Smooth West Midlands
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| Broadcast area | Birmingham and the West Midlands |
|---|---|
| Slogan | Your Relaxing Music Mix |
| Frequency |
FM 105.7 MHz RDS:_SMOOTH__ DAB |
| First air date | 26 March 2007 |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| Audience share | 6.0% (March 2014, [1]) |
| Owner | Global |
| Sister stations |
Capital FM Capital Xtra Classic FM Heart LBC Radio X Gold |
| Website | Smooth |
Smooth West Midlands is a Independent Local Radio station for the West Midlands of the United Kingdom. It is part of the Smooth radio network.
The station launched following GMG Radio's purchase of the Saga Radio Group in December 2006, and granting of permission from the regulator Ofcom to change the format of its Smooth FM stations in London and the North West. The decision was made to change both the Smooth FM and Saga stations to Smooth Radio and so Saga 105.7 FM was closed at 6pm on Friday 23 March 2007. This was then followed by a preview weekend for the new Smooth Radio giving listeners the chance to hear the presenters and music which would be on the new station.
Local programming originated from studios in Birmingham. Networked programming was syndicated from sister station Smooth North West at Salford Quays, Manchester.
In 2010, it was announced that it would be merging its five Smooth stations in England to create a nationwide Smooth Radio service based in Manchester. The new station was launched on 4 October 2010 and could be heard both on DAB and on the locally on the FM frequencies.
Smooth Radio's output was relocated to new owner Global Radio's Leicester Square headquarters from 1 October 2013, a move that coincided with a major overhaul of its schedule, and the closure of Smooth 70s after 21 months on air.
On 4 February 2014, the Radio Today website reported that Ofcom had given Global Radio permission to remove Smooth from the Digital One platform, and to replace it with a service playing music from the 1970s, 80s and 90s. Under this agreement, Smooth would continue to broadcast on its regional frequencies, but would be required to provide seven hours of local output per day.
Smooth West Midlands plays middle-of-the-road, adult contemporary music, aimed at listeners aged 35 and over. It had few similarities to its predecessor. Some of the specialist shows from the Saga days survived initially, but were gradually replaced with a more contemporary format. Smooth's initial slogan Your Life, Your Music, which was used on Saga stations, was modified to Love Life, Love Music to enhance Smooth's promise to play the best choice of music from the previous four decades. The music policy at Smooth ranged from the late 60's right up to the present date, with a heavy focus on easy listening songs. On 1 March 2014 a new slogan Your Relaxing Music Mix was introduced.
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