Town 102

Town 102 was a radio station serving Ipswich that was owned by Tindle Radio, Anglian Radio Group and Bauer Radio. It broadcast from 2006 to 2020.

Town 102
CityIpswich
Broadcast areaIpswich
FrequencyDAB: 10C
SloganThe Greatest Hits for Suffolk
Programming
FormatClassic hits
NetworkGreatest Hits Radio
Ownership
OwnerBauer Radio
History
First air date
19 October 2006 (2006-10-19)
Last air date
31 August 2020 (2020-08-31)
Former frequencies
102.0 MHz (2006–2018)
Links
Websitetown102.com

Launched in 2006, in its later years, Town 102 carried identical content to Anglian Radio sister stations Dream 100, North Norfolk Radio, Radio Norwich 99.9 and The Beach, with the exception of jingles, adverts and local news and travel. All five radio stations were output from a single system at Radio Norwich 99.9's headquarters.

On 12 June 2018 Town 102's licence was not renewed when, for the first time since its inception, Ofcom, did not award a re-advertised licence to the incumbent licensee;[1] reasons cited as factors included Town's refusal to broadcast on DAB and the challenger's proposal to broadcast a more local service. Consequently, Ipswich 102 replaced Town 102 on FM on 19 October 2018.[2]

Ahead of the transfer of the FM licence to its new holder, both stations were added to the Suffolk local DAB multiplex in August 2018.[3] This allowed Town to continue transmitting its programming service as a digital-only station after the FM service changed hands.

On 1 September 2020, Town 102 and its sister stations were rebranded to Greatest Hits Radio, airing a regional drivetime show.[4] The former Town 102 then transitioned to a localised version of the Hits Radio service, "Hits Radio Suffolk", from 3 November, in tandem with the GHR affiliation migrating to Town's FM successor, Ipswich 102.

Programming

Programmes between 0600 and 1900 Monday to Friday and between 0800 and 1200 on Saturday and Sunday were produced in Norwich. Some programmes outside these times were shared with The Breeze network of radio stations.

References
  1. "Ofcom awards the Ipswich commercial radio licence to Ipswich FM". Ofcom. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  2. "Town 102 loses FM licence in Ipswich". A516 Digital. 12 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  4. "Most of acquired Bauer stations to become Greatest Hits Radio". RadioToday. 27 May 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2020.

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