Wyvern FM

Infobox Radio station


name=Wyvern FM
airdate= 4 October 1982
frequency=97.6 MHz, 102.8 MHz
and 96.7 MHz
share = 7.9%
share as of = September 2007
share source = [http://www.rajar.co.uk/listening/quarterly_listening.php]
area= Herefordshire and Worcestershire
format =Contemporary|owner = Global Radio
website = [http://www.wyvernfm.co.uk/ www.wyvernfm.co.uk]

Wyvern FM is a radio station broadcasting to Herefordshire and Worcestershire in England. It is owned by Global Radio, and is part of "The One Network".

Wyvern FM is predominantly music-based, playing pop from the 1980s through to the present day. The station carries programming from its Worcester studios from 3am to 7pm weekdays, and for shorter periods at weekends. Other programming is provided centrally.

Radio Wyvern originally went on-air in 1982. The initial presenter team consisted of Sammy Southall at breakfast, Roy Leonard in the morning, Graham Hughes in the afternoon, and Mike George at drivetime. Weekend presenters included Jeff Roberts, Rob Yarnold and Bob Lee.

For the first year or so, the station opened at 6 a.m. (7 a.m. on Sundays) and closed at 8 p.m. Later the station provided a 24-hour service by joining up with Beacon Radio from 10 p.m. and then a wider network of Midlands stations from 1 a.m. Radio Wyvern took the SuperStation overnight service in the late 1980s, and when that closed abruptly, a local Late Show was introduced, with the overnight output from 1 a.m. shared with BRMB and Mercia FM.

After its licence was renewed in 1994, the station split into Wyvern FM, playing newer music, and Wyvern AM (Quality and Variety) which was essentially a gold service. The AM station was rebranded as Classic Gold soon afterwards, and was sold to Murfin Music because of ownership regulations and the large overlap with neighbouring Classic Gold 774 in Gloucestershire. Some time later, it was rebranded as Classic Hits, and by this time a fully-fledged local service, with no links to Wyvern FM or the Classic Gold network. In 2007 Laser Broadcasting abruptly relaunched the AM station as SunshineRadio.

Wyvern FM broadcasts on 97.6 FM in Herefordshire, and 102.8 FM in Worcestershire. In the late 1990s it added a third frequency, 96.7 FM, covering Kidderminster and the Wyre Forest in north Worcestershire and soon DAB Radio

The name derives from the River Wye and River Severn, the rivers running through Hereford and Worcester respectively (the name was proposed in the 1970s for what would become the county of Hereford and Worcester). It is noted that Wyvern FM often broadcasts the same content as Severn Sound, Beacon and BRMB because all 4 radio stations are owned by GCap Media (now Global Radio).

Wyvern played host to many well-known broadcasters over the years. Neil Fox began his professional broadcasting career here in 1985, Sheldon James, and "Wyvern News, this is Howard Hughes" became very familiar to listeners. Rich Edwards, who joined in the very early days, presented on Classic Hits until its abrupt closure in 2007. David Holdsworth, now with the BBC was the station's News Editor, and Eleanor Oldroyd, now with Five Live, was a member of the Sport team. Many presenters, such as Mike George, from earlier years have found a new home at BBC Hereford and Worcester.

Wyvern FM got a brand new logo on Saturday 18 August 2007 (The 4th in the stations history) as part of a revamp of some radio stations that are part of The One Network.

Global Radio announced that Wyvern FM would be put up for sale, along with neighbour stations Mercia, BRMB & Beacon Radio in order to meet the recommendations of the Office of Fair Trading. [ [http://www.radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.3748.2 Radio Today] ]

Wyvern FM Programmes

"Monday-Friday"
* Overnights with Nick Simon (Networked from Birmingham) "Mon 1-6am Tues-Fri 12-6am"
* Overnights with Lee Stone also known as Stoney (Networked from Birmingham) "Mon 12-1am"
* Wyvern FM Breakfast with Paul Kershaw and Helen Wheels "6-10am"
* Mid Morning with Ed Nell (Networked from Birmingham) "10am-1pm"
* Afternoons with Paul Ellery "1-4pm"
* Drivetime with Tom Newitt "4-7pm"
* Most Wanted with Dan Morrissey (Networked from Birmingham) "Mon-Thu 7-8pm"
* Tall Tim (Networked from Birmingham) "Mon-Thu 8pm-12am"
* Dance Anthems mixture of dance anthems through the night "Fri 7pm-12am"

"Saturday"
* Overnight with Jon Milligan (Networked from Birmingham) "12-6am"
* Early Breakfast with Ed Nell (Networked from Birmingham) "6-8am"
* The Weekend Guide with Paul Ellery "8am-12pm"
* The Kickabout with Hannah Patterson & Russ Morris "12-2pm"
* Afternoon with Nick Simon (Networked from Birmingham) "2-5pm"
* Most Wanted with Dan Morrissey (Networked from Birmingham) "5-7pm"
* Dance Anthems mixture of dance anthems through the night "7pm-12am"

"Sunday"
* Overnight with Jon Milligan (Networked from Birmingham) "12-8am"
* Sunday Breakfast with Tom Newitt "8am-12pm"
* Sunday Lunch with Gareth James "12-4pm"
* hit40uk - syndicated chart show hosted by Lucio "4-7pm"
* Tall Tim (Networked from Birmingham) "7pm-12am"

External links

* [http://www.wyvernfm.co.uk/ Wyvern FM Website]
* [http://www.ukview.tv/talltimtv Tall Tim TV Website]
* [http://www.hit40uk.com hit40uk Website]