Heart Colchester (formerly SGR Colchester) was a radio station broadcasting to
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colc ...
and the surrounding areas. The station was launched in 1993 as SGR Colchester by the
East Anglian Radio
East Anglian Radio was a company based in Norwich that operated radio stations in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex in the UK.
The stations owned by the group were:
*Radio Broadland in Norwich.
*SGR FM in Ipswich & Bury St Edmunds (orig ...
group, which also operated the Ipswich-based
SGR-FM
Heart Ipswich (formerly SGR FM) was a radio station that evolved from Suffolk Group Radio, which was the parent company for two Independent radio stations serving the county of Suffolk in England.
Overview
The older of the radio stations was Rad ...
,
Radio Broadland
Radio Broadland (later Heart Norwich) was an Independent Local Radio station for Norfolk and North Suffolk, including Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft, until early 2009. The station, now part of the national Heart Network, is owned and operate ...
in Norwich, and
Amber Radio
Amber Radio was a classic hits/gold radio station operating from studios in both Norwich and Ipswich, in the region of East Anglia in the United Kingdom.
It was the AM sister station of Radio Broadland and SGR and served Norfolk and Suffolk, ...
across
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include L ...
and
Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the Nort ...
.
History
The station, serving a population of around 150,000, broadcast programmes from its studios in the town during daytime (6am - 6pm) but shared output from its larger sister SGR station in Ipswich at other times. The Colchester station was an immediate success and quickly built an impressive audience locally, soon establishing itself as market leader. Staff in the early years included Mike Stewart (group programme director), Danny Cox (station manager) and presenters Nick Jackson and Simon Taylor.
It became part of the GWR Group when East Anglian Radio was taken over in 1996. In January 2009, owners
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 Chrys ...
re-branded SGR Colchester as ''
Heart
The heart is a muscular organ found in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon diox ...
Colchester'' and the following year, it was merged with Heart Essex, resulting in the closure of the station's studio base in the town.
See also
*
Heart Ipswich
Heart Ipswich (formerly SGR FM) was a radio station that evolved from Suffolk Group Radio, which was the parent company for two Independent radio stations serving the county of Suffolk in England.
Overview
The older of the radio stations was Rad ...
*
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 Chrys ...
External links
*
Radio stations in Essex
Colchester (town)
Radio stations established in 1993
Colchester
Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian.
Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colc ...
Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom
1993 establishments in England
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