City Chesterfield Format Adult Contemporary Owner Wireless Group | Broadcast area North Derbyshire Audience share 25% (February 2014, ) | |
Slogan "More Of The Music You Love" | ||
Peak FM is a British independent local radio station in north Derbyshire, owned and operated by Wireless Group.
Contents
Towns
Based in Sheepbridge, Chesterfield, Peak FM's coverage area includes the towns of Alfreton, Bakewell, Bolsover, Clay Cross, Dronfield, Matlock, Pinxton, Ripley, Shirebrook, South Normanton and Staveley. Southern districts of the City of Sheffield are also included, though the topography of the area makes reception unreliable.
Frequencies
Peak FM is now available as an audio stream on the Internet.
History
Peak FM began broadcasting to Chesterfield as 'Peak 107 FM' on 7 October 1998, at 8 am, with the Simple Minds song "Alive and Kicking". The Radio Authority had awarded Grand Central Broadcasting the licence earlier in the spring.
The station was launched by Dave Kilner, with the (then) Mayor and Mayoress of Chesterfield. Mark Burrows presented Breakfast after the launch, followed by Dave Kilner on mid-mornings, James Hilton on drive, Trev Parsons one hour of drive and the evening show and Richard Spinks on Late Night Love.
At the same time, the authority also awarded licences for two other small stations, in nearby Bassetlaw and Mansfield.
Forever Broadcasting
In 2001, Forever Broadcasting bought Grand Central Broadcasting and Peak 107 was rebranded as 'The 50/50 Music Mix of Yesterday And Today', with an accompanying change in music policy.
Forever sold three of its stations in 2003: with three remaining- Peak, Tower FM in Bolton and Wolverhampton's 107.7 The Wolf. In early 2004, Forever Broadcasting was itself bought by The Wireless Group, run by former newspaper editor Kelvin MacKenzie.
Wireless Group
Under the new regime, the station changed its name to the shorter 'Peak FM' from 'Peak 107' in summer 2004. This was due to the station broadcasting on two frequencies, 107.4FM and 102FM
Station output did not change dramatically after the takeover, but presenters were occasionally required to promote other stations and services offered by The Wireless Group, which was itself taken over by UTV Radio in June 2005.
In February 2014 it was announced that Sean Goldsmith and Becky Measures would leave Peak FM Breakfast after 12 years to host Viking FM Breakfast in Hull. Although both left the station, Measures quickly returned to co-host Breakfast with James Summers who had previously hosted the mid-morning slot.
Programming
Local programming is produced and broadcast from Peak FM's Chesterfield studios from 6am-7pm on weekdays, 6am-6pm on Saturdays and 8am-12pm on Sundays. Networked programming originates from Wireless Group's Signal Radio studios in Stoke-on-Trent. 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.
Current Local Line Up
Breakfast - Cat and Ricky at Breakfast Mid Mornings - Craig Bailey The Home Run - James Summers Total Sport - Joe Rawson and Phil Tooley
Weekend Breakfast and Sunday Brunch - Gav P Weekend Mid Mornings - Sam Harper Total Sport - Joe Rawson and Phil Tooley
Breakfast Show
The current Breakfast Show hosts are Ricky Durkin and Cat Kilvington.
For 12 years the Breakfast Show was hosted by Sean Goldsmith and Becky Measures. In 2014 it was announced that both Measures and Goldsmith would leave Peak FM to move as a pair to Viking FM in Hull. However, Measures decided against the plan and moved back to Peak. Goldsmith went onto present Viking FM breakfast solo
From 2014 to January 29th 2016, show was hosted by James Summers and Becky Measures. Summers made the decision to leave to go to a different station and Measures left to follow her passion for charity work. James had worked at Peak FM for nearly 4 years, previously hosting the Mid Morning show, but later returned to host the Home Run in October 2016. Becky had worked at the station for nearly 14 years.
The current Breakfast Show began in December 2016.
News and Sport
Peak FM broadcasts local news bulletins hourly from 6.30am to 6.30pm on weekdays and from 8am to 12pm on weekends. Headlines are broadcast on the half hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows. The station also simulcasts hourly Sky News Radio bulletins at all other times.
The station also broadcasts a live sports programme on Saturday afternoons, including live match commentaries on Chesterfield FC league and cup matches during the football season.