Media UK

BBC Radio Solent - news archive

This is an archive of news about BBC Radio Solent. Some links may no longer work, due to the transient nature of the internet.

Risks of football journalism and 'insolent' contumelious reporting
From Hold the Front Page. Posted May 7 2008, 6.10am
Sports news and comment attracts spate of litigation (more)

New podcast and show for Solent
From Radio Today. Posted April 16 2008, 8.40am
A new podcast and weekly Friday night programme all about water have been introduced at BBC Radio Solent, with sailing legend Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. (more)

Cartridge joins Hampshire
From Radio Today. Posted January 22 2008, 8.15am
Former Classic FM, BBC Radio Solent and Original 106 presenter Richard Cartridge is joining Radio Hampshire to host the Saturday breakfast show. (more)

Boyd's Original breakfast
From Radio Today. Posted December 20 2007, 5.58pm
Tommy Boyd is to join Original 106fm as the new weekday breakfast show presenter. Boyd replaces Pat Sissons and begins on the Solent regional radio station from 14th January. (more)

Skinner joins Original 106fm
From Radio Today. Posted December 11 2007, 8.34pm
Richard Skinner is joining Solent’s Original 106fm from next month. The veteran broadcaster famed for his time presenter at Radio 1, Virgin Radio and as the voice of Live Aid will present mid-mornings from January 14th. (more)

Solent TV ceases broadcasting
From SkyDigi Online. Posted May 24 2007, 7.34pm
Solent TV will stop broadcasting as the company ceases trading. (more)

Local Radio RAJAR highlights
From Radio Today. Posted May 10 2007, 1.54pm
Whilst the groups are concentrating on how well their brands are doing in the latest audience figures, we thought we'd take time out to look around the local radio stations around the UK. Starting with the only station to enter RAJAR this time - Original 106 in the Solent region. (more)

Radio gets ready for RAJAR Q1
From Radio Today. Posted May 9 2007, 10.20am
Commercial and BBC stations around the UK are getting ready for the latest audience figures later today. Quarter 1 2007 results are issued to stations at 5:30pm, with publication of results delayed till 7am Thursday. Just one station will experience results for the first time this quarter - Original 106 in Solent. (more)

New Original role for Evington
From Radio Today. Posted May 4 2007, 4.16pm
Original 106fm's Programme Director John Evington's been made the Solent radio station's Managing Director. With almost 30 years in the industry, John has been with Original for the last 12 months and assembled the on-air team ahead of its launch last year. He takes up the role of MD in addition to his PD duties straight away. (more)

BBC Radio Solent Treats Listeners
From Merry Media. Posted March 26 2007, 4.16pm
Listeners to BBC Radio Solent were treated to a bit of history with a modern twist with the first official play of a new recording of the hymn Amazing Grace.. (more)

CanWest win Aberdeen licence
From Radio Today. Posted January 11 2007, 5.01pm
CanWest Media has won the new FM local radio licence for Aberdeen. Original FM was up against three other bidders - Waves Radio, Real Radio and Aurora FM. CanWest launched Original 106 in the Solent region, and another Original station in Bristol is due on air soon. (more)

Ex-BBC Solent man goes Original
From Radio Today. Posted January 11 2007, 9.18am
Just days after silky-voiced Richard Cartridge left BBC Radio Solent, he finds himself being snapped up by John Evington at Original 106 in Southampton. Richard has been broadcasting in the region for over 30 years and now takes over the Sunday morning show on February 4th. (more)

Solent TV confirms Sky launch
From Digital Spy. Posted November 23 2006, 10.14am
Solent TV confirms a January 15 Sky launch date. (more)

Wave 105's Power speaks out on Solent shake-up
From Breaking Radio. Posted November 18 2006, 8.46pm
Wave 105 breakfast presenter Steve Power has stepped into the debate surrounding BBC Radio Solent's presenter cull earlier this week. (more)

BBC Release Statement Regarding BBC Radio Solent
From Merry Media. Posted November 15 2006, 4.16pm
The BBC today issued a statement clarifying its policy on callers to its BBC Local Radio stations following press coverage of a leaked BBC Radio Solent email.. (more)

Statement: Radio Solent and BBC Local Radio
From BBC Press Ofice. Posted November 15 2006, 2.55pm
The BBC today issued a statement clarifying its policy on callers to its BBC Local Radio stations following press coverage of a leaked BBC Radio Solent email. (more)

BBC local station manager accused of ageism
From Media Network Weblog. Posted November 15 2006, 10.31am
Mia Costello, managing editor of BBC local station Radio Solent, has caused outrage far beyond the station’s coverage area by her reaction to falling audience figures reflected in the latest audience survey. In a memo leaked to the national press, Costello told presenters they should be broadcasting to “Dave and Sue - people in their 50s” [...] (more)

Radio Solent bans elderly callers
From Breaking Radio. Posted November 15 2006, 10.07am
Shock news - radio station chooses not to have old sounding callers on-air. (more)

No more oldies at BBC Solent
From Radio Today. Posted November 15 2006, 8.52am
The BBC has been accused of ageism after a leaked memo from BBC Radio Solent revealed that phone-in presenters at the station should avoid putting callers on-air who sound too old.Mia Costello, managing editor of BBC Radio Solent, told her broadcasters: 'I don't want to hear really elderly voices.' (more)

Ageism row at BBC Radio Solent
From Media Guardian. Posted November 15 2006, 12.00am
The BBC has been accused of ageism after a local radio chief told phone-in presenters not to put 'really elderly' voices on air. By John Plunkett. (more)

BBC Radio Solent culls line-up
From Breaking Radio. Posted November 13 2006, 6.16pm
PLUMMETING listening figures at BBC Radio Solent has prompted a cull of big names at the radio station. Blind broadcaster Peter White, who has worked at the station for more than 35 years, is one of the top names to be axed. (more)

Original 106 Launches Today for Solent
From Merry Media. Posted October 1 2006, 3.17pm
The new radio station for the Solent area of England - Original 106, has launched this morning at 11am. The company was awarded the licence by Ofcom.. (more)

Original launch for Solent
From Radio Today. Posted October 1 2006, 10.03am
The first UK station owned by Canadian Group CanWest has launched in the Solent today at 11am with an impressive, original music mix (more)

CanWest wins Bristol licence
From Radio Today. Posted September 14 2006, 5.30pm
The licence race for the new commercial radio station for Bristol has been won by CanWest. This is the second licence won by the Canadian media giant, after winning the Solent licence last year. The new station, to be known as Original which will serve approx 500,000 adults in the Bristol area will provide 'Adult Alternative Radio - an eclectic mix of adult-oriented music with particular appeal to 40-59 year-olds, with 24 hour local news'. (more)

Original 106 Sign Simon James & Hill
From Merry Media. Posted July 28 2006, 9.18am
Original 106fm, the new regional radio station for Solent has announced the line-up for its flagship weekday breakfast show. The station has signed triple Sony Award-winning presenters Simon James and Hill to host the show which will go out between 6 and 10 on weekdays. They will be joined by one of the region's best known and most authoritative journalists, Karen Woods, who will present the news and sport each morning.. (more)

Original hires Simon James and Hill
From Radio Today. Posted July 27 2006, 8.00pm
EXCLUSIVE: Simon James and Hill are to join Original 106fm, the new regional radio station for Solent. The news comes just days after we brought you news of their exit from the TLRC network evening show. Triple Sony Award-winning presenters Simon James and Hill are to host the show between 6 and 10am on weekdays. They will be joined by one of the region’s best known and most authoritative journalists, Karen Woods, who will present the news and sport each morning. (more)

John Evington heads to Original
From Radio Today. Posted March 27 2006, 10.45pm
Original 106, the new Solent Regional radio station, has today appointed John Evington as Programme Director. John is one of the UK’s most experienced and respected programmers. He was previously Group Programme Director of The Wireless Group. John embarked on his radio career as a presenter with Manchester’s Piccadilly Radio in 1978. A brief period with BBC Radio 2 followed before he was lured back to commercial radio as Programme Director for Signal Radio, later moving to Group PD of The Wireless Group’s 16 stations in England, Scotland and Wales. (more)

Nick Girdler leaves Radio Solent
From Radio Today. Posted March 1 2006, 8.00am
One of the giants of BBC Radio Solent, Nick Girdler, the principal of the University of the Shed, leader of Albert's Gang and the voice of the station for more than 34 years, is hanging up his microphone for a sailing experience around Britain. Nick, who has shared tales of his yacht with listeners, is planning a long trip working his way round the British coast. (more)

More new stations for Arqiva
From Radio Today. Posted February 24 2006, 8.43am
Arqiva has announced a further batch of 12-year Total Broadcast Contracts for new FM commercial radio stations. In Cornwall, Atlantic FM will be broadcasting to the county from mid 2006. The Banbury licence was won by The Bear, part of the CN Group of smaller stations, and will provide a locally focused service in and around the town. 99.9 Radio Norwich, backed by the Tindle Group, will be focusing on the city of Norwich. The second Solent licence, won by CanWest-backed Original 106 FM, will provide an ‘adult alternative’ service aimed at the 40-59 year age range from transmitters on the Isle of Wight, in Bournemouth and in Winchester. Torbay and the surrounding area will have a full local service from Palm FM, a station wholly owned by the London Media Company, whose other interests include Sunrise Radio and the Time FM branded stations. (more)

CanWest expands in NZ
From Radio Today. Posted February 17 2006, 8.13am
CanWest MediaWorks (NZ) Limited has agreed to purchase Q92FM in Queenstown, New Zeland. Tom Strike, President of CanWest MediaWorks International, said "This further demonstrates the Company's continued commitment to pursue accretive acquisitions while extending our brands into strategic markets. Q92FM will be combined into the existing radio operations of CanWest MediaWorks." CanWest Mediaworks (UK) Limited recently won a UK licence in the Solent area to provide an Adult Alternative Radio album-led station. (more)

Solent TV abandons plan to launch on Sky Digital
From Media Network Weblog. Posted February 15 2006, 10.12am
The Board of Solent TV, a local TV station based on the Isle of Wight in southern England, has decided to halt the launch of the station on the digital satellite platform. In an official statement, the Board said that after a year of intensive planning and dedicated hard work by the staff team, the failure of specific funding streams to arrive in time meant that key deadlines could no longer be (more)

Solent TV abandons Sky launch plans
From Digital Spy. Posted February 14 2006, 7.18pm
Funding issues force Solent TV to admit defeat over a launch on Sky. (more)

Northeast applications now online
From Radio Today. Posted December 13 2005, 3.54pm
The thirteen applications submitted for the Northeast regional FM radio licence are now available on the Ofcom website. The applications show the proposals from all thirteen documents. In brief, they are: UK Media and TLRC application as 3 Rivers Radio, GCap Media's two applications as FUN fm and XFM, UTV's All Talk FM, Chrysalis' All Rock Radio The Arrow, Celador's Touch FM for the 45+ age group, CN-Group's Northlife providing non-biased speech and music programming, Canwest's Original FM which is similar to the recently won Solent licence, Saga's 50+ service, Tim Schoonmaker and Radio UK Holdings Diamond FM (rock music), North East One - offering a grown up station with pop, rock and oldies, and finally GMG radio apply using two proposals as Rock Talk FM and Smooth FM. (more)