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. Richard Park is Group Executive Director and Director of Broadcasting.

History[link]

According to media reports ^[1] Global Radio was funded 75% by a consortium including John Magnier, JP McManus, Michael Tabor and Dermot Desmond. Debt from HBoS and Bank of Ireland comprised the remaining 25% of the 375 million pounds used to form the group.

In the 2007 purchase of Chrysalis, Global took control of Heart, Galaxy, LBC and The Arrow.

Global Radio officially took control of all GCap Media brands at 23:59 on 31 October 2008. The GCap Media name was dropped at this time. The GCap purchase gave Global the network of FM stations which GCap had operated as The One Network (many of which are now part of the Heart Network or the Capital FM Network), plus Classic FM (UK), Xfm, Choice FM, Gold and Chill.

Following the acquisition of GCap Media Global were required to sell off a number of stations in the Midlands. The stations were bought by Orion Media, headed by Phil Riley, former owner of Chrysalis.

Heritage local radio stations in areas which were not already served by Heart FM were gradually rebranded and incorporated into a larger Heart Network that covers most of southern England and parts of North Wales. The remaining stations briefly formed The Hit Music Network before being merged with Galaxy Radio and 95.8 Capital FM London into the Capital FM Network.

Criticism of Global Radio[link]

In February 2009 Global Radio and LBC were the subject of criticism by technical and scientific bloggers following their threat of legal action against medical journalist Ben Goldacre for mounting part of an LBC 97.3 broadcast by Jeni Barnett on his website.^[2] The move was interpreted as an attempt to suppress criticism and debate rather than enforcement of copyright.

The broadcast has been characterised as irresponsible by David Aaronovitch in The Times, and LBC and Barnett were specifically identified in a critical Early Day Motion by Norman Lamb MP.

Capital[link]

A group of stations playing rhythmic (dance and urban) music. On 3 January 2011, Capital London, The Hit Music Network and The Galaxy Network became part of the nine-station Capital radio network. Known as “95 – 106 Capital, The UK’s No.1 Hit Music Station” all stations ID locally as [freq] Capital. Local news hours will be extended and local advertising will remain locally sold, all programming with the exception of breakfast and drive originates from Leicester Square, London.

• 95.8 Capital Also on DAB/Freeview/Satellite/cable
• 96-105 Capital - merged Trent FM, Ram FM and Leicester Sound
• 97.4 & 103.2 Capital - previously Red Dragon FM
• 102 Capital - previously Galaxy Manchester
• 102.2 Capital - previously Galaxy Birmingham
• 103.2 Capital - previously Galaxy South Coast and 103.2 Power FM before that.
• 105 Capital - previously Galaxy Yorkshire
• 105-106 Capital - previously Galaxy North East
• 105-106 Capital - previously Galaxy Scotland and Xfm Scotland before that.

Choice FM[link]

An all-urban station based in London. Until Summer 2010 it was part of the Galaxy network for marketing purposes only, but retained its own separate branding and programming. It now sits as its own brand within Global Radio's lineup

Classic FM[link]

Classical music station broadcast nationally on FM and DAB; also available on Freesat, Sky Digital and Virgin Media.

Gold[link]

A network of 'golden oldies' stations, there are three different variants of the station; England & Scotland, Wales and West Midlands. Many of these were the AM sister stations to heritage CHR stations which are now Heart or Capital stations; though Gold Manchester was originally a standalone station Fortune 1458 and Lite AM before becoming part of the Big-AM and later Capital Gold networks. On DAB, Gold is available in some areas which do not have Gold on AM; in these areas Gold UK is carried, though it may carry local branding on the label.

Gold England & Scotland

• Gold London (AM & DAB) - also nationally on Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.
• Gold Bournemouth (AM & DAB)
• Gold Bristol & Bath (AM & DAB)
• Gold Cambridge (DAB)
• Gold Central Scotland (DAB)
• Gold Derby (AM)
• Gold Essex (AM & DAB)
• Gold Gloucester & Cheltenham (AM)
• Gold Kent (AM & DAB)
• Gold Luton & Bedford (AM)
• Gold Manchester (AM & DAB)
• Gold Norfolk & North Suffolk (AM & DAB)
• Gold Northamptonshire (AM)
• Gold Nottingham (AM & DAB)
• Gold Peterborough (AM & DAB)
• Gold Plymouth (AM & DAB)
• Gold Reading (AM & DAB)
• Gold Reigate & Crawley (AM)
• Gold South Hampshire (AM & DAB)
• Gold Suffolk (AM)
• Gold Sussex (AM & DAB)

Gold Wales

• Gold Cardiff & Newport (AM & DAB)
• Gold Wrexham & Chester (AM)

Gold West Midlands

These stations are owned by Orion Media and operate under a brand licence from Global, Orion uses its Gold frequencies for sports programme "The Sportsbar" on Monday evenings between 18:00 and 19:00, a Friday evening football phone-in hosted by Tom Ross and Tony Butler and for local football commentaries on Weekend afternoons and Weekday evenings.

• Gold Birmingham (AM & DAB)
• Gold Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury and Telford (AM & DAB)
• Gold Coventry and Warwickshire (AM & DAB)

Heart[link]

Heart is a network of adult-contemporary pop stations across southern England and north Wales. The network began with a regional station in the West Midlands and subsequently a station in London. Heart 106 in the East Midlands was sold to Orion Media and run as a franchise retaining it's current name until the start of 2011 where it was rebranded to Gem 106. In 2009 many of the heritage CHR stations which had formed part of the One Network were renamed Heart, as were Ocean and South Hams Radio (which were not part of the One Network). Heart Hertfordshire is owned by Adventure Radio and uses the Heart name and format under licence from Global; also Heart South Devon is partly owned by UKRD Group, all other Heart stations are wholly Global-owned. Heart is also available on DAB in some areas where there is not a local Heart station receiving Heart Digital, which is a relay of Heart London.

• Heart London - DAB in selected areas, nationally on Sky and Virgin Media; Freeview
• Heart West Midlands
• Heart South Coast
• Heart North West and Wales
• Heart Home Counties
• Heart Sussex and Surrey
• Heart Thames Valley
• Heart West Country
• Heart Hertfordshire - Owned by Adventure Radio operating under a brand licence.
• Heart Cambridgeshire
• Heart Gloucestershire
• Heart Wiltshire
• Heart Cymru
• Heart Essex
• Heart Kent
• Heart East Anglia
• Heart Devon

LBC Radio[link]

LBC is a London orientated speech-based station featuring news, opinion and information. Its sister station LBC News offers rolling news during daytime, but now simulcasts LBC's FM content overnight. It's presenters on the FM station include Nick Ferrari, Steve Allen, Iain Dale, James Whale & James O'Brien.

• LBC 97.3 - FM/DAB in London, DAB selected other areas, nationally on Sky and Virgin Media, and via a live stream on the LBC website.
• LBC News 1152 - AM/DAB in London only and via a live stream on the LBC website. It is also available nationally on Sky channel 0124.

Xfm[link]

Xfm broadcasts alternative rock and independent music. It began officially in 1997 as an independent London station, it was purchased by Capital Radio Group (now Global). The Xfm brand was extended in 2006-7 with the launch of stations in Scotland, Manchester and South Wales. The Scotland station was rebranded to Galaxy Scotland which is now Capital Scotland and The South Wales station was sold to Town & Country Broadcasting becoming Nation Radio.

• Xfm London - London FM, various areas DAB, nationally on Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.
• Xfm Manchester - Manchester FM, various DAB multiplexes in north of England

Digital-only stations[link]

Global currently operates two stations exclusively broadcast to digital listeners:

• Chill - mellow music; DAB in London and Birmingham; nationally on Sky and Virgin Media.
• The Arrow - classic rock music; DAB in London only.

Former Stations[link]

Several DAB-only stations previously operated by Global or its predecessors have now been sold off or closed down, including Capital Life, Core, The Storm, Capital Disney, Heart Digital, theJazz. There was also a digital station called The Mix, which aired content from GWR's Mix Network to DAB and digital TV listeners, but this was withdrawn following the GWR-Capital merger.

Planet Rock was sold to Rock Show consortium led by Malcolm Bluemel.

The 106 East Midlands radio licence is owned by Orion Media and it operated under a brand licence as Heart East Midlands until January 2011 when it was renamed Gem 106.^[3]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Global Radio

v t e Media in the United Kingdom   Newspapers, magazines and other periodicals Newspapers National Berliner: The Guardian · The Observer · Broadsheet: Financial Times · The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph · The Sunday Times · Compact: i · The Independent, The Independent on Sunday · The Times · Middle-market: Daily Express, Sunday Express · Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday · Tabloid: Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror · Morning Star · The People · Daily Star, Daily Star Sunday · The Sun · Sunday Sport Regional and local Local newspapers in England · Regional newspapers in England · Newspapers in Northern Ireland · Newspapers in Scotland · Newspapers in Wales Other resources Defunct newspapers · Editors · Fleet Street · History · Journalists · Specialist newspapers · List by circulation Magazines and other periodicals Arts magazines · Business magazines · Comics · Defunct magazines · Fashion magazines · Literary magazines · Political magazines · Satirical magazines · Science and technology magazines · Women's magazines · List of magazines by circulation   Radio National stations BBC Analogue/digital: Radio 1 · Radio 2 · Radio 3 · Radio 4 · Radio 5 Live · Digital: Radio 1Xtra · Radio 4 Extra · Radio 5 Live Sports Extra · 6 Music · Asian Network · BBC National DAB (multiplex) Commercial Analogue/digital: Absolute Radio · Classic FM · Talksport · Digital: Absolute 80s · Absolute Radio 90s · Absolute Radio Extra · Amazing Radio · BFBS Radio · Digital One (multiplex) · Jazz FM · Planet Rock · Premier Christian Radio · Smooth Radio UK · UCB UK Regional and local stations BBC List of BBC Local Radio stations · List of BBC Regional Radio stations Commercial List of community radio stations · List of local commercial radio stations · List of semi-national analogue and digital stations Other stations List of hospital radio stations · Pirate radio · Restricted Service Licence (List of RSL stations) · List of satellite radio stations · List of student and schools radio Other Broadcasting companies · Broadcasting House · FM broadcasting · MediaCityUK · People · Programmes · Radio Academy · Radio Independents Group · RAJAR · Sony Radio Academy Awards · Most-listened-to programs   Television Principal channels BBC Analogue/digital: BBC One · BBC Two · Digital: BBC Three · BBC Four · BBC News · BBC Parliament · CBBC · CBeebies · BBC Alba · HD: BBC HD BSkyB Digital: Challenge · Pick TV · Sky1 · Sky2 · Sky 3D · Sky Arts · Sky Atlantic · Sky Betting and Gaming · Sky Living · Sky Livingit · Sky Movies · Sky Movies Box Office · Sky News · Sky Sports · Sky Sports F1 · Sky Sports News Channel Four Analogue/digital: Channel 4 · Digital: E4 · Film4 · More4 · 4seven · S4C Channel 5 Analogue/digital: Channel 5 · Digital: 5* · 5USA ITV Network Analogue/digital: ITV · Digital: ITV2 · ITV3 · ITV4 · CITV UKTV Digital: Alibi · Blighty · Dave · Eden · Gold · Good Food · Home · Really · Watch · Yesterday Services and platforms 4oD (Film4oD) · Analogue (Analogue terrestrial) · BBC iPlayer · blinkbox · BT Vision · Cable · Demand 5 · Digital (Digital terrestrial · List of channels) · Freesat (Freesat+ · List of channels) · Freeview (Freeview+) · Freewire (List of channels) · High-definition (List of channels) · ITV (ITV Player · STV Player) · Real Digital · Restricted Service Licence · Satellite (List of channels) · Sky (Freesat from Sky · Sky Anytime · Sky Anytime+ · Sky+ · Sky+ HD · List of channels) · Smallworld Cable (List of channels) · TalkTalk TV (List of channels) · Top Up TV · TVCatchup (List of channels) · Virgin Media (FilmFlex · TiVo · V+ · List of channels) · WightCable · YouView · Zattoo (List of channels) Studios BBC Pacific Quay · BBC Television Centre · Broadcasting House · Broadcasting House (Cardiff) · The Fountain Studios · The Leeds Studios · MediaCityUK · Granada Studios · Roath Lock · Teddington Studios Other Awards · Defunct channels · Edinburgh International Television Festival · History (List of years) · List of channels · Production companies · Programmes · Student television · Viewing statistics (Most-watched broadcasts)   Companies and organisations Companies Major companies Aegis Group · Archant · BBC · Bloomsbury Publishing · British Sky Broadcasting · BT Group · Channel Four · Chrysalis Group · Daily Mail and General Trust · Economist Group · EMAP · EMI Group · Endemol UK · Global Radio · Guardian Media Group · Haymarket Group · Informa · IPC Media · ITN · ITV · Johnston Press · Mecom Group · News International · Newsquest · Northern & Shell · Pearson · Press Holdings · Reed Elsevier · Reuters · STV Group · Syco · TalkTalk Group · Trinity Mirror · UBM · UTV Media · Virgin Media Other resources Broadcasting companies · Defunct media companies · Publishing companies (List of largest UK book publishers) · Record labels Government and regulatory bodies Advertising Standards Authority · BBC Trust · British Board of Film Classification · British Film Institute · Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee · Department for Culture, Media and Sport · Ofcom · Press Complaints Commission · UK Film Council · Welsh Fourth Channel Authority Industry and trades bodies British Academy of Film and Television Arts · British Phonographic Industry · Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union · Clearcast · Digital TV Group · Digital UK · Equity · Federation Against Copyright Theft · National Union of Journalists · The Publishers Association · Royal Television Society · United Kingdom Independent Broadcasting Other BBC Academy · National Film and Television School · National Media Museum   Regional and student media Regional media Media in England (Media in Birmingham · Media in London · Media in Manchester) · Media in Northern Ireland · Media in Scotland (Media in Aberdeen · Media in Dundee · Media in Glasgow) · Media in Wales (Media in Cardiff) Student media Student television Category ·  Commons