UTV Radio is a UK media company, and owner of several radio stations in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It is a growing branch of UTV Media. The Wireless Group had its British origins in the company Talk Radio, named after the national AM station around which it was formed, which was later purchased by TalkCo, a consortium whose members included MVI, News International, Radio Investments and LMC Radio headed by chief executive Kelvin MacKenzie, the former editor of The Sun newspaper. It bought the Wireless Group in 1998 for £15.5m.
The company became the fifth largest UK radio group when it purchased The Radio Partnership in 1999, gaining control of its nine local commercial stations. In 2000 the station Talk Radio was relaunched as talkSPORT.
In May 2005, it was announced that the Northern Ireland media company UTV plc (now UTV Media) had made an agreed offer to buy the company, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval. In June 2005 the takeover proceeded, with McKenzie being replaced by UTV executive Scott Taunton. On 12 September 2005 it was announced that the company is to be rebranded as UTV Radio. This brand was to bring together UTV's new acquisitions along with its existing stations in Ireland. The acquisition of Juice FM in Liverpool was announced on the same date.
UTV Radio mainly own radio stations that broadcast in highly populated city areas, throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland.
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UTV Radio have four bands of stations. One group contains the format of Hot AC, the other Classic Hits, the other group, Contemporary hit radio and lastly the Soft AC format which holds only one station. The contemporary stations all have sister stations in the classic hits and soft AC band, with a DAB multiplex holding these stations along with the contemporary group.
Today's Best Mix is the slogan that UTV Radio run across all of their FM stations. This slogan can be interpreted in different ways.
UTV Radio produce some network shows which broadcast throughout the majority of the GB stations, making the music varied.
(Talk 107 was an independent station which ceased broadcasting in December 2008.)
(Valleys Radio was an AM radio station in the South Wales Valleys and ceased broadcasting on 30 April 2009.)
UTV operates three multiplexes jointly with Bauer Radio.
UTV Radio Ireland owns a number of Republic of Ireland independent local radio contractors - FM104 in Dublin, Live 95FM in Limerick, Q102 in Dublin, LMFM in Louth/Meath, and 96FM County Sound in Cork, which incorporates a separate radio entity, 103fm - itself subdivided across County Cork.
In May 2004, UTV announced that it had entered the competition for a new ILR franchise for Belfast, Northern Ireland. In March 2005 the Office of Communications announced that it had awarded the franchise to UTV. U105 - which began broadcasting on 14 November 2005 - is UTV's first radio station in Northern Ireland. It is available on FM Radio in Belfast and on the Freeview platform in Northern Ireland. It is based in Havlock House, sharing premises with UTV Television. The station is primarily aimed at the over-45 age group.
UTV sells airtime for its ILR stations through its subsidiary UTV Radio Solutions (formerly BMS). This competes with the major ILR network sales house, Independent Radio Sales, and also sells airtime for Galway Bay FM and Beat 102-103, the first Independent Regional Radio station in Ireland, covering the south east. (Ironically UTV does not itself sell airtime on UTV Television, it is handled by ITV Sales).
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