The Wave
Broadcast areaSwansea Bay
FrequencyFM: 96.4 MHz
DAB: 12A
RDSThe Wave
BrandingPart Of The Hits Radio Family
Across South West Wales
Programming
FormatContemporary hit radio
NetworkHits Radio
Ownership
OwnerBauer Media Audio UK
Greatest Hits Radio South Wales
History
First air date
30 September 1974 (49 years ago)
Former names
Swansea Sound (1974–1995)
96.4 Sound Wave (1995–1998)
Former frequencies
95.1 FM
1169 MW
1170 MW
Links
WebcastThe Wave Player
WebsiteThe Wave

The Wave is an Independent Local Radio station based in Swansea, Wales, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to the Swansea Bay area.[1][2]

As of September 2023, the station has a weekly audience of 90,000 listeners according to RAJAR.[3]

History

Early years

Initially broadcasting as 257 Swansea Sound on 1169 AM and 95.1 FM on 30 September 1974, the AM frequency was later adjusted to 1170 and FM changed to 96.4. The station split into two separate services on 30 September 1995, creating a new music-led station called 96.4 Sound Wave, while Swansea Sound continued to broadcast on 1170 AM.

The separate stations are based at studios in Gowerton, from where Swansea Sound began broadcasting. In 1998, the FM station changed its name to 96.4 The Wave.[4]

2000s

The Wave's former radio logo from 2003.

The Wave continued providing a local service to the Swansea Bay area. In 2002, The Radio Authority announced plans for a Swansea DAB multiplex to form, allowing The Wave to broadcast on a digital platform under the format of contemporary hit radio.[5]

2003 saw the station adding the South Wales' Hit Music tagline as their slogan[6] as well as a highly popular competition called A Week on Wheels, which returned the following year as a promotion.[7]

In January 2004, The Wave was officially launched on the new DAB multiplex.[8] The Wave came under management of UTV Radio in 2005, when the company acquired The Wireless Group, the owner of the station in the early 2000s.[9] The station also ran Party in the Park concerts in Singleton Park, Swansea for many years, but due to the financial cost, the event ended in 2006.[10]

Instead, The Wave began a partnership with Escape into the Park, a similar music event involving mostly contemporary dance music.[11] In 2008, The Wave began using the marketing brand You Love It, We Play It, which was processed by then-owners UTV Radio.[12] The following year, the station switched to the Today's Best Mix strapline.[13]

2010s

The Wave logo used from 2010 to 2014, and until 2016.

The Wave and Swansea Sound were involved in UTV Media's Wales Live scheme, an aborted attempt to provide a service designed to support local news through radio, television and online services. The project was set to launch by October 2010, but ultimately failed.[14]

The Wave received an updated logo design which was made into a car sticker, with the inclusion of "DAB and Online" displayed alongside "96.4 FM" on the bottom of the logo. The Wave, along with other local commercial radio stations within the UK, became a part of the Radioplayer UK project, an internet service formed by the BBC, Global Radio and the Guardian Media Group that supplies a listen live feed of UK radio stations across the world.[15][16] The Wave's owner, UTV, was renamed the Wireless Group in 2016.[17]

On 8 February 2019, The Wave was sold alongside Swansea Sound and the Wireless Group's network of local radio stations to Bauer Radio.[18]

2020s

In May 2020, Bauer announced that The Wave would join the Hits Radio network, while retaining its localised on-air branding.[19] The Wave began carrying most of the network's off-peak programming from Manchester from 15 June 2020.[20] The Wave officially joined the Hits Radio network on 20 July 2020.[21]

As of May 2022, The Wave broadcasts a local breakfast show on weekdays, alongside hourly local news bulletins seven days a week and traffic updates at peak times.[22]

In November 2023, the station ceased broadcasting from its Gowerton studios after over 49 years ahead of its move to a new broadcast centre elsewhere in the city.

Hits Radio rebrand

On 10 January 2024, station owners Bauer announced The Wave would be rebranded as Hits Radio South West Wales from April 2024, as part of a network-wide relaunch involving 15 local radio stations in England and Wales.[23][24]

The station's local programming will not be affected as a result of the relaunch.

Coverage area

The station's official Ofcom measured coverage area (MCA) covers the Swansea Bay area on 96.4 FM, with the signal coming off the transmitters on Kilvey Hill. The Wave also broadcasts on DAB, online and on the station app.[25]

Music policy

The Wave broadcasts a contemporary hit radio format[26] by syndicating Bauer's Hits Radio playlist.[27]

Ofcom describes the format of The Wave as "a music and information station – mainly chart and contemporary but may include older tracks".[28]

Programming

Networked programming originates from Bauer's Manchester studios.[20]

Local programming is produced and broadcast from Bauer's Swansea studios from 6am-10am on weekdays.[21]

News

Bauer's Swansea newsroom broadcasts local news bulletins hourly from 6am-7pm on weekdays and from 7am-1pm on weekends. Headlines are broadcast on the half-hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows.[29] The local bulletins also air on sister station Greatest Hits Radio South Wales.

The station also simulcasts hourly Sky News Radio bulletins at all other times.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Local Radio Licence: Coverage Brief and Specification (Swansea). Ofcom. 1994.
  2. ↑ Public File
  3. ↑ "RAJAR". www.rajar.co.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  4. ↑ "Details of 1998 Name Change" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  5. ↑ "2002 – The Wave on DAB". Ofcom.org.uk. 13 December 2002. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  6. ↑ [See Logo in 2000s section for proof]
  7. ↑ "Week on Wheels". 12 October 2003. Archived from the original on 14 December 2003. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  8. ↑ "DAB 2004". Radio-now.co.uk. 31 January 2004. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  9. ↑ UTV 2005 Takeover Archived 21 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ "PITP". Shop.rexfeatures.com. 19 June 2005. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  11. ↑ "Escape into the Park comes under Swansea Bay festival, therefore, the event is sponsored by The Wave 96.4". Swansea.gov.uk. 2 June 2006. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  12. ↑ "UTV Marketing/Format". Radiotoday.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 March 2012. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  13. ↑ "New Style 09". Digital Spy. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  14. ↑ "The Wave and Swansea Sound mentioned in UTV press release". U.tv. 9 December 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  15. ↑ "Radioplayer UK – About". Radioplayer.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  16. ↑ "Search 96.4 FM The Wave – Radioplayer UK". Radioplayer.co.uk. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  17. ↑ "UTV brings back the Wireless Group name". 29 February 2016.
  18. ↑ "Bauer buys Wireless Group's local radio stations". 8 February 2019.
  19. ↑ "Dozens of local radio stations to vanish across England". The Guardian. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  20. 1 2 Radio Today: Hits Radio networking starts on new Bauer stations
  21. 1 2 Bauer starts to roll out Hits and Greatest Hits to new radio stations Stuart Clarkson, Radio Today, 9 July 2020
  22. ↑ More Hits Radio network programming for five Bauer radio stations, Radio Today, 21 April 2022
  23. ↑ "Fifteen local stations get set for Hits Radio rebrand". Bauer. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  24. ↑ "Bauer to rebrand heritage FM stations in England and Wales to Hits Radio". RadioToday. 10 January 2024. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  25. ↑ "Analogue Broadcast Radio Measured Coverage Area (MCA) Maps" (PDF). Ofcom. 28 September 2004.
  26. ↑ "CHR Format". Nyradioguide.com. Archived from the original on 27 March 2006. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  27. ↑ Hits Radio Networking Starts on New Bauer Stations: Radio Today
  28. ↑ "The Wave 96.4 OFCOM (see "View Station Format")". Ofcom.org.uk. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  29. ↑ The Wave public file
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