Q96
Encyclopedia
Q96 was an independent local radio
station, which broadcast for 14 years to the Scottish
county of Renfrewshire
. Q96 broadcast as an FM
station on the 96.3 MHz frequency after a local licence for the Paisley
area was offered. The station was latterly based outside its dedicated broadcast region, in the Baillieston
area of neighbouring Glasgow
, at the headquarters it shared with sister station Real Radio
after OFCOM
approval.
The station was replaced by 96.3 Rock Radio
test transmissions on 22 December and officially from Monday 8 January 2007.
proximity allowed the signal to be easily received in those areas and as such it received listeners from these areas.
It broadcast on both DAB and FM to West Central Scotland
, from its mast on Paisley's Gleniffer Braes
and over the internet to the world on its website. It initially proved successful in breaking into the market with its music which includes songs from the 70's through to present day hits. Audiences peaked at around 12% on the RAJAR scale, a highly respectable figure for a local radio station.
After good initial audience figures, the audiences started dropping. Mainly this could be attributed to the increasing competition from the then dominant Radio Clyde
stations as well as other local stations. After outgrowing its base in Lady Lane in the West End of Paisley, it relocated to an industrial unit in Kinning Park
in neighbouring Glasgow, a move outside the broadcasting area, which was seen by locals of Paisley as a snub, a claim management denied and stated that it was due to a lack of affordable suitable property in Renfrewshire. A management change at this time saw the station rebranding itself as 96.3 QFM. The move to Glasgow and rebranding were announced on air as welcoming people to a 'new station' and 'Glasgow's QFM'. With sensitivities about the move from Paisley still high, this, as well as a lack of Renfrewshire material, saw complaints to OFCOM which duly warned the station about ignoring its licence requirements for that stated it broadcast to Renfrewshire and must include Renfrewshire material. The move to Glasgow was accompanied in an attempt to capture the falling audience by taking on rival stations with a move to a format of mainly pop and chart music from the present day. This saw limited success due to the saturation of the area from similar stations.
A take-over by The Wireless Group saw it revert back to its original name of Q96, and join a network including the national TalkSPORT
station. Audience levels continued to be low and erratic and changes in management soon followed. This saw it take up the more acceptable 'tag line' of 'Renfrewshire's Q96', and the station reverted away from pop music back to its still of classic and new hits as it was at inception. The Wireless Group itself was taken over by UTV Radio
), who looked to revert the fall and managed to introduce a strong programming line-up with good presenters. At the time its market share was around 7%.
In a surprise move GMG Radio
acquired the station from UTV Radio
, with the acquisition completed on the 1st of October 2006. GMG Radio moved from the station's second home in Kinning Park to Baillieston after OFCOM approval, but agreed to honour the station's local format. In any case Q96 effectively ended on the move to Baillieston - many presenters left and the schedule became increasingly automated.
The station stuttered on when the announcement of rebranding was made to 96.3 Rock Radio, a classic rock station for the area. With only 5 presenters remaining, most would transfer to Real Radio, and others would continue onto the new Rock Radio. On Friday 22 December, Drivetime Host and Programme Controller, Ciaran O'Toole, spoke the last words on Q96 before test broadcasts for Rock Radio commenced. These were "What a year its been 2006 and looking forward to 2007. So from me to you this was Q96" followed by the Q96 jingle. Shortly afterwards Rock Radio jingles were played and RDS changed to Rock whilst DAB radios amended to show 96.3 Rock.
Former presenters on the station include Derek McIntyre, Greg Summers, Andrew Spencer, Paul McLoone, Ian Martin and Thea Newcomb.
, a classic rock
music station. Serving the Renfrewshire and Central Scotland area, the station will broadcast classic rock tracks, which GMG hopes will appeal to a wide market but with a slight bias to 35 to 64 year old males which it believes are under-represented in the area's radio market. It will due to licensing requirements continue to honour the local Renfrewshire and Paisley based format. The re-launch has been supported by a marketing campaign, with many billboards and bus advertisements.
One of the original Q96 DJ's, Dave 'The Captain' Grant now has a program on Rock Radio.
Independent Local Radio
Independent Local Radio is the collective name given to commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom. The same name is used for Independent Local Radio in Ireland.-Development of ILR:...
station, which broadcast for 14 years to the Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
county of Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire
Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfrewshire, the others being Inverclyde to the west and East Renfrewshire to the east...
. Q96 broadcast as an FM
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
station on the 96.3 MHz frequency after a local licence for the Paisley
Paisley
Paisley is the largest town in the historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland and serves as the administrative centre for the Renfrewshire council area...
area was offered. The station was latterly based outside its dedicated broadcast region, in the Baillieston
Baillieston
Baillieston is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It is about 7 miles east of the city centre.It is also the name of Ward 20 of Glasgow City Council...
area of neighbouring Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, at the headquarters it shared with sister station Real Radio
Real Radio (Scotland)
Real Radio Scotland is an Independent Local Radio station in Central and Southern Scotland, owned and operated by GMG Radio. The station broadcasts from studios at Ballieston in the east end of the Glasgow on 100.3 & 101.1FM and on DAB.- Background :...
after OFCOM
Ofcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
approval.
The station was replaced by 96.3 Rock Radio
96.3 Rock Radio
96.3 Real Radio XS is a Scottish local radio station owned and operated by GMG Radio. It is based at Ballieston to the east of Glasgow and broadcasts to Renfrewshire, West Central Scotland and Central Scotland....
test transmissions on 22 December and officially from Monday 8 January 2007.
History
Q96 began life on 1 September 1992, broadcasting from Paisley as a local radio station for Paisley, and Renfrewshire. Despite being centralised on Paisley, Scotland's largest town, the many commuters from Renfrewshire into Glasgow, as well as Glasgow and Dunbartonshire'sDunbartonshire
Dunbartonshire or the County of Dumbarton is a lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Until 1975 it was a county used as a primary unit of local government with its county town and administrative centre at the town...
proximity allowed the signal to be easily received in those areas and as such it received listeners from these areas.
It broadcast on both DAB and FM to West Central Scotland
Central Belt
The Central Belt of Scotland is a common term used to describe the area of highest population density within Scotland. Despite the name, it is not geographically central but is nevertheless situated at the 'waist' of Scotland on a conventional map and the term 'central' is used in many local...
, from its mast on Paisley's Gleniffer Braes
Gleniffer Braes
Gleniffer Braes is a short range of hills to the south of Paisley, Scotland which form the boundary of Renfrewshire and Ayrshire.-Area:...
and over the internet to the world on its website. It initially proved successful in breaking into the market with its music which includes songs from the 70's through to present day hits. Audiences peaked at around 12% on the RAJAR scale, a highly respectable figure for a local radio station.
After good initial audience figures, the audiences started dropping. Mainly this could be attributed to the increasing competition from the then dominant Radio Clyde
Radio Clyde
Radio Clyde is a division of Bauer Radio based in Glasgow, Scotland. They currently operate an FM station and an AM station from studios in Clydebank West Dunbartonshire.- History :...
stations as well as other local stations. After outgrowing its base in Lady Lane in the West End of Paisley, it relocated to an industrial unit in Kinning Park
Kinning Park
Kinning Park is a southern suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. In 1897 it had a population of 14326.-Political history:Originally a separate police burgh founded in 1871, it became part of Glasgow in 1905. It was the smallest such burgh in Scotland at just...
in neighbouring Glasgow, a move outside the broadcasting area, which was seen by locals of Paisley as a snub, a claim management denied and stated that it was due to a lack of affordable suitable property in Renfrewshire. A management change at this time saw the station rebranding itself as 96.3 QFM. The move to Glasgow and rebranding were announced on air as welcoming people to a 'new station' and 'Glasgow's QFM'. With sensitivities about the move from Paisley still high, this, as well as a lack of Renfrewshire material, saw complaints to OFCOM which duly warned the station about ignoring its licence requirements for that stated it broadcast to Renfrewshire and must include Renfrewshire material. The move to Glasgow was accompanied in an attempt to capture the falling audience by taking on rival stations with a move to a format of mainly pop and chart music from the present day. This saw limited success due to the saturation of the area from similar stations.
A take-over by The Wireless Group saw it revert back to its original name of Q96, and join a network including the national TalkSPORT
TalkSPORT
Talksport , owned by UTV radio, is one of the United Kingdom's three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a sports and talk radio service broadcast from London to the United Kingdom....
station. Audience levels continued to be low and erratic and changes in management soon followed. This saw it take up the more acceptable 'tag line' of 'Renfrewshire's Q96', and the station reverted away from pop music back to its still of classic and new hits as it was at inception. The Wireless Group itself was taken over by UTV Radio
UTV Radio
UTV Radio is a UK media company, and owner of several radio stations in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It is a growing branch of UTV Media....
), who looked to revert the fall and managed to introduce a strong programming line-up with good presenters. At the time its market share was around 7%.
In a surprise move GMG Radio
GMG Radio
GMG Radio is the radio division of the Guardian Media Group. The group is based in Laser House, Salford Quays in Greater Manchester. The advertising division is in Old Trafford, Manchester. John Myers was the Chief Executive Officer, his deputy replaced him in April 2009...
acquired the station from UTV Radio
UTV Radio
UTV Radio is a UK media company, and owner of several radio stations in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. It is a growing branch of UTV Media....
, with the acquisition completed on the 1st of October 2006. GMG Radio moved from the station's second home in Kinning Park to Baillieston after OFCOM approval, but agreed to honour the station's local format. In any case Q96 effectively ended on the move to Baillieston - many presenters left and the schedule became increasingly automated.
The station stuttered on when the announcement of rebranding was made to 96.3 Rock Radio, a classic rock station for the area. With only 5 presenters remaining, most would transfer to Real Radio, and others would continue onto the new Rock Radio. On Friday 22 December, Drivetime Host and Programme Controller, Ciaran O'Toole, spoke the last words on Q96 before test broadcasts for Rock Radio commenced. These were "What a year its been 2006 and looking forward to 2007. So from me to you this was Q96" followed by the Q96 jingle. Shortly afterwards Rock Radio jingles were played and RDS changed to Rock whilst DAB radios amended to show 96.3 Rock.
Former presenters on the station include Derek McIntyre, Greg Summers, Andrew Spencer, Paul McLoone, Ian Martin and Thea Newcomb.
Current
From 8 January 2007, the station was replaced by 96.3 Rock Radio96.3 Rock Radio
96.3 Real Radio XS is a Scottish local radio station owned and operated by GMG Radio. It is based at Ballieston to the east of Glasgow and broadcasts to Renfrewshire, West Central Scotland and Central Scotland....
, a classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
music station. Serving the Renfrewshire and Central Scotland area, the station will broadcast classic rock tracks, which GMG hopes will appeal to a wide market but with a slight bias to 35 to 64 year old males which it believes are under-represented in the area's radio market. It will due to licensing requirements continue to honour the local Renfrewshire and Paisley based format. The re-launch has been supported by a marketing campaign, with many billboards and bus advertisements.
One of the original Q96 DJ's, Dave 'The Captain' Grant now has a program on Rock Radio.
External links
- Q96 Website (now defunct)
- 96.3 Rock Radio