A sad moment that Wish FM, broadcasting from Orrell Lodge in Wigan since 1977 is to close. Its name will be consigned to history as it will be rebranded Hits Radio Network as part of a national re-brand. The building will be sold resulting in the two other stations at the same studios, Wire and Tower FM, broadcasting to Warrington and Bolton / Bury respectively.
Bauer Media, the owner of Wish, Tower and Wire, has announced that 49 of its stations will be re-branded from early September. They took over 56 stations from the Wireless group last year.
Any impact on jobs has not been confirmed although it is understood that some roles would be placed ‘at risk’ as part of a redundancy consultation process which has commenced.
Hits Radio Network is likely to be the largest commercial radio network in the UK following re-branding.
49 of the 56 stations taken over by Bauer will be re-branded. Pulse 1 in Bradford, Signal 1 in Stoke, The Wave 96.4 in Swansea and Fire Radio in Bournemouth will keep their names but become part of the Hits Radio network. Each will have a local breakfast show and The Wave will also have its own daytime and drive-time programmes.
Lincs FM in Lincoln, Pirate FM in Cornwall and Sam FM in Bristol – will retain their current names and identities.
Dee Ford CBE, group managing director for radio at Bauer Radio, added: “Audiences love and trust radio. Expanding the Hits Radio Brand Network will ensure listeners to these acquired stations benefit from multi-platform digital distribution meaning they can continue to broadcast in an increasingly competitive, digital and voice-activated world. This ensures the provision of local news and information, traffic and travel as well as access for advertisers to highly valued audiences.”
Very upset at losing Wish FM, especially Chris Milo on the breakfast show. Why couldn’t we keep him as some other local Stations have kept their breakfast presenter. If he has another breakfast show I’ll be switching stations.
We so agree Gill. It’s a shame to see our local services being moved out and still pretending to be local. We will see what the listening figures are once they have moved. Isn’t it a shame the owners didn’t consult with their customers first before making this decision. #winstanleywo.