Real Radio
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| Broadcast area | Northern England (exc. Cumbria), Scotland, Wales, Yorkshire |
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| Slogan | Real Good Feel Good Radio (2012 - 2014) |
| Last air date | May 2014 (Merged with Heart) |
| Format | Adult Contemporary |
| Language(s) | English |
| Audience share | 1.8% (whole of UK) (June 2013, RAJAR) |
| Former frequencies | 88–108FM |
| Owner | Communicorp/Global Radio |
| Website | Heart |
Real Radio was a network of five regional radio stations broadcasting to Northern England, Scotland, Wales and Yorkshire. Each station broadcast a mix of local and networked programming. On Tuesday 6 May 2014, the stations were merged with the Heart network.
Sir Robert Phillis, the former GMG chief executive, enlisted John Myers to establish GMG Radio. Myers became the company's managing director in 1999, and won GMG its first licence in South Wales in April 2000.Real Radio (Wales) launched on Tuesday 3 October 2000. Initially serving south and west Wales, the station expanded to north and mid Wales in January 2011, over two years after winning a second licence.
In June 2001, Scot FM was acquired from the Wireless Group for £25.5 million. Scot FM would become Real Radio's second station at 8am on Tuesday 8 January 2002. A bid to expand the service to Aberdeenshire in 2006 proved unsuccessful, losing out to Original 106.
Real Yorkshire, the third station, launched on 25 March 2002 and broadcast to South & West Yorkshire.
In 2008, John Myers convinced the GMG board to invest £1 million in documentaries, a first for modern-day UK commercial radio which would lead to several industry awards. Myers left GMG shortly afterwards.
Real North East and Real North West were introduced from the Century Network on 30 March 2009. Both stations were founded by GMG Radio chief executive John Myers, who acquired the two from GCap Media in October 2006. The Discover the Real You strapline was introduced to all stations.
In July 2008, networked programming was introduced across all stations during evening and overnight timeslots, and in November 2012 this was increased to daytime timeslots. Most networked programming was broadcast from studios in Salford Quays. Notable presenters included Chris Tarrant and Ryan Seacrest who fronted a bespoke version of his syndicated US entertainment show On Air with Ryan Seacrest.
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