Free Radio Birmingham
 |
|
| Broadcast area | Birmingham and the West Midlands |
|---|---|
| Slogan | All the biggest hits - All day long |
| Frequency | |
| First air date | 19 February 1974 |
| Format | CHR |
| Audience share | 5.3% (March 2014, [2]) |
| Owner | Bauer Radio |
| Website | planetradio |
Free Radio Birmingham (formerly BRMB) is an Independent Local Radio station serving Birmingham and surrounding areas. It is owned and operated by Bauer Radio and broadcasts on 96.4 FM and DAB Digital Radio, as well as online. The station is part of the Bauer City 1 network, which broadcasts a mix of chart, contemporary and classic hits alongside local news and information.
Launched on 19 February 1974, on 261 metres medium wave, (1152kHz) and 94.8 MHz FM, BRMB was the fourth independent local commercial radio station to begin broadcasting in Britain after Capital Radio, LBC and Radio Clyde. Broadcasting a mix of popular music with local news, live football coverage, information and specialist output, the station became popular amongst residents in Birmingham and later changed its main FM frequency from 94.8 to 96.4 in 1986.
The original station name, BRMB, was not an acronym (contrary to popular belief - some believed it stood for Birmingham Radio, Midlands Broadcasting). Instead, the original company, Birmingham Broadcasting Ltd., wanted something that combined a US-style call-sign with the company name - e.g. Birmingham - (BRM) and broadcasting - (B); equalling BRMB.
Presenters such as Ed Doolan, Les Ross, Phil Upton and Tony Butler became regulars on the station - Les Ross was the UK's longest-serving breakfast presenter, presenting BRMB's flagship weekday breakfast show from March 1976 to March 1989, followed by a second stint between August 1993 and September 2002. Former head of sport Tom Ross also found fame on the station when it began broadcasting live commentary of West Midlands football matches every Saturday afternoon - Ian Crocker was also involved in the coverage early on.
In 1988, as a response to government disapproval of the simulcasting of programmingon both FM and mediumwave, a sister station was launched on the 1152 kHz frequency. Xtra AM became BRMB's 'gold' service, playing classic hits, while BRMB itself began to cater for a younger audience. At this stage, BRMB was part of Midlands Radio plc, which was bought out along with Radio Trent, Leicester Sound and Mercia Sound by Capital Radio in 1993. However, they sold the other stations to the GWR Group whilst Capital kept hold of BRMB and Xtra AM. Xtra was on the air for nine years until the majority of its programming was switched to London, where it was simulcast with Capital Gold.
...
Wikipedia