Timeline of Hits Radio facts for kids

Hits Radio is a popular British radio station run by Bauer Radio. It plays the latest pop hits and is heard across the UK. This timeline shows some important moments in its history, from its beginnings as a local station in Manchester to becoming a national brand.

Early Days: 1970s and 1980s

Starting in Manchester

• 1974
  • 2 April – Piccadilly Radio began broadcasting in Manchester. It was the city's first commercial radio station, meaning it made money from advertisements. It broadcast on both AM and FM signals.

Splitting the Signals

• 1988
  • 3 September – Piccadilly Radio decided to use its AM and FM signals for different types of music. Key 103 started on FM, playing music for older listeners. Piccadilly 1152 continued on AM, playing general popular music.

Changes and Growth: 1990s and 2000s

New Music Mixes

• 1990
  • Piccadilly changed its AM/FM plan again to be more like other radio stations. Popular music moved to FM (sometimes called 'Piccadilly Key 103'). Music for older listeners moved to AM (first 'Piccadilly Gold', then back to Piccadilly 1152). This AM station later became Magic, then Key 2, and then Key Radio.
• 1996
  • Key 103 and its AM sister station moved to new studios in Castlefield, where they are still based today.

The Hits Radio Appears

• 2003
  • 1 January – A new station called The Hits started on DAB digital radio in London. It played the sound from a TV channel with the same name.
  • April – The Hits stopped playing TV audio and became its own radio station, playing popular new songs.
  • July – The Hits became available across the whole country. You could find it in the radio section of Freeview (called 'The Hits Radio' to tell it apart from the TV channel).
  • Late in year – The Hits expanded its reach on DAB digital radio to more areas outside London, including places in Northern England.
• 2004
  • Early in year – The sound quality of The Hits on DAB was lowered to make space for Heat Radio. It was lowered even more later to help other local Magic stations improve their sound quality.
  • April – The Hits was removed from some local DAB areas and replaced by Kerrang! Radio.

Bauer Media Takes Over

• 2008
  • Bauer Media bought all of Emap's radio stations, including The Hits.

Becoming Hits Radio: 2010s

The Hits Returns and Changes

• 2012
  • Late in year – The Hits reappeared on Bauer's DAB digital radio services in Northern England.
• 2015
  • 5 January – Bauer's FM stations, including Key 103, which played popular current hits, were relaunched as the Bauer City 1 network. These stations already played some shared shows from the main studios during quieter times. At this point, Magic 1152 on AM became Key 2.
  • 19 January –
    • The Hits was divided into a group of new DAB stations called Bauer City 3. These stations played new hits, shared most of their shows, but had local news, names, and advertisements in different areas. The main Hits Radio show was still available nationally on Freeview.
    • The Hits was taken off DAB in London and Birmingham. The space in Birmingham was used for Kisstory.
• 2017
  • 1 September – The Bauer City 3 network was stopped, and The Hits returned as a single national station on DAB digital radio.

The Launch of Hits Radio

• 2018
  • 18 April – Key 103 announced that it would become a national station called Hits Radio from 4 June. They showed the new station logo and shared details about its shows, including the new morning show.
  • 23 May – Absolute Radio 70s and Kerrang! Radio were removed from DAB in London. A placeholder service with music and announcements, listed as Hits Radio, took their place. This placeholder also appeared in many other DAB areas.
  • Late May – Magic Soul on DAB in Birmingham was replaced by the Hits Radio placeholder.
  • 1 June – Key 103 and The Hits Radio stopped their regular shows at 6pm. They played music and announcements for 60 hours to get ready for the big launch. The Hits' social media pages were deleted, and Key 103's were renamed 'HitsRadioUK'.
  • 4 June – Hits Radio Manchester officially launched, taking over from Key 103 on FM in Manchester. Hits Radio UK launched, replacing The Hits on DAB and Freeview. Gethin Jones, Gemma Atkinson, and Dave Vitty launched the Manchester station. The first song played was Greatest Day by Take That, chosen by a public poll.

Expanding the Hits Radio Family: 2020s

New Stations Join the Network

• 2020
  • 28 August – Hits Radio launched its first spin-off station, Hits Radio Pride. It was created for the LGBTQ+ community.
  • 31 August – Hits Radio South Coast launched, becoming the second FM station to be called Hits Radio. It used to be called The Breeze South Coast. This change happened after Bauer bought The Breeze network in 2019.
  • 3 November – Hits Radio Suffolk launched on DAB digital radio. It took over the spot that had been playing Greatest Hits Radio (and before that, Town 102). All its shows are shared with the main Hits network, but it can still have local news, information, and advertisements.
• 2021
  • 6 September – Fire Radio in Bournemouth and Sam FM in Bristol changed their names to Hits Radio. Both stations kept their local afternoon shows.
• 2022
  • 19 September – Nation Broadcasting replaced Hits Radio South Coast on FM with Easy Radio South Coast. Bauer provided a new Hits Radio signal through the South Hampshire DAB digital radio service.
  • 1 October – Hits Radio Suffolk was removed from DAB, and the space went back to playing Greatest Hits Radio.
• 2023
  • April – CFM in Cumbria was planned to switch from the Hits Radio Network to Greatest Hits Radio. Hits Radio shows would still be available in the area on DAB.
  • 4 September – Hits Radio extended its shared afternoon show to Hits Radio Bristol and Hits Radio South Coast. Local shows on these stations moved to mid-mornings.