| Broadcast area | Southampton, Winchester, Portsmouth, Bristol, Bath, Bridgwater, West Somerset, Warminster, Westbury, Frome, Trowbridge. |
|---|---|
| Slogan | The Smoothest Sounds in The South and South West |
| Frequency | 100.8 MHz, 102.4 MHz (West Somerset) 107.2 MHz (Winchester), (Bristol) 107.4 MHz (Portsmouth), (West Somerset) 107.5 MHz (Warminster) 107.8 MHz (Southampton) 107.9 MHz (Bath) DAB (Bath, Bristol and Hampshire). |
| First air date | 1998-1999 (as individual stations) 4 July 2010 (current format) |
| Format | Hot AC |
| Audience share | 4.3% (June 2011, [1]) |
| Owner | Celador |
| Website | http://www.thebreeze.com |
The Breeze is a network of independent local radio stations broadcasting to Bristol, Bath, Bridgwater, West Somerset, Frome, West Wiltshire and the Southampton, Portsmouth and Winchester areas of Hampshire, England. The station has a 'contemporary easy listening' format, playing classic and recent melodic popular music aimed principally at listeners over 40.
The stations are operated by media firm Celador and operates on nine FM frequencies and two DAB frequencies.[1] All frequencies broadcasting The Breeze were previously separate stations centred on each of the broadcast areas, which have been acquired and combined into one network.
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 and Bridgwater, and successfully applied for the licence to one in Bath[2], and relaunched all stations as The Breeze. All programming is now identical across all licence areas.
The Breeze is currently based in Southampton and Bristol, sharing facilities with the Celador owned Jack FM franchises.
The Breeze originally launched as a number of stations in the South Coast and West of England.