Brunel FM
Encyclopedia
Brunel FM was a UK commercial radio station broadcasting to the town of Swindon
and outside areas of close proximity.
The station broadcast both local and networked programmes which covered Royal Wootton Bassett, Wroughton
, Cricklade
, Highworth
, Purton
and Swindon
area. This made a total adult population reach (aged 15+) of around 150,000. The station's main local rivals at the time were Swindon 105.5
, Heart Wiltshire and BBC Local Radio
. The station's content was produced from studios on the Shrivenham
Hundred Business Park 9 miles north east of Swindon
, and was transmitted from the Blunsdon
transmitter 2 miles north of Swindon
. The station generated the majority of its revenue from on-air advertising. Brunel FM did not broadcast on DAB digital radio.
Brunel FM broadcast on 107.7 FM and streamed online at BrunelFM.com.
In 2005, after the radio group Swindon FM
lobbied for a second FM Radio Licence to be granted for Swindon, Ofcom
invited applications for the 12-year broadcasting licence for Swindon
. The Local Radio Company
applied for licence proposing a radio station
called Now FM. After being awarded the licence, they re-named the station to Brunel FM, after Isambard Kingdom Brunel
whose railway network had converted Swindon
from a small village on the top of a hill, to an extremely large town. Brunel Radio was also the previous name for Classic Gold Radio
(now DAB
Station Gold) when Wiltshire Radio/GWR (now Heart Wiltshire) launched on FM. Brunel Radio was on the AM frequency however Brunel FM and Brunel Radio/Brunel Classic Gold have no connection other than name and where their studios are based.
For some weeks before its launch, the station was in test transmissions, allowing listeners a preview of the station, without presenters or commercials. The station launched at 10am on 2 September 2006 to the sound of many different people from around the coverage area wishing the station luck.
In June 2008, Brunel FM was sold to Laser Broadcasting
along with sister stations Bath FM] and 3TR.Following the buyout, a number of the station's staff resigned, allegedly due to lack of payment.
In October 2008, Brunel FM was sold again to South West Radio Ltd, following the collapse of Laser Broadcasting.
In August 2009 South West Radio itself collapsed and Brunel FM was acquired by YMC Ltd, along with Bath FM
, 3TR FM
, Quay West 107.4 and Quay West 102.4/100.8. YMC then ran the 5 licensed stations as a group, with local broadcasting throughout the day and some shared or "networked" programming over the weekend.
On 24 March 2010, the 5 YMC Ltd stations were closed by administrators after multiple refusals on the part of regulator OFCOM to transfer the licenses, following a number of financial issues at the stations following TLRC's sale.
Quaywest plus its 4 sister stations Brunel FM, 3TR FM, Bath FM and Quaywest 102.4 were eventually bought by who run TotalStar 107.5 in Gloucestershire and all stations were rebranded as TotalStar
.
Keith Stainer (from launch to Sept 2008);
Sam Read;
Broadcast Journalists
Jim Pusey (from launch to Sept 2008);
Sophie Moore;
Matt Tozer
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
and outside areas of close proximity.
Overview
Brunel FM was owned and operated by YMC Ltd, however it was a company in its own right.The station broadcast both local and networked programmes which covered Royal Wootton Bassett, Wroughton
Wroughton
Wroughton is a large village in Wiltshire, England. It is part of the Borough of Swindon and is south of Swindon.-History:The earliest evidence of human presence in the area is from the Mesolithic period, although this is fairly limited...
, Cricklade
Cricklade
Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire in England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester.On 25 September 2011 Cricklade was awarded The Royal Horticultural Society's 'Champion of Champions' award in the Britain in Bloom competition.Cricklade is twinned with...
, Highworth
Highworth
Highworth is a market town in the unitary authority of Swindon in Wiltshire, England, located about north-east of Swindon town centre. At the 2001 census it had a population of 7,996...
, Purton
Purton
Purton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire. The civil parish includes the village of Purton Stoke and the hamlets of Bentham, Hayes Knoll, Restrop and Widham....
and Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
area. This made a total adult population reach (aged 15+) of around 150,000. The station's main local rivals at the time were Swindon 105.5
Swindon 105.5
SWINDON 105.5 is a community radio station for Swindon, Wiltshire fully licensed by media and communications regulator Ofcom. The station is run by volunteers and obtains its funding by donations from the public and local companies and from Ofcom grants...
, Heart Wiltshire and BBC Local Radio
BBC Local Radio
BBC Local Radio is the BBC's regional radio service for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of 40 stations. They cover a variety of areas with some serving a city and surrounding areas, for example BBC Radio Manchester; a county, for example BBC Radio Norfolk; an administrative region for...
. The station's content was produced from studios on the Shrivenham
Shrivenham
Shrivenham is a large village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, close to the boundary with Wiltshire. It is in the Vale of White Horse, between Swindon and Faringdon. It was part of Berkshire until the 1974 boundary changes transferred it to Oxfordshire.-Character:Shrivenham features many...
Hundred Business Park 9 miles north east of Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
, and was transmitted from the Blunsdon
Blunsdon
Broad Blunsdon is a village in the Borough of Swindon, England, about north of Swindon itself.Together with the nearby villages of Blunsdon St Andrew and adjoining Lower Blunsdon, the settlement is usually known simply as Blunsdon...
transmitter 2 miles north of Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
. The station generated the majority of its revenue from on-air advertising. Brunel FM did not broadcast on DAB digital radio.
Brunel FM broadcast on 107.7 FM and streamed online at BrunelFM.com.
History
Swindon FM
Swindon FM was a Local DAB radio station broadcasting to Swindon between 2003 and 2006, previously it broadcast as Swindon 107FM for two trial broadcasts in 2001 and 2002.-RSL broadcasts:...
lobbied for a second FM Radio Licence to be granted for Swindon, Ofcom
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
invited applications for the 12-year broadcasting licence for Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
. The Local Radio Company
The Local Radio Company
The Local Radio Company is a British media company, originally based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, that owns ten independent local radio stations in the UK...
applied for licence proposing a radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
called Now FM. After being awarded the licence, they re-named the station to Brunel FM, after Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
whose railway network had converted Swindon
Swindon
Swindon is a large town within the borough of Swindon and ceremonial county of Wiltshire, in South West England. It is midway between Bristol, west and Reading, east. London is east...
from a small village on the top of a hill, to an extremely large town. Brunel Radio was also the previous name for Classic Gold Radio
Classic Gold Digital Network
Classic Gold Digital Network was one of the biggest 'gold' formatted radio networks in the United Kingdom, with a potential audience of 47 million. Classic Gold was broadcast on analogue and DAB digital platforms, as well as Sky channel 0189.-History:...
(now DAB
Digital audio broadcasting
Digital Audio Broadcasting is a digital radio technology for broadcasting radio stations, used in several countries, particularly in Europe. As of 2006, approximately 1,000 stations worldwide broadcast in the DAB format....
Station Gold) when Wiltshire Radio/GWR (now Heart Wiltshire) launched on FM. Brunel Radio was on the AM frequency however Brunel FM and Brunel Radio/Brunel Classic Gold have no connection other than name and where their studios are based.
For some weeks before its launch, the station was in test transmissions, allowing listeners a preview of the station, without presenters or commercials. The station launched at 10am on 2 September 2006 to the sound of many different people from around the coverage area wishing the station luck.
In June 2008, Brunel FM was sold to Laser Broadcasting
Laser Broadcasting
Laser Broadcasting was a commercial radio operator based in Darlington in County Durham, England.-History:The group was founded in 2002 by Nigel Reeve—one of the launch directors of Classic FM and one time chief executive of London News Radio owners of LBC—and Nick Jordan, a media sales executive...
along with sister stations Bath FM] and 3TR.Following the buyout, a number of the station's staff resigned, allegedly due to lack of payment.
In October 2008, Brunel FM was sold again to South West Radio Ltd, following the collapse of Laser Broadcasting.
In August 2009 South West Radio itself collapsed and Brunel FM was acquired by YMC Ltd, along with Bath FM
Bath FM
Bath FM was a local independent radio station based at the former Weston railway station in Bath, England. The station was launched in November 1999 and closed on 24 March 2010.The station broadcast to an area with a population of 104,000...
, 3TR FM
3TR FM
3TR FM was a radio station based in the ancient market town of Warminster, Wiltshire, United Kingdom. It broadcasted on 107.5 FM to the West Wiltshire, East Somerset and surrounding area, and online via Internet streaming...
, Quay West 107.4 and Quay West 102.4/100.8. YMC then ran the 5 licensed stations as a group, with local broadcasting throughout the day and some shared or "networked" programming over the weekend.
On 24 March 2010, the 5 YMC Ltd stations were closed by administrators after multiple refusals on the part of regulator OFCOM to transfer the licenses, following a number of financial issues at the stations following TLRC's sale.
Quaywest plus its 4 sister stations Brunel FM, 3TR FM, Bath FM and Quaywest 102.4 were eventually bought by who run TotalStar 107.5 in Gloucestershire and all stations were rebranded as TotalStar
TotalStar
Total Star is the brand name of a radio station based in Cheltenham broadcasting in Gloucestershire owned by Storm Radio Ltd. It is the licence holder for the Cheltenham and Tewkesbury licence issued by Ofcom...
.
Presenters at time of closure
- Steve Collins (Sunday Life)
- Dave Englefield (The Vinyl Countdown)
- Drew Haddon (Saturday Pop Quiz)
- Simon Hawkins (Saturday Starter, Sunday Lie In)
- Georgina Ryland (Weekday daytime)
- Neil McDonald (Weekday breakfast, Saturday Sport)
- Will Trueman (Weekday drivetime)
- Carl Humphreys (Weekday Breakfast Swing)
- Alan Ford (Saturday Sport)
Former Presenters
- Andy Collins (freelance, now on Nevis Radio)
- Tony Dibbin (Launch Breakfast, now breakfast presenter on Heart BedfordHeart BedfordHeart Bedford was an Independent Local Radio station based in the Priory Business Park in Bedford, Bedfordshire.-History:...
) - Ben Williams (former PC when TLRC sold the station)
- Phil Stocks (Launch Daytime, later Breakfast)
- Stewart Smith (Morning Show, Station Manager and Programme Controller)
- Damian Pickett (Launch Drivetime)
- James Martin (Launch Evenings, latterly heard across the Lincs FM GroupLincs FM GroupThe Lincs FM Group based in Lincolnshire, in the UK is the parent company of several Independent Local Radio stations.-History:The Lincs FM group started with just Lincs FM in Lincolnshire, UK but has won and acquired licences to operate other local radio stations across the UK's Midlands and...
) - Paul Roberts
- Kate Constance
- Dan Chisholm
- Craig Rance
- Ian Timms (Launch Saturday Mornings, now Sunday breakfast presenter at Banbury Sound)
- Roger Noble (Breakfast, after Dan Chisholm left, and there till Dec 09, also heard on 3TR, Bath Fm, and Radio Pembrokeshire, and many others)
- Keith Stainer (News Editor, from launch to September 2008)
- Jim Pusey (Broadcast Journalist, from launch to September 2008. Also cover presenter and host of 'Frequency' show highlighting local musicians in Swindon)
- Steve Causer (Co-host 'Frequency')
- Phil Stocks
- Matt Vaughan
- Kat Simmons
News staff
Head of NewsKeith Stainer (from launch to Sept 2008);
Sam Read;
Broadcast Journalists
Jim Pusey (from launch to Sept 2008);
Sophie Moore;
Matt Tozer