Radio Forth
  | |
| City | Edinburgh |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Lothian and Fife |
| Slogan |
Forth 1: Your Music, Your Life Forth 2: The Greatest Hits Forth 3: The Hits |
| Frequency |
Forth 1: 97.3/97.6/102.2 MHz Forth 2: 1548 kHz All services on DAB: 11D |
| First air date |
22 January 1975 1990(RFM/Max AM split) 19 January 2015 (Forth 3) |
| Format |
Forth 1: Hot AC Forth 2: Adult contemporary and classics Forth 3: Contemporary hit radio |
| Owner | Bauer Radio |
| Webcast | Yes |
| Website |
Forth 1 Forth 2 Forth 3 |
Radio Forth is a group of three Independent Local Radio stations serving Lothian and Fife. Radio Forth is owned and operated by Bauer Radio, based at studios in Edinburgh and forms part of Bauer's City network of local stations.
History
Radio Forth was launched on 22 January 1975 by current chairman Richard Findlay, whose opening speech included the words: This, for the very first time, is Radio Forth. The first presenter on air was breakfast show host Steve Hamilton.
In 1990, Forth created a second station on its AM frequency. Before this, Radio Forth was broadcast as a single station on both FM and AM frequencies. The FM station was renamed Radio Forth RFM and aimed at a younger age group, while Max AM was designed for over 35s. The FM station was later renamed Forth FM and then in the mid-late 90s, Max AM was later renamed Forth AM to match its sister station.
In 2000, both stations were relaunched as 97.3 Forth One and 1548 FORTH2. Many changes occurred at this time, including new presenters and a revamped station sound. Forth 2 was redesigned as an adult contemporary music station while Forth One continued to play chart and contemporary music for under 35s.
Radio Forth was owned by Scottish Radio Holdings until 3 June 2005 when British media group EMAP took over. In January 2008, the company's radio business was brought out by the German-based Bauer group.
Most of Radio Forth's locally-produced programming airs on Forth 1, consisting of 13 hours on weekdays and 4 hours at weekends, with live football commentaries airing on Forth 2. All three stations also carry local news, sport and traffic bulletins every day. Some networked programming is produced by Radio Forth for broadcast across Scotland and northern England, alongside output from sister stations such as Radio Clyde in Clydebank and Key in Manchester.