Latest news about Viking FM

Viking FM reunion planned for 40th anniversary

Viking FM staff old and new are invited to gather to celebrate the 40th birthday of the radio station for East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire. The event has been organised by former Marketing Manager Alana Ennis and former presenters Darren Lethem and Ben Wrigley.

Bauer to rebrand heritage FM stations in England and Wales to Hits Radio

Free Radio, Gem Radio, Hallam FM, Lincs FM, Metro Radio, Pulse 1, Radio City, Rock FM, Signal 1, TFM, Viking FM and Wave Swansea are rebranding to Hits Radio. The news has been announced to staff this morning with 15 radio stations in total making the switch in April 2024.

Singer Calum Scott to co-host on Viking FM Breakfast

Calum Scott is co-hosting Viking FM breakfast with Alex Duffy as he covers Ellie Brennan next week. The Hull-born singer says he’s very excited by the opportunity as he grew up listening to Viking FM and that Alex & Ellie are his favourite presenters. Calum found fame on Britain’s Got Talent in 2015 where he placed sixth. His single, a cover of ‘Dancing on My Own’ became Britain’s best-selling single of summer 2016...

Nominations for the 2020 IRN Awards revealed

The nominations for the 2020 IRN Awards have been announced by Sky News presenter Kay Burley. There are 12 categories including the Student Journalist of the Year prize which is supported by the Broadcast Journalism Training Council. The awards event itself will take place at Sky Cinema in west London on Thursday 26th March 2020, also hosted by Kay. IRN Editor and Chair of Judges, Dave Terris said: This is a stellar list of nominations representing the gold standard in commercial radio news and sport...

Viking FM is moving out of Hull to join Hallam FM

Viking FM is moving its broadcast teams out of Hull to co-locate with Hallam FM in Sheffield. The station’s only remaining local show (once Drive goes networked in September), Breakfast with Alex Duffy and Ellie Brennan, will be broadcast from Sheffield starting on 2nd October. Bauer says: “The broadcast teams will move into our Sheffield studios, ensuring that they have access to the very best technology and resource and more vibrant creative environment.”

Bauer to network drivetime across 11 licences in North and Midlands

Bauer Media has announced plans to network Wes Butters and Gemma Atkinson across most of its big city stations in England, meaning 7 presenters will lose their daily drivetime show. From 2nd September, Wes will be on 4-7pm across Metro Radio, TFM, Rock FM, Radio City, Hallam FM, Radio Aire, Viking FM and the four Free Radio stations in the West Midlands – in addition to his current show on Hits Radio in Manchester and on DAB across the UK. Gemma will join the show after her maternity leave...

Bauer gains approval to network breakfast shows

Ofcom has granted Bauer a number of Format changes to allow all of its stations to network all but three hours each weekday rather than the previous seven. UK commercial radio stations have been allowed to submit Format changes since the Localness Guidelines were amended last year, but Bauer has only just taken the steps required to allow this. Bauer can now share all programmes, with the exception of a three-hour show on weekdays (which doesn’t have to be breakfast), in the approved areas already suggested by Ofcom.

Bauer design agency reveals Hits Radio national roll-out

One of Bauer’s design agencies has offered an insight into the future of the Hits Radio brand after writing about its recent work on its website. Thinkfarm, which works with Bauer designing and promoting some of its radio stations, created the brand identity and marketing campaign for Hits Radio. It appears to confirm that Hits Radio will replace regional brands to create one national station.

Opinion: UK commercial radio presenter numbers could drop by more than 250

With news that Global is to introduce networked breakfast shows and have just a handful of local drive shows across Capital, Heart and Smooth, RadioToday’s Stuart Clarkson has done the maths on what it means for presenter roles across commercial radio. Our exclusive figures show that presenter numbers could drop by more than 250 if both Global and Bauer take full advantage of the recent changes in localness guidelines from Ofcom.

Greatest Hits Radio launches with new line-up

Greatest Hits Radio has launched on FM, AM and DAB in a number of regions across England, with Mark Goodier joining the network for a daily programme. The former BBC Radio 1 and Smooth Radio presenter will present the mid-morning show, and joins a team of presenters already established on the network. Here’s how the schedule looks each weekday in England:...