City | Cardiff |
---|---|
Broadcast area | South and West Wales |
Branding | This is Heart |
Slogan | Turn up the Feel Good! |
Frequency | 105–107 MHz RDS: Heart |
First air date | 3 October 2000 |
Format | Adult Contemporary |
Audience share | 11.5% (July 2014, [1]) |
Owner | Global |
Website | Heart Wales |
Heart Wales is an Independent Local Radio station serving South and West Wales. The station is owned and operated by Global Radio and forms part of the expanded Heart radio network of stations.
On 3 October 2000 the Real Radio brand was launched after GMG Group won its first broadcast licence, serving South and West Wales. Following an introduction by Tom Jones, the station's founding managing director John Myers introduced the song "A Star is Born".
In December 2008, GMG Group was awarded the corresponding North and Mid Wales licence. Following an agreed format change request with OFCOM, the existing South and West Wales service was rolled out to the new coverage area. The station began broadcasting on its North and Mid Wales frequencies on 4 January 2011.
Real Radio Wales was a music and speech station, playing a AC format of classic, contemporary and current music the past 25 years to the present day.
The station also carried news bulletins every hour between the hours of 6am and 7pm weekdays and from 6am to 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays (including half-hour headlines at breakfast and drivetime) from Cardiff. Other bulletins were provided by Sky News through IRN.
On 25 June 2012 it was announced Global Radio (the owner of stations such as Capital and Heart) had bought GMG Radio. The former GMG stations, including Real Radio, continued to operate separately until a regulatory review was carried out.
On 6 February 2014, Global Radio reached an agreement to sell the North Wales licence for Real Radio and seven other stations to Communicorp. The South Wales licence remains under Global's ownership.