City Manchester Frequency FM: 103.0 MHz
DAB: 11C | Broadcast area Greater Manchester Format CHR/Pop | |
Slogan All the biggest hits - All day long First air date 2 April 1974 (as Piccadilly Radio)
3 September 1988 (as Key 103) | ||
Key 103 is a local radio station owned and operated by Bauer Radio as part of the City 1 network. It broadcasts to Manchester from studios in Castlefield.
Contents
Overview
Originally named Piccadilly Radio, from its set up in 1974, the station was renamed in August 1988 when it was decided to re-brand Piccadilly Radio's FM frequency to the new name Key 103. The original Piccadilly Radio, now known as Key 2 continued to broadcast on the AM frequency of 1152 kHz.
The station broadcasts on the analogue frequency 103 FM, from a 4KW transmitter on Saddleworth Moor and broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio from City Tower (formerly Sunley Tower) on the CE Manchester multiplex. Key 103's programming can also be heard from their website, but only within the UK.
Technical
The DAB signal is broadcast from transmitters located at Winter Hill and City Tower, Manchester on the CE Manchester multiplex. These transmissions are only aimed towards the city and are not as extensive as the FM frequency, which can be heard over much of north west England and into North Wales.
In May 2016, two additional digital transmitters were launched at Littleborough and Saddleworth.
Programming
The majority of programming - local and networked - is produced and broadcast from Key 103's studios in Castlefield, Manchester. The Vodafone Big Top 40 is produced by Global Radio at its Capital studios in London for broadcast on 145 commercial radio stations in the UK.
The station's local presenters are Gemma Atkinson, Mike Toolan and Matt Haslam (Key 103 Breakfast), Debbie Mac, Adam Cole, So Wright, Adam Catterall and Fiona Sadler. The station's network presenters include Paddy McGuinness, Darryl Morris, Marvin Humes and Wes Butters.
News
Key 103 broadcasts local news bulletins hourly from 6am to 7pm on weekdays, from 7am to 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Headlines are broadcast on the half hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows, alongside sport and traffic bulletins.
National bulletins from Sky News Radio are carried overnight with bespoke networked bulletins on weekend afternoons from the Manchester newsroom.