Wave 105

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**Wave 105**

Broadcast area	Solent
Slogan	The South's Best Variety of Hits
First air date	June 14, 1998
Frequency	105.2 MHz and 105.8 MHz FM
Format	Adult Contemporary
Owner	EMAP
Website	www.wave105.com

Wave 105 is a UK local commercial radio station broadcasting across the Solent region, incorporating Hampshire, Dorset, Isle of Wight and part of West Sussex. Playing a mix of soft rock and adult contemporary music, it combines presenter-lead shows with local news, information and entertainment guides.

Based in studio buildings at Segensworth East, on the outskirts of Fareham, the station broadcasts on 105.2 MHz (Hampshire & Isle of Wight) and 105.8 MHz (Dorset) FM, as well as on DAB digital radio and online. Wave began broadcasting on 14 June 1998, instantly competing with local rival stations Ocean FM, Power FM, The Saint (then SouthCity FM) and BBC Radio Solent. Sporting a potential audience reach of 1,799,000 people, Wave has an 8.5% market share with 362,000 regular listeners [1], beating Power FM (6.0%), Ocean FM (4.7%) and The Saint (3.0%). However, long-term local loyalty to BBC Radio Solent means this exceeds Wave's listener figures with an 11% audience share. In October 2006 another radio station started in this area - Original 106, which claims more variety of songs played each day. However, initial views have expressed disappointment with the quality of the DJ's. Wave 105 has the slogan 'the south's best variety of hits', however some people have expressed views that the station plays too many songs by the same artists - Simply Red and Queen being the main artists that have several songs played each day. The drivetime DJ 'Andy Jackson' has also been criticised for having a voice like a 'cartoon character' and pretending to be less intelligent than he actually is. News is provided by Wave's local news team in conjunction with Independent Radio News.

[edit] Ownership

Now owned by media company EMAP, Wave was initially created by Scottish Radio Holdings (SRH) who were acquired by EMAP [2] during a period of radio industry takeovers in 2005.

The station is run by current Managing Director Martin Ball, with Dave Shearer as Programme Manager & Controller.

[edit] Awards

In 2004, the station won the NTL Commercial Radio Station of the Year award [3], in the category for stations with a potential audience of over one million listeners.