Arrow FM (United Kingdom)
 | |
| Broadcast area | Hastings & Bexhill |
|---|---|
| Slogan | Where great music lives |
| Frequency | 107.8 MHz |
| First air date | 10 April 1998 |
| Format | Adult Contemporary |
| ERP | 100w |
| Class | omni polarisation |
| Owner | Media Sound Holdings |
| Sister stations | Bright FM, Sovereign FM and Splash FM |
| Website | arrowfm.co.uk |
Arrow FM is an Independent Local Radio station serving Hastings, Bexhill, Battle and surrounding areas. It is owned and operated by Media Sound Holdings and broadcasts from studios in Worthing, as part of a network of locally-branded stations across Sussex.
History
Arrow FM was founded in 1992 by two local radio executives, Mark Briggs and Matthew Wheeler, who conducted a series of RSL pilot broadcasts in both Hastings and Eastbourne. Three of the transmissions took place in Hastings under the Arrow FM and Splash FM branding - the licence holder was local DJ Terry James and the station manager was Terry Kane.
The group disbanded a year before the Radio Authority advertised a licence for one or more services in East Sussex. The winning bid, Conqueror Broadcasting Ltd - a consortium of local investors and radio operators, led by businessman Bill Uttley Moore CBE - won the licence in 1997. Mark Briggs rejoined the station ahead of its full-time launch on Good Friday 10th April 1998.
By 2000, Arrow FM had been sold to Radio Investments Ltd, which also had interests in nearby stations. This group went on to become The Local Radio Company, which then sold Arrow FM along with sister station Sovereign FM to Media Sound Holdings in 2009. Bespoke local programming for the area was reduced to the weekday breakfast show, with all other output shared with sister stations Bright FM, Sovereign FM and Splash FM.
In November 2010, Ofcom approved a request to share programming across all four stations, stating the changes would not substantially alter the character of the service.[1]
Programming
All programming on the station is produced from Media Sound's Worthing studios and shared with Bright FM, Sovereign FM and Splash FM with opt-outs for local news and advertising.[2] The network's presenters include Paul Williams (weekday breakfast), Anna Bingham (weekday daytime) and Simon Osborne (weekday drivetime).
Local news airs every hour from 6am to 6pm on weekdays and from 8am to 12pm on Saturdays with headlines on the half-hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows.[3] National news bulletins from Sky News Radio are carried hourly at all other times.
Past presenters
Some of Arrow FM's presenters during its early years of broadcasting included Mike Buxton (news and mid-morning), Peter Quinn (Breakfast), Clive Garrard (Breakfast and Clive's Sunday afternoon stroll), Tony Pankhurst (Saturday Sport and Sunday Night Live), Gavin Lawrence (news and features), Bob James (mornings), Rob Wilson, Leon Jackson (Afternoons).
References
- ↑ "More sharing for Sussex stations". 7 December 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
Sussex radio stations Splash, Sovereign, Bright and Arrow have been given permission to share all programmes across the stations, Ofcom has announced.
- ↑ Arrow FM public file
- ↑ Arrow FM public file