First air date 28 October 2007 | Format Adult oriented | |
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Broadcast area Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire Slogan More Music, Better Music. Frequency 106.8 MHz, 106.3 MHz, Online Audience share 11% (February 2017, [1]) | ||
Original 106fm is an independent radio station broadcasting to Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. It was awarded its broadcast licence (the last new commercial FM licence to be issued by Ofcom) in January 2007 and the station launched on 28 October 2007 at 1:06 pm. The first record played was "Revolution" by The Beatles. On 12 September 2009 the station was sold to a consortium led by Adam Findlay which included John Quinn and Murray Strachan. Adam Findlay's New Wave Media wholly owns Dundee radio station Wave 102, John Quinn is the majority shareholder and chairman of Central FM, a station which covers the Forth Valley in the central belt.
Contents
Original 106 broadcasts mainly to an adult ABC1 bias audience broadcasting from studios at Craigshaw Business Park in West Tullos, Aberdeen. Two FM transmitters are presently in operation, one main transmitter situated at Durris near Stonehaven, and a relay covering north Aberdeen. A third transmitter, a relay for Peterhead and Buchan was added to the network on 8 May 2014. A high quality UK-wide internet audio stream is available from the station website and on mobile apps.
Music
Original 106 plays a mix of hit singles from a full range of adult orientated genres including rock, pop, soul from the 60s to today.
Output
The programming output of Original 106 is produced and generated entirely from with its transmission area, with no shared or franchised programmes. It is the only radio station in north east Scotland broadcasting hourly round-the-clock news bulletins from Aberdeen, covering local, national and international news. Hourly, three minute daytime bulletins are augmented by overnight national bulletins from Sky News. Off-peak local evening bulletins and summaries are pre-recorded.
During traffic peak times there are extra news headlines with traffic and travel updates. These bulletins are complimented by regular sports and business updates, plus there are energy updates that are important to the North-East's oil, gas and renewables sectors.
Entertainment 'what's on' guides are broadcast daily, detailing events in and around Aberdeen and North East Scotland. Interviews with local people, personalities from news and entertainment backgrounds, and film/theatre reviewes form a significant part of speech output.
Original 106 associates itself with a range of local charities including Friends Of Anchor, Children 1st, VSA (Voluntary Services Aberdeen), CFINE - Community Food Initiatives North East and Instant Neighbour with the aim of publicising their work and assisting in fundraising efforts. Original's annual Christmas Toy appeal recently expanded to include donations of non-perishable foods to stock local food banks. In both 2012 and 2013, the station hosted a 24hr non-stop broadcast in aid of the STV Appeal, raising money to benefit Scottish children's charities. On each broadcast, Chris Harvey of STV stayed on air for a full 24 hours, raising many thousands of pounds.
Online
The Original 106 website features local news and weather updates, and an audio stream, an indicator of the current song playing and the last ten songs played. Audio and podcasts also feature. Original 106 has mobile apps available to download free of charge for both IOS and Android devices.
On 1 December 2016 three online-only stations were launched under the Original 106 brand; Original 106 Chart (playing non-stop current and recent hits), Original 106 Country (current and classic country hits) and Original 106 Gold (non-stop 60s and 70s hits). All are accessible from the station website and downloadable app.
The Original 106 Pride Of Aberdeen Awards
The Original 106 Pride Of Aberdeen Awards is an event to recognise and reward talent, bravery, endeavour and achievement of local people living within the transmission area of Original 106. The first such ceremony took place on Saturday, 14 November 2015 at the Aberdeen Exhibition & Conference Centre. There were 13 categories awarded, and entertainment on the night came from amongst others, comedian Fred McAuley, with music from M People and The Bay City Rollers.