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45-605: Greatest Hits Radio is a classic hits radio network in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK . The network launched on 5 January 2015 as the "Bauer City 2 Network", and rebranded on 7 January 2019 due to the success of Radio City 2 in Liverpool on FM. As of April 2023, the network consists of 18 local and regional radio stations operating over 50 FM and DAB licences in England, Scotland and Wales, as well as

90-636: A decade-based collection, as opposed to a single style of music. There are theories about why the music of the 1980s continues to be popular, especially to younger generations such as Millennials. The advent of music in video games such as the Grand Theft Auto , Rock Band , and Guitar Hero series introduced younger audiences to 1980s songs from artists such as The Police, Queen, Duran Duran, The Cars , R.E.M. , Billy Joel , and hundreds of others . Another theory includes TV shows and movies on Netflix and other streaming video services that are set in

135-562: A local breakfast show for West Yorkshire on weekdays, followed by networked programmes from the Hits Radio Network in Manchester. In March 2021, Pulse 1 closed its Bradford studios and moved to the former Radio Aire studios in Leeds. In April 2024, Pulse 1 changed its name to Hits Radio West Yorkshire , although the local breakfast show remains. Radio Aire's FM transmitter was located at

180-447: A major shift in radio programming. According to these reports, the 1970s and 1980s were the last decades that a typical top 40 radio station played all music types; by the 1990s, top 40 began splintering into various genres such as rap and alternative rock, and each station was reformatted to focus on one type of music. Millennials also grew up in an era when music radio formats featuring older music were becoming widespread, something that

225-475: A national DAB station in areas not served by a local Bauer-owned licence. In most cases, the stations are networked, apart from a three-hour regional afternoon show on weekdays and localised opt-outs for news, weather, travel and advertising. However the regional programmes will end on 31 October 2024. The stations which initially formed the Greatest Hits Radio network are predominantly sister stations to

270-765: A rebrand, on 1 September 2020. Radio Aire was launched at 6am on 1 September 1981 by breakfast presenter Graham Thornton – the first song played on air was Pilot of the Airwaves by Charlie Dore . The station's first news bulletin was read by Christa Ackroyd and in November 1982, she became the UK's first female radio news editor. The station originally broadcast on 362m Medium Wave (828 kHz AM) and 94.6 VHF. In 1986, Radio Aire's VHF/FM frequency changed to 96.3 FM. Radio Aire's studios were based on Burley Road, overlooking Kirkstall Road, next to Yorkshire Television 's headquarters – it

315-399: A regional afternoon show for Yorkshire , hosted by Steve Priestley from the Leeds studios. Localised news bulletins and advertising for West Yorkshire are broadcast throughout the day, whilst traffic bulletins for the area are broadcast during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows. Radio Aire's DAB slot on the Leeds multiplex was taken over by neighbouring station Pulse 1 , which carried

360-447: A situation where artists like Madonna , George Michael , Michael Jackson , and Prince , who are considered major superstars, were no longer being played on AC stations. Most of these stations are now current-intensive, playing newer artists versus those from the 1980s which have aged out of the AC format. The recent appeal to this format has introduced format flips in major markets, including

405-547: A station brand first used by Radio Aire upon the launch of their AM station in July 1990. In Scotland, local programming on AM stations was largely retained until networking outside of weekday breakfast and specialist shows was introduced in June 2009. The Magic stations gradually began to form a network merging most of their schedule until, and by March 2013, only local content consisted of three regional breakfast shows on weekdays, serving

450-584: A term that better defined the stations who were basing their libraries in the MTV era of music. Thus, the term classic hits was accepted by the radio community as the official name and recognized by Nielsen Audio as a format classification. In addition, many adult contemporary (AC) stations that had featured a large library of 1980s music began to phase it out as new artists like Adele , Pink , Bruno Mars , Maroon 5 , and others became very popular, thus making these stations much more current oriented. This factor created

495-535: A wider overhaul. Radio Aire ceased broadcasting at 4pm on Monday 31 August 2020. The last on-air presenter was Hattie Pearson and the last song played was " Uptown Funk " by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars . On 1 September 2020, the station rebranded as Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire and merged with several stations in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The station's breakfast show is networked from Liverpool and hosted by ex-Radio Aire presenter Simon Ross , with

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540-476: Is believed to have its birth at WZLX in Boston , when the station hired programming consultant Gary Guthrie to convert the station from adult contemporary to a format composed of the hipper tracks from the oldies format and album tracks from popular classic rock albums. The goal was to attract and magnetize people who experienced adolescence in the 1960s or 1970s and enjoyed the music of those eras, but did not favor

585-410: Is known today began to take shape in the mid 2000s when oldies radio stations started having audience and ratings issues. They believed that they could not be successful with the oldies format and needed to update the music and presentation to stay relevant in the 25-54 demographic on which advertising agencies base ad purchases. After several years of format transitions and changes, the industry needed

630-744: Is produced and broadcast from the studios of several Bauer stations across the UK. Off-peak time programming airs across all GHR stations from the Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester and Soho studios. This consists of a regional weekday afternoon show in the East, Midlands, North West, South, South West, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire; and separate weekday Breakfast and mid-afternoon shows in South England and in Scotland. Almost all of these regional programmes will end on 31 October 2024 when Bauer removes these programmes following

675-555: The GHR East network . The 106.1 frequency in Norwich would continue to carry Kiss. On 12 November 2023, it was announced that GHR's remaining medium wave transmissions, in Scotland and northern England, would cease by the end of the year, but the station would continue on DAB in the affected areas. On 13 December 2023, Greatest Hits Radio was removed from satellite and cable platforms, along with every other radio station owned by Bauer Media on

720-469: The Hits Radio Network). By the time of the station's closure, most of Radio Aire's output consisted of networked programming – with local output reduced to a four-hour breakfast show on weekdays, alongside hourly local news bulletins, peak-time traffic updates and advertising. On 16 July 2020, it was announced that Radio Aire would switch brands from Hits Radio to Greatest Hits Radio , as part of

765-529: The 105.2 FM frequency from Absolute Radio . Greatest Hits Radio also took over Absolute Radio's London FM frequency (105.8) on 17 May 2021. The network expanded with Greatest Hits Radio UK broadcasting across most of the local DAB multiplexes across the UK. The service took the Liverpool FM programming with national news bulletins and traffic reports. In May 2020, Bauer announced that 48 local radio stations in England and South West Wales would rebrand and join

810-450: The 1970s and 1980s in favor of new artists and more current-based music rotations . This created a void in which gold-based music was not being played on radio in certain markets, thus creating a new opportunity for classic hits stations. Radio Aire Radio Aire was an Independent Local Radio station, serving Leeds and West Yorkshire . The station was merged and relaunched as Greatest Hits Radio West Yorkshire , as part of

855-646: The 1980s and feature music from that era. Examples include Netflix's popular series Stranger Things (whose soundtrack features songs from Cyndi Lauper and Toto ), Wet Hot American Summer , Glow , and The Goldbergs on ABC . Movies with box office success that are set in the 1980s have also been contributed to the popularity of the music of that era, including Guardians of the Galaxy , The Wedding Singer , Hot Tub Time Machine , and Ready Player One . Studies suggesting that millennials prefer older music have also been published with theories regarding

900-440: The 1980s, such as U2 and Michael Jackson . Together, all of these variations of musical genres still have mass appeal due to the origins of radio stations that played them together when they were hits. Similar to the philosophy with oldies radio, most of the music is upbeat and edgy. While these music types can be found in other formats, what makes this format unique is the variety of genres being played together on one station as

945-490: The 80s and more". Radio programmer Scott Shannon , the architect of the modern top 40 era at WHTZ (Z100) in New York during the 1980s, moved his morning show to WCBS-FM, bringing many of the 1980s-style radio formats to the station. Dallas-based JAM Creative Productions , a major producer of radio station jingles in the 1980s, created an updated jingle package for stations that moved to a classic hits presentation. Jingles in

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990-491: The CBS-FM update package include cuts from the popular "Flame Thrower" and "Warp Factor" packages made famous by WHTZ in the 1980s. Today's classic hits format is a representation of the variety of music types found on the radio in the 1980s including these core artists. These were a few examples that were more commonly used on most classic hits stations. Rock: Alternative and new wave : Pop: R&B and dance: Songs from

1035-560: The GHR North West network. In March 2021, Ofcom approved Bauer's application for permission to alter the FM licence held by the London FM relay of Absolute Radio , enabling the frequency to be used to provide a London variant of GHR. with Absolute Radio continuing to be available by way of its national AM and digital transmissions. The change took place on 17 May. On 17 June 2021 Bauer announced

1080-623: The GHR brand and network programming, including the East region drivetime show, from November, with the former Town 102 on DAB, which had carried GHR East since the September network relaunch, being replaced by Hits Radio . On 22 October 2020, it was reported the Oldham and Rochdale station Revolution 96.2 had been sold to Bauer for conversion into GHR, joining the Manchester AM and Bolton/Bury FM licenses in

1125-579: The GHR stations have a combined weekly reach of 7.5 million people as of September 2024. On 9th September 2024, it was announced that the first GHR spin-off station would launch. It would be a decades station, "Greatest Hits Radio 60s", which began broadcasting on 16th September 2024. Classic hits The classic hits format saw growth in the 2010s, with stations like KRTH, WCBS-FM in New York, WLS-FM in Chicago, WROR-FM in Boston and Greatest Hits Radio in

1170-521: The Greatest Hits Radio network, following the acquisition of licences from UKRD , Wireless Group , Lincs FM Group and Celador . Most of the stations were merged and began carrying networked output, alongside a regional show on weekdays and localised news, travel and advertising. On 13 July 2020, the former Wireless Group and Celador-owned stations joined the Greatest Hits Radio network. The nineteen stations carried local breakfast shows and voicetracked programming whilst retaining separate branding until

1215-452: The London equivalent, Magic 105.4 FM , launched nationwide on DAB. The relaunch took place on Monday 5 January 2015. Initially, the two networks serving Scotland (The Greatest Hits Network) and northern England (City 2 Network) were replaced by one carrying programming from both nations over all stations, with some peak time opt-outs. Further split programming for the two nations was reintroduced

1260-574: The North West, the North East and Yorkshire. In July 2013, the remaining Scottish local output ceased, leading to a fully networked schedule known as ' Greatest Hits Network . In September 2014, Bauer Radio announced it would rebrand the Magic stations under localised identities, based on the main FM station names (e.g. Magic 1152 in Manchester becomes Key 2 , based on Key 103 ). Magic's AM network closed with

1305-640: The TV platforms, including Absolute Radio , Absolute Radio 80s , Absolute Radio 90s , Absolute Radio Classic Rock , Hits Radio , Kiss , Magic , Jazz FM and Planet Rock . On 28 March 2024, Bauer closed down Hampshire based Wave 105 and it re-branded into the Greatest Hits Radio network as Greatest Hits Radio South Coast . On 9th September 2024, it was announced that a sister station named "Greatest Hits Radio 60s" begin broadcasting on 16th September 2024. Former stations Available on DAB and online only* - Available online only** Networked programming for GHR

1350-570: The UK having successful ratings with this model. Classic hits was named "format of the summer of 2018" by Nielsen Audio 's research team emphasizing the huge popularity of the format. In addition, the Millennial generation is listening to this format in record numbers, according to a Nielsen report. As of December 2019, there are now over 1,100 classic hits stations in the United States, the largest amount in format history. The term "classic hits"

1395-480: The coming into law of the 2024 Media Act. Consequently, Bauer will operate a fully networked schedule across its Greatest Hits Radio stations although short news bulletins containing a mix of local and national/international news will be retained, as will peaktime local travel information. Bauer's newsrooms across the UK air mixed local and national news bulletins hourly from 6am to 7pm on weekdays and from 7am to 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Headlines are broadcast on

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1440-617: The corresponding Hits Radio network stations. Many were originally set up as a 'Gold' counterpart (e.g. Radio City Gold in Liverpool) when stations were instructed by the Independent Broadcasting Authority to cease simulcasting their services on both AM and FM in the late 1980s. The main exception to this was FM station West Sound in Dumfries and Galloway . In Northern England, the stations were rebranded as Magic in 1997 –

1485-668: The flip of WIAD , Washington D.C. from adult contemporary-formatted "Fresh-FM" to classic hits as "The Drive" in October 2018. Most of the current classic hits stations were simply slow evolutions from oldies, including WOGL in Philadelphia, WRBQ-FM in Tampa, KSPF in Dallas, and WOCL in Orlando, among many others. WOGL changed their slogan to "Nobody plays more 80s" whereas WRBQ-FM changed to "Hits of

1530-459: The following year. On 7 December 2015, Radio City 2 in Liverpool swapped frequencies with sister station Radio City Talk on 105.9 FM and reintroduced local programming at peak times. In April 2018, Northsound 2 ceased analogue broadcasting on 1035 AM, becoming the first commercial radio station in Scotland – and the first local Bauer-owned station – to broadcast only on digital platforms (DAB and online). On 4 June 2018, Key 2 in Manchester

1575-574: The full relaunch on 1 September 2020. On 1 September, Bauer closed down Leeds-based Radio Aire so that it could switch the frequency from the Hits Radio network to Greatest Hits Radio as part of the merging with twelve stations in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. On 17 September 2020, Bauer bought Radio Plymouth . On 15 October 2020, it was announced that the Suffolk station Ipswich 102 , part-owned by Bauer through their purchase of Lincs FM Group, would take

1620-514: The half-hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows, alongside traffic bulletins. At weekends, bespoke networked news bulletins air during the afternoon produced by the Bauer newsroom in Glasgow for Scotland and usually either Leeds or Manchester for England and Wales. At all other times, mainly evening and overnight, hourly national bulletins originate from Sky News Radio . According to RAJAR data,

1665-578: The mid- to late 1970s which had an influence on the MTV generation from artists such as Queen , Foreigner , Elton John , and the Bee Gees are still featured on many of these stations as the oldest part of the library. Additionally, stations have started to play songs from the 1990s and 2000s that have appeal to this audience such as " Linger " by The Cranberries and Uncle Kracker 's version of " Drift Away ", along with later releases by artists that were successful in

1710-407: The platform. On 12 January 2023, Bauer announced that the seven heritage names in Scotland ( Clyde 2 , Forth 2 , MFR 2 , Tay 2 and Westsound (Ayrshire) and (Dumfries and Galloway), would rebrand as Greatest Hits Radio from 3 April. On 31 January 2023, Bauer announced that Radio Borders was to rebrand as Greatest Hits Radio from 3 April, following the news earlier in the month which will see

1755-713: The purchase of Imagine Radio from the Like Media Group, with the existing Imagine service slated to be replaced by separate GHR feeds for Stockport and North Cheshire and the Peak District and Derbyshire Dales . On 19 September 2022, Wave 105 's Poole transmitter began carrying Greatest Hits Radio Dorset . On 22 November 2022, Bauer announced that CFM in Cumbria & South West Scotland will rebrand to Greatest Hits Radio from 3 April 2023. On 14 December 2022, Greatest Hits Radio launched on Sky , replacing Scala Radio on

1800-504: The seven Scottish heritage names also rebranding on the same day. On 1 March 2023, Bauer announced that Lincs FM would lose its FM frequency and go DAB only from 3 April. The FM frequency would become Greatest Hits Radio. On the same day, Bauer also announced that three of the four FM frequencies held by Kiss in Cambridge (105.6), Ipswich and Colchester (106.4) and Peterborough (107.7), would switch to carrying Greatest Hits Radio and join

1845-612: The then-current heavy metal or top 40 music of the 1980s. These were people whose mindset was aging beyond album-oriented rock and top 40, yet were still either too young for or uninterested in oldies . Until the mid-2000s, the term "classic hits" was used by stations that played the softer or more hit-oriented side of classic rock . Today, there are a few stations that identify as classic hits, such as WROR-FM in Boston and WJJK in Indianapolis, but whose playlists have more in common with classic rock. The classic hits format as it

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1890-476: Was dropped in 1998. By March 2001, Radio Aire had reverted to its original name. The station together with Magic 828 was bought by EMAP in 1995 and it became part of their Big City Network of stations. It maintained a generic branding with sister stations across Northern England from 1999. Following the acquisition of EMAP Radio in 2008, the station was owned and operated by Bauer Radio as part of its 'Big City Network' (later known as 'Bauer City 1', and latterly,

1935-439: Was not necessarily true for Generation X; much of the classic hits library was included in adult-contemporary stations of the era, while classic rock was only beginning to split from more modern rock stations in the late 1980s, around the same time oldies emerged as a standalone format. During the late 2010s, many stations in the adult contemporary, adult R&B , and alternative formats either reduced or eliminated songs from

1980-595: Was rebranded as Key Radio, in tandem with Key 103's relaunch as Hits Radio . On 7 January 2019, Greatest Hits Radio replaced the Bauer City 2 branding due to the success of Radio City 2 in Liverpool. Local station identities in Northern England took on Greatest Hits Radio branded names and Scottish stations retaining their local brands. Greatest Hits Radio also became available on FM in the West Midlands taking over

2025-533: Was the first Independent Local Radio station to have purpose-built studios. In the late 1980s, the studios were used for The James Whale Radio Show , which was a late night TV show, broadcast on ITV , Radio Aire and Red Rose Radio . On 17 July 1990, Radio Aire split frequencies, forming Aire FM and Magic 828 . In 1992, the name was changed to Radio Aire FM and to 96.3 Aire FM in 1995. A change of format in 1996 saw another station name change to The New 96.3 Aire FM before The New

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