish Sea to the west. The ci ...
from the
Arfon transmitting station The Arfon transmitting station is a facility for FM, DAB digital radio and television transmission near the villages of Nebo and Nasareth in Gwynedd, northwestern Wales (). It includes a guyed mast with antennas attached at various heights ...
. In 1999, MFM 97.1 was re-branded
Buzz 97.1 Heart Wirral (formerly Wirral's Buzz) was an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the Wirral Peninsula, sharing its facilities with Heart Wrexham and Gold (British radio network), Gold, in Gwersyllt, Wrexham. History The station, ...
, and it moved from Moel-y-Parc to the
Storeton transmitter Storeton transmitting station (also commonly known as the Storeton transmitter) is a television transmitter being a member of both the Winter Hill transmitting station, Winter Hill group of transmitters and of the Moel-y-Parc transmitting stati ...
, to specifically target listeners in
The Wirral The Wirral Peninsula (), known locally as the Wirral, is a peninsula in North West England. The roughly rectangular peninsula is about long and wide, and is bounded by the Dee Estuary to the west, the Mersey Estuary to the east, and Liverpool ...
. At the same time, Marcher Coast FM was re-branded "Coast 96.3". Subsequent re-brands saw Buzz 97.1 become branded as "Wirral's Buzz", Champion FM 103 becoming simply "Champion", Coast 96.3 again becoming simply "Coast" and MFM 103.4 becoming Marcher Sound. In August 2007, 18 stations of the former
Classic Gold Digital Network Classic Gold Digital Network was one of the biggest 'gold' (oldies) formatted radio networks in the United Kingdom, with a potential audience of 47 million. Classic Gold was broadcast on analogue and DAB digital platforms, as well as Sky channel ...
including Classic Gold Marcher were sold back to GCap Media, merging it with its own
Capital Gold The Capital Gold radio station started in London in 1988 on Capital Radio's AM frequency, after the Independent Broadcasting Authority had urged stations to end simulcasting (broadcasting the same programmes simultaneously on AM and FM) and th ...
network. At this point Classic Gold Marcher was re-branded to simply "Wrexham and Chester Gold".


Takeovers

In 2000, the company was purchased by
GWR Group GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed on 9 May 2005. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Inde ...
, which included all of its radio assets. This followed an attempt to expand the Group further, including bidding for another licence on
Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...
, which was later secured by
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 ...
. In 2005, GWR Group and
Capital Radio Capital London is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment as part of its national Capital (radio network), Capital Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Bri ...
merged Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of a company, business organization, or one of their operating units is transferred to or consolidated with another entity. They may happen through direct absorpt ...
to form
GCap Media GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed on 9 May 2005. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index ...
. Upon purchase, Marcher's four FM licences became part of
The One Network The One Network was the collective name for thirty-eight regional Independent Local Radio licences operated by GCap Media in the United Kingdom. It was formed from the combination of GWR Group's 'The Mix Network' and Capital Radio Group's 'The ...
, a nationwide network of independent local radio stations operated by GCap Media which syndicated much of its programming from GWR FM Bristol. The practice of programme simulcasting has been extensively used by Marcher in the past across its FM stations, and still continues this to an extent in its local programming opt-outs. In 2005 GCap announced it was to sell many of its radio businesses, including those of Marcher Radio Group. However, in March 2006 the company called off the sale. Following acquisition by
Global Radio Global Media & Entertainment Limited, trading as Global, is a British media company formed in 2007. It is the owner of the largest commercial radio company in Europe having expanded through a number of historical acquisitions, including Chrysal ...
, the Marcher Radio stations broadcasting on FM were rebranded as
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 ...
in June 2009. In 2010 three of the stations were merged into a new station,
Heart North West and Wales Capital North West and North Wales is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Cheshire, the Wirral Peninsula & North Wales. The station was previously part of the Heart radio net ...
.RadioToday
In 2014 subsequent changes saw the stations become part of the Capital FM Network.


See also

* Buzz 97.1 - became
Heart Wirral Heart Wirral (formerly Wirral's Buzz) was an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to the Wirral Peninsula, sharing its facilities with Heart Wrexham and Gold, in Gwersyllt, Wrexham. History The station, owned by Global Radio (origi ...
, now merged into
Capital North West and Wales Capital North West and North Wales is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Cheshire, the Wirral Peninsula & North Wales. The station was previously part of the Heart radio net ...
* Champion 103 - now
Capital Cymru Capital Anglesey & Gwynedd, formerly known as Capital Cymru, is a local radio station owned and operated by Global. The station broadcasts to Anglesey and Gwynedd via the Arfon transmitting station. Previously, the station formed part of the He ...
* Marcher Sound - became Heart Wrexham, now merged into
Capital North West and Wales Capital North West and North Wales is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Cheshire, the Wirral Peninsula & North Wales. The station was previously part of the Heart radio net ...
* Coast 96.3 - became
Heart North Wales Coast Heart North Wales Coast (formerly Coast 96.3 and originally Marcher Coast FM) was an independent local radio station broadcast along the North Wales coast, and owned & operated by Global Radio. The station, which broadcast from studios in Colwy ...
, now merged into
Capital North West and Wales Capital North West and North Wales is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to Cheshire, the Wirral Peninsula & North Wales. The station was previously part of the Heart radio net ...


References


External links


Global Radio Homepage
{{Global Radio GCap Media Radio broadcasting companies of the United Kingdom Former British radio networks