BBC Radio Manchester: Difference between revisions

BBC Radio Manchester

Manchester
Broadcast area	Greater Manchester and Warrington
Frequency	95.1 MHz, 104.6 MHz
Programming
Language(s)	English
Format	Local news, talk and music
Ownership
Owner	BBC Local Radio, BBC North West
History
First air date	10 September 1970
Links
Webcast	WMA
Website	www.bbc.co.uk/radiomanchester/

BBC Radio Manchester is a BBC Local Radio station broadcasting to Greater Manchester and north east Cheshire in North West England. It broadcasts 24 hours a day from studios at MediaCityUK in Salford Quays via a transmitter at Holme Moss, with a small repeater at Saddleworth covering Tameside and Saddleworth. It can also be heard on DAB radio and via internet streaming.

BBC Radio Manchester originally launched on 10 September 1970 as the first local radio station in the city of Manchester. Initially broadcasting from small studios at Picadilly Gardens in Manchester City Centre, the station's long-standing home was New Broadcasting House on Oxford Road in the city. Radio Manchester originally broadcast on 206AM (medium wave). Presenters included Alan Sykes, Roy Cross, Sandra Chalmers, Mike Riddock and Alex Greenhalgh.

In 1983 and 1984 BBC Radio Manchester ran a series of experimental community stations, each of which used the 1296 kHz AM frequency in turn. The stations were BBC Radio Bury (late 1983/early 1984), BBC Radio Oldham, BBC Radio Rochdale (eight weeks from 14 May 1984), BBC Radio Trafford (which operated from a mobile studio in a school playground) and BBC Radio Wigan (summer 1984). The stations were part-time services which opted out from the main BBC Radio Manchester service.

From October 1988 until 3 April 2006, the station was named BBC GMR (and, for a brief period in 1997, GMR Talk). GMR were the initials of its name, BBC Greater Manchester Radio. Programmes included a phone-in with Allan Beswick (now the station's weekday breakfast presenter), late-night music and comedy show Michelle Mullane around Midnight and GMR Brass, a brass band music programme. GMR was also part of the BBC Night Network.

Eighteen years after dropping the name of the city, the station reverted back to its original name, Radio Manchester. The first voice on the relaunched station was that of the late Tony Wilson and followed by long-time local personality and breakfast presenter Terry Christian, the first song being Manchester by The Beautiful South.

At 6am on Saturday 8 October 2011, the station ended transmission from its Oxford Road studios in Manchester and began broadcasting from MediaCityUK in Salford Quays. The final show from Oxford Road was presented by Darryl Morris and the first from the new studios by Andy Crane.

Despite its claim to represent all 10 Greater Manchester regions, most of the presenters are from the South-Manchester or Cheshire areas.