Timeline of Bauer Radio

A timeline of notable events relating to Bauer Radio, a British media company founded in 2007.

2000s

• 2008
  • 29 January – Bauer completes its purchase of Emap's radio, television and consumer media businesses, purchasing the assets for £1.14bn.[1]

• 2009
  • No events.

2010s

• 2010
  • No events.

• 2011
  • No events.

• 2012
  • No events.

• 2013
  • 6 February – Bauer Media buys the digital station Planet Rock for a sum estimated to be between £1m and £2m.[2]
  • 15 April – Bauer increases networking on its Yorkshire Magic stations with a networked breakfast show coming from Magic 828 in Leeds.[3]
  • 1 July – Bauer's Scottish MW stations start to receive a networked breakfast show form Glasgow presented by Robin Galloway. Consequently, there is now no local programming on any of these stations.[4]
  • 29 July – Bauer Media Group announces that it intends to purchase Absolute Radio from current owner, The Times Group for an amount believed to be between £20m-£25m, pending regulatory approval of the sale.[5]

• 2014
  • No events.

• 2015
  • 5 January –
    • Magic London launches nationally on Digital One, while the Magic AM network stations in the north of England are rebranded as Bauer City 2.
    • Absolute Radio changes from broadcasting in stereo to mono to make way for Magic on DAB.[6]
  • 31 March – Ofcom launches an investigation into Bauer Media and Absolute Radio for an alleged breach of its regulations, but no details of the incident are to be released until the investigation is complete.[7]
  • 7 December – Following permission from the regulator, Bauer swaps Radio City 2's format and frequencies with that of Radio City Talk. This gives City Network 2 its first berth on FM in England.[8][9]

• 2016
  • 15 March – Mellow Magic begins broadcasting on the Sound Digital multiplex and is joined by another Magic spin-off, Magic Chilled on the 28th.
  • 6 May – Orion Media announces that they have been bought by Bauer for an undisclosed fee, reportedly between £40 and £50 million.[10][11] This gives Bauer the West Midlands network of Free Radio stations and East Midlands regional station Gem 106.

• 2017
  • 3 January – Bauer Radio's Cash for Kids appeal raises £15.5 million for charity.[12]

• 2018
  • 3 April – Aberdeen station Northsound 2 stops broadcasting on MW. The station continues to broadcast on DAB and online. It becomes the first commercial radio station in Scotland – and the first of Bauer's local stations – to cease analogue broadcasting.[13]
  • 18 April – Bauer Radio announces that, on 4 June, its Manchester station Key 103 will be rebranded and relaunched as Hits Radio, a CHR-led music station aimed at 25–44 year olds.[14] The station will be merged with The Hits to provide a single national service across the UK on DAB, Freeview and online.[15] In Manchester, Hits Radio will continue to provide local news and information, traffic bulletins and advertising.[16] Hits Radio will also produce and broadcast off-peak programming for Bauer's network of CHR local stations which will continue to air local programming at peak times.
  • 25 May – Ahead of the launch of Hits Radio on 4 June, the name Key 103 disappears from the Manchester airwaves.
  • 4 June – Following the renaming of Key 103 to Hits Radio, Key 2 is renamed Key Radio.
  • 16 August – Bauer Radio purchases Jazz FM.[17]

• 2019
  • 7 January –
    • Greatest Hits Radio replaces the Bauer City 2 branding. Individual station identities in Northern England are dropped and are rebranded to GHR with Scotland unaffected. The new network extends to the West Midlands although GHR West Midlands continued to air a weekday three-hour local show.[18] [19]
    • Free Radio 80s closes and is replaced on MW by Absolute Classic Rock or GHR West Midlands.
  • 5 February – it is announced that Bauer has acquired over thirty further stations to its network by way of the purchase of Lincs FM Group and Celador Radio. Several of the purchased stations, including KCFM in East Yorkshire, are sold on to Nation Broadcasting due to overlap with existing Bauer assets (in KCFM's case, Viking FM.)[20]
  • 8 February – The Wireless Group sells its network of local radio stations in England and Wales to Bauer Media.[21]
  • 4 March – Launch of classical music station Scala Radio.[22]
  • 5 March – Bauer purchases the ten FM stations owned by UKRD. The deal also includes the purchase of three local DAB multiplexes.[23]
  • 5 April – Bauer launches Country Hits Radio and is broadcast on a number of local DAB multiplexes.
  • 2 September – Bauer begins to network its Hits Radio Manchester weekday Drivetime show on all but one of its Hits Radio stations in England, leaving only the weekday breakfast show as a local show[24] following the removal in July of the one remaining local weekend programme.[25]
  • 18 November – Absolute Radio launches its sixth decades-only station, Absolute Radio 10s which, unlike its sister stations, operates exclusively online.[26]
  • 21 November – Bauer launches Magic at the Musicals on DAB+ in and around London. Presenters include Ruthie Henshall and Jonathan Bailey.[27]

2020s

• 2020
  • 24 February – Absolute Radio 20s launches as an online station..
  • 14 April – Bauer Radio takes full control of Celador Radio, Lincs FM Group, Wireless Group local stations and UKRD Group.
  • 1 May – Bauer Radio takes 100% share in First Radio Sales.
  • 27 May – Bauer announces that the majority of the stations it acquired from UKRD, Lincs, Wireless and Celador will be joining the Greatest Hits Radio network from September, clustered to provide regional programming outside of network hours. Four of the acquired stations will join the Hits Radio network, retaining local names and a daily breakfast show, and three stations – Lincs FM, Pirate FM and SAM FM Bristol – will continue as largely standalone stations.[28]
  • 31 May – Liverpool speech station Radio City Talk is to close.[29]
  • 30 June – Bauer switches off the MW transmitters which had been carrying Absolute Classic Rock since the start of 2019. Consequently, Bauer is no longer broadcasting on MW in the West Midlands.

See also

• Timeline of Global Radio

References

1. "Emap sells magazines and radio divisions to Bauer for £1.14bn". Campaign Live. 7 December 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
2. Plunkett, John (6 February 2013). "Planet Rock bought by Bauer Media". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 9 February 2013.
3. "Bauer networks three more Magic stations".
4. Galloway goes national at Bauer Scotland, Radio Today, 3 June 2013
5. O'Carroll, Lisa (29 July 2013). "Bauer Media buys Absolute Radio". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
6. Martin, Roy (5 January 2015). "Bauer puts Magic on D1, puts Absolute in mono". Radio Today. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
7. Martin, Roy (30 March 2015). "Ofcom launches Absolute Radio investigation". Radio Today. Retrieved 31 March 2015.
8. Radio City wants to swap AM & FM services, RadioToday, 21 July 2015
9. Date set for Radio City 2 and 3 frequency swap, RadioToday, 16 November 2015
10. Bauer buys radio group Orion Media, The Guardian, 6 May 2016
11. Orion Media sold to Bauer for £50m, The Telegraph, 6 May 2016
12. "£15.5m raised for children in poverty by Bauer". Radio Today. 3 January 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
13. Northsound 2 to switch off AM radio service, Radio Today, 8 March 2018
14. Bauer to launch new national radio station Archived 2018-04-19 at the Wayback Machine, Bauer Media, 18 April 2018
15. Key 103 to become Hits Radio as part of major rebrand Archived 2018-04-19 at the Wayback Machine, Prolific North, 18 April 2018
16. Key 103 to rebrand as Hits Radio and go national Archived 2018-04-19 at the Wayback Machine, Radio Today, 19 April 2018
17. Martin, Roy (16 August 2018). "Bauer Media Group agrees to acquire Jazz FM". Radio Today. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
18. Bauer Media to launch Greatest Hits Radio network Radio Today, 15 November 2018
19. BAUER MEDIA TO LAUNCH THE GREATEST HITS RADIO NETWORK Bauer Media, 15 November 2018
20. "Bauer Media continues to grow with two acquisitions".
21. "Bauer buys Wireless Group's local radio stations". Retrieved 8 February 2019.
22. "Simon Mayo to launch classical station Scala Radio after leaving Radio 2". BBC News. BBC. 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
23. "BAUER MEDIA UK TO ACQUIRE UKRD GROUP". Bauer Media.
24. "Bauer to network drivetime across 11 licences in North and Midlands".
25. Hits Radio Network stations drop local weekend programmes, Radio Today, 30 May 2019
26. Martin, Roy (18 November 2019). "Bauer to launch Absolute Radio 10s online". Radio Today. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
27. "Bauer to launch Magic at the Musicals on DAB+".
28. RadioToday.co.uk, 2020-05-27
29. "Bauer announces plans to close Radio City Talk in Liverpool". Radio Today. 2020-05-07. Retrieved 2020-05-11.