Tower FM

Tower FM was an Independent local radio station serving Wigan, Bolton and Bury.

Tower FM
CityWigan
Broadcast areaBolton and Bury
FrequencyFM: 107.4 MHz
Programming
FormatClassic Hits
Ownership
OwnerBauer
History
First air date
20 March 1999
Last air date
31 August 2020

The station was folded into Greatest Hits Radio North West, as part of a restructure, on 1 September 2020.

Overview
Tower FM logo used from 2010 to 2016.

The radio station was given the name "Tower" as a local link to both towns in the station's coverage area; Turton Tower near to Bolton and Peel Tower on Holcombe Hill at Ramsbottom near Bury.

Originally an RSL (restricted service licence) radio station, the team behind the project won the full-time licence and the station began broadcasting on 20 March 1999.

As an RSL, Tower FM broadcast from Bury via a link to the transmitter on Peel Tower. The radio station only broadcast from Bolton once the main base was established on Gaskell Street, Bolton.

Since that time, the station changed ownership twice and was owned by Bauer Radio at the time of closure.

The target area for the station was the towns of Bolton and Bury although most of Greater Manchester and even parts of Cheshire could receive the station.

In early 2007, the station's then owners approached UK media regulator OFCOM to ask permission to move the station's base from Bolton to the Haydock or Newton Le Willows area of Merseyside as part of a plan to house it in a single building with two other stations from the UTV Radio group - Wish FM in Wigan and Wire FM in Warrington. Latterly a decision was made to colocate the three stations at Wish's current site in Orrell, and Tower moved premises in early autumn 2009.

Station rebrand

On 8 February 2019, Tower FM and the Wireless Group's local radio stations were sold to Bauer Radio. The sale was ratified in March 2020 following an inquiry by the Competition and Markets Authority.[1]

On 27 May 2020, it was announced that Tower FM will join Bauer's Greatest Hits Radio network.[2]

On 13 July 2020, local programming outside weekday breakfast was replaced by networked output from the GHR network, with Tower FM retaining its own branding.[3]

In September 2020, Tower FM merged with several local stations in the North West of England and North Wales, as Greatest Hits Radio North West. The station's local breakfast show was replaced by a regional drivetime show. Localised news bulletins, traffic updates and advertising were retained.[4] The station's Orrell studios closed.

Programming

Local programming was last produced and broadcast from studios in Orrell from 6am–10am on weekdays.

Networked programming originates from the Greatest Hits Network's Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Glasgow studios and from Bauer's Golden Square headquarters in Soho.

News

Tower FM used to broadcast local news bulletins hourly from 6 am to 6 pm on weekdays, from 8 am to 1 pm on Saturdays and from 8 am to 12 pm on Sundays. Headlines were broadcast on the half-hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows.

References
  1. https://www.bauermedia.co.uk/newsroom/press-releases/cma-today-clears-the-acquisitions-of-lincs-fm-celador-radio-ukrd-and-wireless-local-stations CMA today clears the acquisitions of Lincs FM, Celador Radio, UKRD and Wireless local stations, Bauer Media, 12 March 2020
  2. Most of acquired Bauer stations to become Greatest Hits Radio Stuart Clarkson, Radio Today, 27 May 2020
  3. Bauer starts to roll out Hits and Greatest Hits to new radio stations Stuart Clarkson, Radio Today, 9 July 2020
  4. Most of acquired Bauer stations to become Greatest Hits Radio Stuart Clarkson, Radio Today, 27 May 2020

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