Bauer has announced plans to replace Radio Aire with Greatest Hits Radio as part of the brand’s national roll-out in seven weeks time.
It first broadcast to Leeds on 94.6 FM and 828 AM (362m) on 1st September 1981 before moving to 96.3 in 1986, and will rebrand on its 39th birthday.
The station split its FM and medium-wave frequencies in 1990 to create Radio Aire FM (later Aire FM) and Magic 828.
Five years later, both stations were acquired by EMAP and Aire joined the Big City Network (later Bauer City 1 and The Hits Radio Network).
Since 2017, daytime programming has been networked from Hits Radio (formerly Key 103) in Manchester (including drivetime as of last autumn) with weekday breakfast being the only local show.
Come September, the station will broadcast the network breakfast show from Liverpool but retain a regional weekday drivetime programme, the presenter of which is yet to be announced.
It also means 96.3 FM, 828 AM (assuming it doesn’t close beforehand) and 106.8 FM in Wakefield (currently Ridings FM) will all share the same programming.
There’s a slight overlap with both 1278 AM for Bradford and 1530 AM for Huddersfield (currently Pulse 2) - but, again, it probably won’t be long before these MW transmitters are switched off.
I would’ve suggested the smaller Wakefield license becomes Hits Radio - but the transition to GHR is already underway, making that unthinkable. It’s better to have more coverage than less after all - and local content/ads can be split.
It comes just after the station hit a record low in RAJAR (Q1 2020) having lost half its audience in six years, down from a weekly reach of 114,000 to just 57,000. Share has fallen by 55% since 2014.
It’s clearly the right time for a change - CHR isn’t working (even with heritage local branding), so it performs a US-style format flip from playing The Biggest Hits, The Biggest Throwbacks to The Greatest Hits of the 70s, 80s and 90s.
Looking at Bauer’s local/regional strategy overall, prioritising the older brand and appealing to an underserved demographic, who are generally loyal consumers of traditional radio services, in a younger-dominant marketplace makes sense.
While Hits Radio has some strong personalities across the network, particularly at breakfast, could these heritage FM stations be set for an older future?
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