Heart 106
Encyclopedia
Gem 106, previously known as Heart East Midlands
, is a regional radio station
broadcasting to the East Midlands
, owned and operated by Orion Media
.
on the City link in the Sneinton area of the city centre, the station was launched on 23 September 1997 as Radio 106
. In April 1998, station owners, Border Radio Holdings felt a change was needed, so in April 1998, John Myers took control over the station and it was rebranded as Century 106
.
In May 2000, Century 106 was sold to Capital Radio
, who then merged with GWR Group in 2004 forming GCap Media
. GCap were required to sell the East Midlands station (as the combined firm also owned a number of other stations in the region), and thus Century 106 was sold to Chrysalis, owners of Heart in London and the West Midlands. As such, the station was relaunched as Heart 106
on 29 August 2005. A further, more subtle rebrand was applied in September 2006 which saw the dropping of the frequencies from station names across the Heart Network
.
On the 25 June 2007 it was announced that Heart 106 along with its sister stations were to be sold for £170 million to Global Radio
. Following Global Radio's takeover of GCap Media
, the Office of Fair Trading ordered Global to sell five of its Midlands stations. In May 2009, the stations were sold to Orion Media
, a company backed by Lloyds TSB
Development Capital and Phil Riley
.
In November 2010, Orion Media announced that Heart 106 would be relaunched and renamed as Gem 106 from 1st January 2011.
It is transmitted from the Copt Oak
transmitter close to the M1
north of Leicester
in the National Forest
.
figures up to September 2010, the station was listened to by 453,000 people (out of a possible 2,154,000 listeners) per week, with each listener tuning in for an average of 8.2 hours over the course of 7 days.
. GCap were required to sell the East Midlands station (as the combined firm also owned a number of other stations in the region), and thus Century 106 was sold to Chrysalis Group
(GCap retained the other Century stations for a time, later selling them to Guardian Media Group; these stations now broadcast as Real Radio).
In 2007 Heart
along with its sister stations The Arrow
, LBC
and Galaxy were sold to Global Radio
. Following Global Radio's takeover of GCap Media
, the Office of Fair Trading ordered Global to sell five of its Midlands stations including BRMB
, Mercia FM
, Wyvern FM
, Heart 106
and Beacon Radio. In May 2009, the stations were sold to Orion Media, a company backed by Lloyds TSB
Development Capital and Phil Riley
. Orion ran Heart East Midlands as a franchise operation under an agreement with Global Radio until Friday 31 December 2010.
Gem 106 was launched at midnight on Saturday 1st January 2011 with a special programme presented by Orion's director of programming and marketing David Lloyd
.
The GEM name stands for 'Great East Midlands', the name created and used from 1988 onwards for GEM-AM (later Classic Gold GEM) an AM (medium wave), 'solid gold' secondary service of Radio Trent. The majority of the station's programming is locally produced and broadcast from Nottingham. The station also carries the nationally syndicated Vodafone Freebees Big Top 40
on Sunday afternoons.
Vicky Breakwell
Broadcast Journalists
Stuart Bailey
Arran Bee
Stacey Foster
Corazon Garcia (Breakfast newsreader)
Heart 106
Gem 106, previously known as Heart East Midlands, is a regional radio station broadcasting to the East Midlands, owned and operated by Orion Media.-History:...
, is a regional 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...
broadcasting to the East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
, owned and operated by Orion Media
Orion Media
Orion Media is a UK commercial radio group run by radio veteran Phil Riley and backed by Lloyds TSB Development Capital. It was created from the enforced sale of several radio stations in the English Midlands owned and operated by Global Radio.-History:...
.
History
Based in NottinghamNottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
on the City link in the Sneinton area of the city centre, the station was launched on 23 September 1997 as Radio 106
Radio 106
Radio 106 FM was a regional independent radio station based in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire in England.-History:Billed as "Radio for Grown Ups", Radio 106 FM was launched on 23rd September 1997 with former Radio Trent Managing Director Ron Coles at the helm, and former Centre Radio Managing Director...
. In April 1998, station owners, Border Radio Holdings felt a change was needed, so in April 1998, John Myers took control over the station and it was rebranded as Century 106
Century 106
Century 106 was a regional independent radio station based in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire in England.-History:Based in Nottingham on the City link in the Sneinton area of the city centre, the station was launched on 23 September 1997 as Radio 106...
.
In May 2000, Century 106 was sold to Capital Radio
Capital Radio
Capital London is a London based radio station which launched on 16 October 1973 and is owned by Global Radio. On 3 January 2011 it formed part of the nine station Capital radio network.- Pre-launch :...
, who then merged with GWR Group in 2004 forming GCap Media
GCap Media
GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed in May 2005. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. On 31 March 2008 the company agreed a takeover by...
. GCap were required to sell the East Midlands station (as the combined firm also owned a number of other stations in the region), and thus Century 106 was sold to Chrysalis, owners of Heart in London and the West Midlands. As such, the station was relaunched as Heart 106
Heart 106
Gem 106, previously known as Heart East Midlands, is a regional radio station broadcasting to the East Midlands, owned and operated by Orion Media.-History:...
on 29 August 2005. A further, more subtle rebrand was applied in September 2006 which saw the dropping of the frequencies from station names across the Heart Network
Heart Network
Heart is a radio network of 17 adult contemporary independent local radio stations in central & southern England and north Wales. Each station broadcasts local breakfast and drive time shows and simulcasts network programming at all other times...
.
On the 25 June 2007 it was announced that Heart 106 along with its sister stations were to be sold for £170 million to Global Radio
Global Radio
Global Radio UK Ltd. is a British commercial radio company, the largest in the country following acquisitions of Chrysalis Radio and GCap Media.The company's Chief Executive Officer is Stephen Miron, while the Group Chairman is Charles Allen...
. Following Global Radio's takeover of GCap Media
GCap Media
GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed in May 2005. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. On 31 March 2008 the company agreed a takeover by...
, the Office of Fair Trading ordered Global to sell five of its Midlands stations. In May 2009, the stations were sold to Orion Media
Orion Media
Orion Media is a UK commercial radio group run by radio veteran Phil Riley and backed by Lloyds TSB Development Capital. It was created from the enforced sale of several radio stations in the English Midlands owned and operated by Global Radio.-History:...
, a company backed by Lloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB Bank Plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1995 by the merger of Lloyds Bank, established in Birmingham, England in 1765 and traditionally considered one of the Big Four clearing banks, with the TSB Group which traces its origins to 1810...
Development Capital and Phil Riley
Phil Riley
Phil Riley was Chief Executive of Chrysalis Radio from June 1999 to July 2007, having played a major role in establishing Chrysalis Radio as one of the leading new entrants in the UK radio industry. Phil resigned his post after leading the successful sale of Chrysalis Radio to private company...
.
In November 2010, Orion Media announced that Heart 106 would be relaunched and renamed as Gem 106 from 1st January 2011.
It is transmitted from the Copt Oak
Copt Oak
Copt Oak is a place in Leicestershire in England. It is in the North West Leicestershire district, near Bawdon Lodge, Charley and Ulverscroft.In its name, "cop" is an old English word for "head", i.e...
transmitter close to the M1
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
north of Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
in the National Forest
National Forest, England
The National Forest is one of England’s most ambitious environmental projects. Across parts of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire, are being transformed, blending ancient woodland with new planting to create a new national forest...
.
Audience
According to RAJARRAJAR
RAJAR was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the British Broadcasting Corporation and the RadioCentre...
figures up to September 2010, the station was listened to by 453,000 people (out of a possible 2,154,000 listeners) per week, with each listener tuning in for an average of 8.2 hours over the course of 7 days.
Ownership changes
The station has changed hands several times: Border Radio Holdings was sold to the Capital Group, who then merged with GWR Group in 2004 forming GCap MediaGCap Media
GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed in May 2005. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. On 31 March 2008 the company agreed a takeover by...
. GCap were required to sell the East Midlands station (as the combined firm also owned a number of other stations in the region), and thus Century 106 was sold to Chrysalis Group
Chrysalis Group
Chrysalis Group is a UK media company. It was founded by Chris Wright, who remains chairman and was listed the 1,000th richest person in the UK in The Times Rich List 2009...
(GCap retained the other Century stations for a time, later selling them to Guardian Media Group; these stations now broadcast as Real Radio).
In 2007 Heart
Heart Digital
Heart Digital was a digital radio network of stations that broadcast on DAB Digital Radio in the North East of England , the North West of England , Yorkshire , South Wales and the West of England and in Central Scotland , as part of the Heart Network...
along with its sister stations The Arrow
The Arrow (radio)
The Arrow is a British digital radio station playing pop and the softer end of rock music. It broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio . It is also broadcast on TalkTalk TV and streamed online...
, LBC
LBC
LBC Radio operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio...
and Galaxy were sold to Global Radio
Global Radio
Global Radio UK Ltd. is a British commercial radio company, the largest in the country following acquisitions of Chrysalis Radio and GCap Media.The company's Chief Executive Officer is Stephen Miron, while the Group Chairman is Charles Allen...
. Following Global Radio's takeover of GCap Media
GCap Media
GCap Media was a British commercial radio company formed from the merger of the Capital Radio Group and GWR Group. The merger was completed in May 2005. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. On 31 March 2008 the company agreed a takeover by...
, the Office of Fair Trading ordered Global to sell five of its Midlands stations including BRMB
Brmb
brmb is a local radio station based in Birmingham, UK, owned and operated by Orion Media. The station broadcasts on 96.4 FM, DAB Digital Radio in the West Midlands and online...
, Mercia FM
Mercia FM
Mercia is an Independent Local Radio station serving Coventry and Warwickshire. The station, owned and operated by Orion Media broadcasts from studios shared with BRMB at Broad Street in Birmingham.-History:...
, Wyvern FM
Wyvern FM
Wyvern is a radio station broadcasting to Herefordshire and Worcestershire in England. Wyvern is predominantly music-based, playing pop from the 1980s through to the present day...
, Heart 106
Heart 106
Gem 106, previously known as Heart East Midlands, is a regional radio station broadcasting to the East Midlands, owned and operated by Orion Media.-History:...
and Beacon Radio. In May 2009, the stations were sold to Orion Media, a company backed by Lloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB
Lloyds TSB Bank Plc is a retail bank in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1995 by the merger of Lloyds Bank, established in Birmingham, England in 1765 and traditionally considered one of the Big Four clearing banks, with the TSB Group which traces its origins to 1810...
Development Capital and Phil Riley
Phil Riley
Phil Riley was Chief Executive of Chrysalis Radio from June 1999 to July 2007, having played a major role in establishing Chrysalis Radio as one of the leading new entrants in the UK radio industry. Phil resigned his post after leading the successful sale of Chrysalis Radio to private company...
. Orion ran Heart East Midlands as a franchise operation under an agreement with Global Radio until Friday 31 December 2010.
Station rebrand
On 9 November 2010, Orion Media announced that Heart 106 would be relaunched and renamed as 'Gem 106' from January 2011. Under the rebrand, the station ended its franchise agreement with Global Radio which allowed it to use the Heart identity and carry networked programming from London.Gem 106 was launched at midnight on Saturday 1st January 2011 with a special programme presented by Orion's director of programming and marketing David Lloyd
David Lloyd (broadcaster)
David Lloyd is an English radio presenter and executive, currently working for the Midlands-based group Orion Media as director of programming & marketing and a presenter.-Biography:...
.
The GEM name stands for 'Great East Midlands', the name created and used from 1988 onwards for GEM-AM (later Classic Gold GEM) an AM (medium wave), 'solid gold' secondary service of Radio Trent. The majority of the station's programming is locally produced and broadcast from Nottingham. The station also carries the nationally syndicated Vodafone Freebees Big Top 40
The Big Top 40 Show
The Vodafone Big Top 40 is a chart show broadcast on 140 radio stations in the UK. The chart is based on music download figures provided by iTunes.-Format:...
on Sunday afternoons.
Programming
| Monday - Friday | ||
|---|---|---|
| Time | Main presenter(s)/programme | Location |
| 0100 – 0600 | Gem 106 at Night (automated) | Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group... |
| 0600 – 1000 | Sam & Amy: Sam Pinkham & Amy Voce (including Hall of Fame from 0900) |
|
| 1000 – 1400 | Dan Wood | |
| 1400 – 1800 | Andy Miller (including Hall of Fame 1400 – 1430) |
|
| 1800 – 2200 | Matt Smith | |
| 2200 – 0100 | Unwind: David Lloyd David Lloyd (broadcaster) David Lloyd is an English radio presenter and executive, currently working for the Midlands-based group Orion Media as director of programming & marketing and a presenter.-Biography:... |
|
| Friday variations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Time | Main presenter(s)/programme | Location |
| 1800 – 2200 | Floor Fillers: Matt Smith | Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group... |
| 2200 – 0100 | Floor Fillers: David Francis | |
| Saturday | ||
|---|---|---|
| Time | Main presenter(s)/programme | Location |
| 0100 – 0600 | Gem 106 at Night | Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group... |
| 0600 – 1100 | Andy Miller (including Hall of Fame 0900 – 1000) |
|
| 1100 – 1300 | Sam Pinkham | |
| 1300 – 1600 | Donna Alos | |
| 1800 – 2200 | Back to the 80s: Amy Voce | |
| 2200 – 0100 | Floor Fillers: David Francis | |
| Sunday | ||
|---|---|---|
| Time | Main presenter(s)/programme | Location |
| 0100 – 0630 | Gem 106 at Night | Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group... |
| 0630 – 1100 | The Sunday Lie In: Dan Wood | |
| 1100 – 1400 | Donna Alos | |
| 1400 – 1600 | Ian Chilvers Ian Chilvers Ian Chilvers is a British radio presenter and the current weekday overnight host on 106.6 Smooth Radio in Nottingham.His radio career began in 1989 at Radio Link , where he worked until 1997... |
|
| 1600 – 1900 | The Vodafone Freebees Big Top 40: Richard Clarke Richard Clarke (radio personality) Richard "Rich" Clarke is a British radio presenter and DJ from Worcester, England currently employed by Global Radio as a presenter on Capital FM and The Vodafone Big Top 40.-Student radio:... & Kat Shoob Kat Shoob Katherine 'Kat' Shoob is a British radio presenter on The Vodafone Big Top 40.Shoob modelled for Maxim in September 2006.Shoob presented The Mint, a phone-in quiz that was shown on ITV1 and ITV2... |
Leicester Square Leicester Square Leicester Square is a pedestrianised square in the West End of London, England. The Square lies within an area bound by Lisle Street, to the north; Charing Cross Road, to the east; Orange Street, to the south; and Whitcomb Street, to the west... , London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
| 1900 – 2200 | Gareth Evans | Nottingham Nottingham Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group... |
| 2200 – 0100 | Unwind: David Lloyd David Lloyd (broadcaster) David Lloyd is an English radio presenter and executive, currently working for the Midlands-based group Orion Media as director of programming & marketing and a presenter.-Biography:... |
|
News staff
EditorVicky Breakwell
Broadcast Journalists
Stuart Bailey
Arran Bee
Stacey Foster
Corazon Garcia (Breakfast newsreader)