Wish FM

Wish FM was a local radio station owned by Bauer. It broadcast to Wigan in Greater Manchester, England and the St Helens area of Merseyside from studios in the Orrell area of Wigan. The station was folded into Greatest Hits Radio North West, as part of a restructure, on 1 September 2020.

Wish FM
2004-2010 logo
CityWigan, Greater Manchester, England
Broadcast areaWigan and St Helens
FrequencyFM: 102.4 MHz
SloganThe Good Times Sound Like This
Programming
FormatClassic Hits
Ownership
OwnerBauer
History
First air date
1 April 1997
Last air date
31 August 2020
Technical information
Transmitter coordinates
53.5092°N 2.7197°W / 53.5092; -2.7197
Links
Websitewishfm.net

Overview

Wish FM broadcast on 102.4 FM from a transmitter, powered by a wind generator, sited on Billinge Hill, St. Helens, Merseyside and had been on air since 1 April 1997. It was the first licence applied for and won by Tony Dewhurst and Jeff Graham of the recently formed Independent Radio Group. The station took its name from the initials WIgan and St Helens. The station is based in Orrell, Wigan, but in early 2007, the station's owners approached UK media regulator Ofcom to ask permission to move the station's base to Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, as part of a plan to share a single building with two other stations from the UTV Radio group: Tower FM and Wire FM. However, after selling-off Stockport-based Imagine FM, UTV Media (now Wireless Group) decided to keep Wish FM in Orrell, and co-located Wire FM and Tower FM into the Orrell base.

Station rebrand

On 8 February 2019, Wish 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 Wish 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 Wish FM retaining its own branding.[3] In September 2020, Wish 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 were closed.

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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