Orion Media is a UK commercial radio group run by radio veteran 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...

 and 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. It was created from the enforced sale of several radio stations in the English Midlands

English Midlands

The Midlands, or the English Midlands, is the traditional name for the area comprising central England that broadly corresponds to the early medieval Kingdom of Mercia. It borders Southern England, Northern England, East Anglia and Wales. Its largest city is Birmingham, and it was an important...

 owned and operated by 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...

.

History

Following Global Radio's acquisition 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...

 in 2007, it was deemed that Global had an unfair advantage in the West Midlands market as they owned the vast majority of stations.

The OFT

Office of Fair Trading

The Office of Fair Trading is a not-for-profit and non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforces both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the UK's economic regulator...

 wanted to re-install competition in the Midlands area, causing Global to sell some of their stations. In May 2009, Riley purchased 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, Wyvern

Wyvern

A wyvern or wivern is a legendary winged reptilian creature with a dragon's head, two legs , and a barbed tail. The wyvern is found in heraldry. There exists a purely sea-dwelling variant, termed the Sea-Wyvern which has a fish tail in place of a barbed dragon's tail...

, Beacon

Beacon (Radio)

Beacon , is an independent local radio station, broadcasting to the Black Country and Shropshire in the West Midlands region of England.-History:The station began broadcasting to Wolverhampton and the Black Country from studios at 267 Tettenhall Road,...

 in the West Midlands and 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:...

 in the East Midlands from 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...

 for a total price of £37.5 million, beating off competition from several other interested parties These stations accounted for around three per cent of the total commercial radio audience at the time.

In June 2009, the new group was named Orion Media.

In January 2011, Orion's East Midlands station Heart 106 was rebranded and relaunched as Gem 106, following the end of a franchise agreement with Global Radio allowing the station to use the Heart branding and carry networked programming from London.

Stations

Station name	Based in	Broadcast Areas	Frequency & Multiplex	Format	Transmission Date
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...	Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...	Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...  and West Midlands West Midlands (county) The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...	96.4FM, CE Birmingham CE Birmingham CE Birmingham is a DAB digital radio broadcast multiplex covering the city of Birmingham and surrounding areas in central England. It is operated by CE Digital, a DAB multiplex operator jointly owned by Global Radio and Bauer Radio...	Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...	19 September 1974
beacon Beacon (Radio) Beacon , is an independent local radio station, broadcasting to the Black Country and Shropshire in the West Midlands region of England.-History:The station began broadcasting to Wolverhampton and the Black Country from studios at 267 Tettenhall Road,...	Wolverhampton Wolverhampton Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...	Black Country Black Country The Black Country is a loosely defined area of the English West Midlands conurbation, to the north and west of Birmingham, and to the south and east of Wolverhampton. During the industrial revolution in the 19th century this area had become one of the most intensely industrialised in the nation...  and Shropshire Shropshire Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...	97.2, 103.1FM, NOW Wolverhampton NOW Wolverhampton Now Wolverhampton is a Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplex available in the above area which has been broadcasting since January 2001. It carries a variety of stations some of which are local.- Transmitter Sites :...	Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...	12 April 1976
wyvern	Worcester Worcester The City of Worcester, commonly known as Worcester, , is a city and county town of Worcestershire in the West Midlands of England. Worcester is situated some southwest of Birmingham and north of Gloucester, and has an approximate population of 94,000 people. The River Severn runs through the...	Herefordshire Herefordshire Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...  and Worcestershire Worcestershire Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...	97.6, 96.7, 102.8FM	Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...	4 October 1982
mercia	Coventry Coventry Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...	Coventry Coventry Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...  and Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...	97.0, 102.9FM, NOW Coventry NOW Coventry NOW Coventry is a Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplex available in the above area which has been broadcasting since January 2001. It carries a variety of stations some of which are local.- Transmitter sites :...	Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...	23 May 1980
gem106	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...	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...	106.0FM, NOW Nottingham NOW Nottingham NOW Nottingham is a local commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, which serves Nottingham, Mansfield, Newark-on-Trent and the surrounding area... , NOW Leicester NOW Leicester NOW Leicester is a local commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, which serves Leicestershire and Rutland. It commenced broadcasts on December 6, 2002 and is operated by NOW Digital on behalf of NOW Digital East Midlands Ltd, a consortium of Arqiva, Global Radio and Sabras Radio... , NOW Derbyshire NOW Derbyshire Now Derbyshire is an upcoming local commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, which will serve Derbyshire and other parts of the East Midlands....	Hot AC	23 September 1997
Gold (Midlands)	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... /Birmingham Birmingham Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...	West Midlands West Midlands (county) The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...	990, 1017, 1152, 1359AM, CE Birmingham CE Birmingham CE Birmingham is a DAB digital radio broadcast multiplex covering the city of Birmingham and surrounding areas in central England. It is operated by CE Digital, a DAB multiplex operator jointly owned by Global Radio and Bauer Radio... , NOW Wolverhampton NOW Wolverhampton Now Wolverhampton is a Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplex available in the above area which has been broadcasting since January 2001. It carries a variety of stations some of which are local.- Transmitter Sites :... , NOW Coventry NOW Coventry NOW Coventry is a Digital Audio Broadcasting multiplex available in the above area which has been broadcasting since January 2001. It carries a variety of stations some of which are local.- Transmitter sites :...	Classic Hits	4 April 1989, 15 January 1989