City | Fareham |
---|---|
Broadcast area | South Hampshire |
Branding | 103.2 Capital |
Slogan | The South Coast's No.1 Hit Music Station |
Frequency |
FM: 103.2 MHz DAB: 11C RDS: Capital |
First air date | 4 December 1988 |
Format | Contemporary hit radio |
Audience share | 4.5% (September 2016, RAJAR) |
Power | 1kW HP 1kW VP |
Owner | Global |
Sister stations |
Classic FM Heart Solent |
Website | Capital South Coast |
Capital South Coast is a regional radio station owned by operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital radio network. It broadcasts to South Hampshire from studios in Segensworth, Fareham.
Radio Victory launched as the first local commercial radio service in the South of England in 1975, transmitting to a small area around Portsmouth. The licence was re-advertised by the Independent Broadcasting Authority The extended licence, now to include Southampton and Winchester, was won by Ocean Sound Ltd. Radio Victory ceased operations in June 1986, a couple of weeks earlier than the expiry date of its franchise, with a test transmission informing listeners of the closure.
Ocean Sound launched on 12 October 1986 from a new purpose-built broadcast unit, built in just a year, in a business park in Segensworth West, outside Fareham, Hampshire and near the M27 motorway, a strategic location to prevent bias towards the two major cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, as well as removing association with Radio Victory, who were Portsmouth biased, however, some staff were hired from Radio Victory, such as sales managers and a Head of News.
Two services were launched, Ocean Sound (West), using 103.2 MHz FM and 1557 kHz AM covering Southampton and Winchester, and Ocean Sound (East) using 97.5 MHz FM, moving from Radio Victory's 95.0 MHz FM, and 1170 kHz AM serving Portsmouth and the surrounding area. Two stations launched, rather than one station, as then Managing Director David Lucas identified two potential audiences, the East area familiar with commercial radio (in the East area) and the West area familiar with BBC, specifically the popular BBC station, BBC Radio Solent. The East area sounded livelier and there was a more softer sound for the West. The two stations were later joined by a separate service provided for Winchester and the surrounding areas on 96.7 MHz FM, entitled Ocean Sound (North) - The Light FM, launched on 6 December 1987,