107.2 Wire FM

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Wire FM
Broadcast area	Warrington, Widnes & Runcorn
First air date	September 1, 1998
Frequency	107.2 MHz
Format	Contemporary
Owner	UTV Radio
Website	www.wirefm.com

Wire FM is an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting in the UK on 107.2 FM. It claims to provide the best variety of hits for Warrington, Widnes and Runcorn (the latter two towns belong to the area known as Halton), with strong commitment to local news and information. It was started by the Independent Radio Group but was bought by The Wireless Group in 1999. The Wireless Group was then taken over in 2005 by Ulster Television which formed UTV Radio (GB). Its sports coverage is heavily influenced by local rugby league teams Warrington Wolves and Widnes Vikings. The transmitter is at High Warren reservoir, near the A49 and Warrington Golf Club south of Warrington.

History

The roots of Wire FM lie in 1990 when two presenters at Warrington's Hospital Radio Station, Stephen Cooper and Philip Houltby, decided to run an RSL station for Warrington. Stephen had had previous experience of this having been involved with a Special Event Station Waves AM in Peterhead. The station was duly organised and took to the air as Warrington Festival of Music Radio (WFMR) for two weeks in May 1991. The station broadcast from a borrowed Portacabin located behind the Warrington Town Hall Gates on 1602Khz AM.

The station was successful in both audience response and commercial respects, and further broadcasts were made in the spring of 1992 and 1993. Stephen Armstrong-Smith and David Duffy joined the management team for these broadcasts, and a 14' touring caravan was converted into a mobile studio.

During 1994, the attraction of the caravan had waned. Also, funding for the Warrington Festival of Music had decreased with its main supporter, the Warrington & Runcorn Development Corporation, having reached the end of its life. The decision was made to move 'indoors', sever the link with the Festival, and move to FM. This had significant risks as costs for FM licences were higher, and new transmitters and studio equipment had to be bought. However, the broadcast went ahead during June 1994 from a 'Community House' on Nora street in the Howley Area of Warrington, borrowed from Warrington Borough Council.

The move to FM saw a step change in the popularity of the station with the audience and advertisers. It was decided to repeat the broadcast during November 1994, and the decision was made to change the station name from WFMR to Wire FM, to reflect Warrington's wire manufacturing heritage. At the beginning of 1995, Cheshire was added to the Radio Authority's list of locations where 'Sally' (Small Scale Alternative Location Licences) were to be advertised. This brought new impetuous and further RSLs were run in June and November 1995. Throughout this period, programming followed an unashamedly commercial format but with regular community features and with local news supplied by the Warrington Guardian.

During 1995, with the licence application pending, the Wire FM management team had initially formed an alliance with Marcher Group to bid for Warrington. However, Marcher were dropped in favour of the Independent radio Group PLC following their formation and subsequent successful bid for Wigan and St. Helens as Wish FM. By this point Stephen Cooper has left the team, and Stephen Armstrong-Smith had joined IRG as their Regional Engineer.

During 1996, Cheshire was advertised as the location for two potential radio stations. The remaining members of Wire FM's management team, Philip Houltby and David Duffy, assembled the bid in conjunction with IRG's licence bid team consisting of New Zealanders Kris Burford and Ande McPherson. Competition for the licence was expected to be strong and significant resources were allocated to the bid resulting in 250+ letters of support being received and comprehensive research being undertaken and analysed by the most respected research organisations.

Following review of the coverage pattern predicted for the High Warren Reservoir transmitter site, the strategic decision was made to include the borough of Halton (Widnes and Runcorn) in the intended coverage area. To strengthen the bid in Halton, John Grindley (known on air as Phil Johnson) was invited to join the bid and bring his experience of the Halton FM RSL's to the team. There was much discussion on Widnes and Runcorn's acceptance of the mame 'Wire', however the Radio Authority later indicated this was a key factor in awarding the licence. Application documents were submitted during May 1997 and the Radio Authority awarded the licence to Wire FM during November 1997.

Competing applications were :

Warrington - Warrington FM (Local Consortium with David Rodgers of Orchard FM) Warrington - Radio Warrington (Warrington Colligiate Institute lead bid backed by The Wireless Group) Halton - Fun FM (backed by The Bay)

Following the licence award, problems with securing an antenna site caused a six month delay in getting on-air. The original space secured on the High Warren tower operated by Mercury Communication has been given to another user. By massive good fortune, Orange were in the process of securing planning permission for a new, higher tower on closeby land owned by Warrington Golf Course. A deal was struck and Orange were able to offer the station the prime antenna location at the top of the tower.