Swansea Sound

Swansea Sound (Welsh: Sain Abertawe) is a independent local radio station broadcasting to Swansea and surrounding areas of south west Wales, aimed at a core 40+ demographic.[1] The station, launched in 1974 as the first of its kind in Wales, is owned and operated by Bauer Radio, alongside its sister station, The Wave.[2] Bauer Radio announced on 27 May 2020 that Swansea Sound will be rebranded as Greatest Hits Radio from early September 2020.

Swansea Sound
CitySwansea
Broadcast areaSwansea Bay area
SloganThe Best Songs Ever
FrequencyMW: 1170 kHz
DAB: 12A
First air date30 September 1974
FormatClassic hits
OwnerBauer Radio
Sister stationsThe Wave 96.4 FM
Websiteswanseasound.co.uk

History

Swansea Sound began broadcasting on 30 September 1974 as the first commercial radio station in Wales and the seventh in the United Kingdom,[2] - it was also the first independent radio station to broadcast a bilingual service in the English and Welsh languages.[3]

Originally, the station broadcast on 257 metres AM and 95.1 FM before moving its FM frequency to 96.4 in the early 1980s. Since then Swansea Sound has 'rebranded' the AM value from the wavelength (257 metres) to Frequency (1170 kilohertz). In 1995, the station was split into two separate services - a practice that had been widely adopted within the commercial radio industry in order to avoid relinquishing frequencies – with a new station called 96.4 Sound Wave (now 96.4 The Wave) launched on the FM frequency, while Swansea Sound continued to broadcast as normal on 1170 AM.

The station can also be heard online and on DAB across Swansea and South West Wales, although its medium wave and DAB signal can be heard beyond the official transmission area in North Devon and across the Bristol Channel. The AM transmitter is located at Winch Wen, on the side of Kilvey Hill, and for technical reasons, it does not use the same mast on the top of Kilvey Hill as its sister station. The DAB service covers a larger transmission area than its AM service.

On 8 February 2019, Swansea Sound was sold alongside The Wave and the Wireless Group's network of local radio stations to Bauer Radio, though as of December 2019 that process has not been completed as regulatory matters have not been resolved, and it remains under the management of News UK.

On 27 May 2020, Bauer announced that Swansea Sound would be rebranded and join the Greatest Hits Radio network from early September 2020.[4] Local programming will be reduced to a weekday Drivetime show and Welsh language programming, alongside news and traffic bulletins.

Programming

The majority of Swansea Sound's output is produced and broadcast from its Gowerton studios (shared with FM sister station The Wave). The weekday evening show and a Sunday afternoon show, Flashback 40, originates from sister AM station Signal 2 in Stoke-on-Trent. A syndicated show from Chris Country Radio also airs on Saturday evenings.[5]

Alongside music-led daytime programming, Swansea Sound also airs Welsh language output in the evenings, including music shows each weeknight from 10pm - midnight and every Sunday evening from 7-10pm.[6]

Other specialist output includes religious programming and a weekly current affairs phone-in show on Sunday mornings.

News and Sport

Swansea Sound broadcasts local news bulletins hourly from 6am - 7pm on weekdays and from 8am to 12pm at weekends. Headlines are broadcast on the half-hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime.

The station simulcasts hourly Sky News Radio bulletins at all other times.

Swansea Sound also broadcasts live commentary on Swansea City F.C. matches, alongside a weekly sports phone-in on Friday evenings throughout the season, hosted by Dave Brookes, who previously presented sports programming on Real Radio South Wales.

In 2013, the station also broadcast live commentary of British and Irish Lions test match rugby matches in Australia, as part of a deal with sister station Talksport.[7]

References
  1. Broadcast Radio MCAs maps
  2. The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press 2008.
  3. Mercator Media Monographs 1: The Welsh Language in the Media Archived 2011-06-11 at the Wayback Machine
  4. Most of acquired Bauer stations to become Greatest Hits Radio Stuart Clarkson, Radio Today, 27 May 2020
  5. Swansea Sound public file
  6. Swansea Sound public file
  7. http://www.swanseasound.co.uk/news/local/swansea-sound-roars-with-the-lions/

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