The Breeze (radio network)

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The Breeze
The Breeze logo.jpg
Broadcast areaBristol, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Somerset, North Dorset, North Gloucestershire, South Devon, South West Surrey, West Berkshire and West Wiltshire, plus East Anglia
Frequency
All Frequencies
  • FM:

    Andover
    106.4 MHz

    Basingstoke & North Hampshire
    107.6 MHz

    Bath
    107.9 MHz

    Bridgwater & West Somerset
    100.8, 102.4 & 107.4 MHz

    Bristol
    107.2 MHz

    Cheltenham & Gloucester
    107.5 MHz

    East Hampshire & South West Surrey
    97.1, 101.6, 101.8 & 102.0 MHz

    Frome & West Wiltshire
    107.5 MHz

    Isle of Wight
    107.4 & 107.8 MHz

    Newbury
    105.6 & 107.4 MHz

    North Dorset
    96.6 & 97.4 MHz

    North Somerset
    107.7 MHz

    Portsmouth
    107.4 MHz

    Reading
    107.0 MHz

    South Devon
    105.5 MHz

    Southampton
    107.8 MHz

    Winchester
    107.2 MHz

    Yeovil & South Somerset
    105.6 & 106.6 MHz

Norwich
99.9 MHz Great Yarmouth & Lowestoft
103.4 & 97.4 MHz

Colchester 100.4 MHz
Programming
FormatAdult Contemporary
Ownership
OwnerBauer Radio (exc. Solent)
Nation Broadcasting (Solent)
History
First air date
1998–1999 (as individual stations)
4 July 2010 (stations in West becom The Breeze)
9 January 2017 (stations in the East of England join, programming becomes generic)
Links
Websitehttp://www.thebreeze.com

The Breeze was a network of Independent Local Radio stations broadcasting to Bristol, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Somerset, North Dorset, North Gloucestershire, South Devon, South West Surrey, West Berkshire and West Wiltshire, as well as in East Anglia as Radio Norwich, The Beach, North Norfolk Radio, Town 102 and Dream 100. The stations, owned & operated by Bauer Radio, broadcast a 'contemporary easy listening' format, playing classic and recent melodic popular music aimed principally at listeners over the age of 40.

The Breeze network operated on various FM frequencies and was also online at thebreeze.com.,[1] and other relevant links for the East Anglian stations. All frequencies branded The Breeze were previously separate stations centred on each of the broadcast areas, which had been acquired and combined into one network, carrying separate breakfast and drivetime programming for the south and the west of England, and a separate breakfast show hosted by Rob Chandler for East Anglia.

The network was closed on 1 September 2020 and replaced by Greatest Hits Radio.

History[]

The network launched when Play Radio (a combination of two stations in Hampshire) was acquired by Celador along with an additional station in Portsmouth and rebranded as The Breeze on 4 July 2010. The individual stations have all operated under various owners, formats and identities, with the stations having launched between 1998 and 1999 as a series of local stations focused on a specified broadcast area.

In 2011, Celador acquired two Total Star stations in Bristol & Bridgwater, and successfully applied for an FM licence serving the Bath area,[2] and relaunched all stations as The Breeze. All local programming is now identical across all licence areas.

The Breeze is currently based in Torbay, Southampton, Bristol and Basingstoke.

In February 2019, Bauer Radio acquired Celador Radio stations, including The Breeze. The licences for Southampton, Portsmouth and Winchester were sold on to Nation Broadcasting, along with Sam FM (South Coast) which also broadcasts from the Southampton studios, due to the overlap with existing Bauer-owned regional adult-contemporary service Wave 105. The other Breeze stations will remain with Bauer.

As of July 13, 2020, The Breeze network was replaced by the Greatest Hits Radio network. They are retaining their branding and share the same playlist as GHR until September 1 - which is when they will be fully replaced.

Stations[]

These stations comprised The Breeze network.

  • The Breeze (Basingstoke & North Hampshire) The station was launched on 16 December 2012 by the merging of three stations in Andover, Newbury and Basingstoke. In August 2017 107 JACK FM (Berkshire) in Reading was rebranded as 'The Breeze', and added to the Thames Valley feed.
  • The Breeze (Bridgwater & West Somerset) launched in 1998 as Quaywest 102.4. It later acquired a station called BCRfm before being taken over by One Gold Radio and relaunched as Total Star Somerset until August 2011.[3]
  • The Breeze (East Hampshire & South West Surrey) was originally three individual stations all launched in 1999 – SouthCity FM (Southampton), Win 107.2 (Winchester) and Radio Victory (Portsmouth). Following subsequent mergers and acquisitions the stations were acquired by Celador in 2010 and rebranded into one station.[4] Kestrel FM Haslemere joined the south network on 16 December 2012.
  • The Breeze (North Dorset) (as of 25 June 2012) started on 25 June 1995 as 97.4 Gold Radio before becoming Vale FM. It was rebranded as Midwest Radio in August 2010.
  • The Breeze (South Devon) started on 26 May 2006 as Palm 105.5, which had previously held three Restricted Service Licences for the Torbay area.
  • The Breeze (South West) was created on 29 March 2013 by the merging of four stations in Bristol, Bath, North Somerset, Frome & West Wiltshire
  • The Breeze (Yeovil & South Somerset) (as of 25 June 2012) started in October 2003 as Ivel FM and relaunched as Midwest Radio in August 2010.

These stations joined the network in January 2017, but did not rebrand. These stations are all in East Anglia.

References[]

  1. ^ "Media titles owned by Celador Radio". Media UK. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  2. ^ "The Breeze heads to Bristol". Radio Today. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  3. ^ RadioToday: The Breeze to replace Total Star Somerset
  4. ^ "Celador to Launch The Breeze 107". Radio Today. 21 June 2010. Archived from the original on 22 June 2010. Retrieved 21 June 2010.

External links[]

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