102.2 Smooth FM

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102.2 Smooth FM

Broadcast area	Greater London (FM), Nationwide (Freeview)
Slogan	Go With The Flow London's Smooth Favourites
First air date	7 June 2005
Frequency	102.2 MHz
Format	Adult Contemporary
Owner	GMG Radio
Website	london.smoothfm.com

102.2 Smooth FM is an Independent Local Radio station for Greater London. It replaced 102.2 Jazz FM on the 7th of June 2005 at 10am, with the help of R&B singer Lemar and the then breakfast show host Jon Scragg. The first track played, keeping with the name of the newly launched radio station was Sade Adu's Smooth Operator.

102.2 Smooth FM is owned by the radio division of the Guardian Media Group, GMG Radio.

102.2 Smooth FM also broadcasts on DAB across London, Central Scotland, the North East of England, South Wales and the Severn Estuary, Yorkshire and the West Midlands, as well as on Freeview channel 88. 102.2 Smooth FM is also available as a free low bitrate or paid-for subscription high bitrate Internet stream. Although from the 1st of April 2006, due to new licensing regulations from the PPL which required radio stations to pay higher royalties to broadcast Internet streams worldwide, only the paid-for subscription stream is available to listeners whose IP address does not originate in the United Kingdom, whereas both streams are available to listeners whose IP address does.

Contents 1 Origins 2 Playlist 3 Presenters 4 Specialist Shows Broadcast on 102.2 Smooth FM 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Origins

Main article: 102.2 Jazz FM#Criticism and Rebranding

In 2005, the Guardian Media Group made the decision to drop the jazz name from the Jazz FM brand and relaunch the station as Smooth FM. The London version of Jazz FM closed on the 27th of May 2005 to prepare for the launch of Smooth FM on the 7th of June.

[edit] Playlist

Smooth FM generally plays middle of the road music, soul and R&B during the day and, as part of its licence requirements, focuses on jazz music at night. Smooth FM also plays specialist jazz and soul shows at weekends.

On October 20, 2006, GMG Radio announced that it was requesting a change of format for Smooth FM from Ofcom, moving the station away from its daytime soul and R&B remit, instead offering easy listening music and speech for the over 50's and an improved local news service. Ofcom approved the changes on December 8th, 2006, with the condition that GMG retained the 45 hours of jazz per week that constituted part of the former licence requirement. ^{[1] [2]}

[edit] Presenters

Its presenters include:

• Dave Brown
• Campbell Burnap
• Mike Chadwick
• Jim Colvin
• Kevin Greening
• Rosie Kendrick
• Dave Koz
• Ramsey Lewis
• Howard Pearce
• David Prever
• Russell Pockett
• Mark Walker
• Nigel Williams
• Paul Wisdom
• Peter Young

[edit] Specialist Shows Broadcast on 102.2 Smooth FM

• Dave Brown with Motown Sunday: Four hours of Motown classics.
• Legends of Jazz with Ramsey Lewis: A show which features classic jazz recordings from major and influential jazz artists.
• Mainstem with Campbell Burnap: A two hour programme which includes many forms of jazz from classic to Latin as well as a mix of jazz from the younger players of the day.
• Peter Young: Three hours of funk, soul and jazz music.
• Mark Walker's Smooth Selection: A selection of mellow jazz through the evening.
• Smooth Edge: Four hours of soul music on in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday morning.
• The Dave Koz Radio Show: The jazz saxophonist presents a two hour syndicated radio show on Sunday nights featuring the latest tracks in the world of smooth jazz, alongside interviews with well known smooth jazz artists.
• The Late Lounge with Rosie Kendrick: A two hour show featuring chillout grooves and jazz.
• The Saturday Night Experience: Broadcast Saturdays at 9pm and presented by Mike Chadwick, the show specialises in music with a distinct cutting edge.

[edit] See also

• 102.2 Jazz FM

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Press Release about the rebrand
• GMG Radio article about the launch of 102.2 Smooth FM