Editing Pennine FM

{{For|the Bradford-based station which used this name in the 1980s|Pennine Radio (radio station)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2012}}

{{Infobox radio station
| logo      = 107.9 Pennine FM logo.png
| name      = Pennine FM
| airdate   = 1 March 1998
| last_airdate = 5 April 2010
| frequency = 107.9&nbsp;MHz
| area      = [[Huddersfield]]
| format    = [[Contemporary hit radio|Contemporary/classic hits]]
| owner     = Pennine Media Ltd
}}

'''Pennine FM''' was an [[Independent Local Radio]] station based at Lockwood Park in [[Huddersfield]], [[West Yorkshire]], [[England]]. The station closed on 5 April 2010 and returned its licence to the industry regulator [[Ofcom]].<ref>[http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2010/04/07/closure-for-troubled-radio-station-pennine-fm-86081-26188437/ Closure for troubled radio station Pennine FM]</ref>

==Background==
The station was originally launched as ''Huddersfield FM'' by the Minster Sound Radio Group plc in October 1999.<ref name="Pennine FM back"/> The station was bought by Radio Investments Limited and [[GWR Group|GWR]] in November 1999, then completely by Radio Investments (now [[The Local Radio Company]]) in December 2000 and renamed ''Home 107.9''. It was broadcast from studios at The Old Stableblock, [[Lockwood, West Yorkshire|Lockwood Park]], Huddersfield. Though popular music was the staple, community output was prominent on the station with content reflecting the diversity of the local communities.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.geocities.com/thehotw/aircheck_UKYorks.htm |title=BBC Local Radio |publisher=Aircheck UK – Yorkshire |date=6 November 2005 |accessdate=2 July 2010|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022155814/http://geocities.com/thehotw/aircheck_UKYorks.htm|archivedate=2009-10-22}}</ref>

In February 2008, ''Home 107.9'' was rebranded as ''The New Pennine FM'',<ref name="Pennine FM back">{{cite news |url=http://radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.3108.2 |title=Pennine FM back from the dead |publisher=Radio Today |date=29 February 2008 |accessdate=2 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120427084620/http://radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.3108.2 |archivedate=27 April 2012 }}</ref> and by June 2008 it had left [[The Local Radio Company]] profile and was taken over independently.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.3543.2 |title=TLRC sells six more stations |publisher=Radio Today |date=30 June 2008 |accessdate=2 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110105231239/http://radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.3543.2 |archivedate=5 January 2011 }}</ref> However, they still took some of TLRC's networked shows such as ''The Lunchtime Gameshow'' broadcast from [[Minster FM]] in [[York]] on Sundays at 12 noon, hosted by John Harding and Russ Leighton.

On 16 April 2009, ''The New Pennine FM'' was put into administration and taken off the air. It is understood that the owners were heavily in debt to [[Huddersfield Rugby Union Football Club]] which leased their premises to the station.<ref>[http://www.examiner.co.uk/news/local-west-yorkshire-news/2009/04/17/commercial-radio-station-pennine-fm-goes-bust-86081-23404456/ examiner.co.uk]</ref> In the weeks following the station closure, the 107.9 frequency continued to play the Pennine FM backup disc from their transmitter. [[Ofcom]] noted this breach in their Bulletin Issue.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/obb/prog_cb/obb138/ |title=Broadcast Bulletin Issue number 138 - 20/07/09 &#124; Ofcom |access-date=19 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323031715/http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/obb/prog_cb/obb138/ |archive-date=23 March 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 7 May 2009, the station was bought by Pennine Media Ltd.  The new owners appointed Jonathan Gold as Programme Director and Dave Stankler as Commercial Director.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.5153 |title=RadioToday on 2009 station sale |access-date=14 September 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229061705/http://radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.5153 |archive-date=29 February 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The station was then branded as ''Pennine FM, Huddersfield's More Music Station,'' and aimed at 25- to 45-year-olds, playing a mix of classic and current hits.

==2010 closure==
On 5 April 2010, it was announced on air that Pennine FM will close at 10p.m. that day and that the licence will be handed back to [[Ofcom]].<ref>[http://radiotoday.co.uk/news.php?extend.5786 RadioToday report on 2010 station closure]{{Dead link|date=May 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The station closed four hours earlier, at 18:00, and the last song played was [[Sleeping Satellite]] by [[Tasmin Archer]]. A test tone was heard immediately after the final [[radio sweeper|sweeper]].

==Technical==
The signal was at a relatively low power (100w vertical polarization, 100w horizontal polarization) and was broadcast from a transmitter at a site owned by [[Yorkshire Electricity]] Distribution PLC ([[YEDL]]) at [[Ainley Top]], near the [[M62 motorway|M62]]. The signal power was low to protect the aircraft communication band. The [[Radio Data System|RDS]] name was ''PENNINE''

==Branding==
Huddersfield FM's [[jingle]] packages were produced by [[JAM Creative Productions]] and [[Steve England]].

In January 2007, when the station was still Home 107.9, they began using a [[jingle]] package produced by the [[Bespoke Music]] Company, as did many other stations owned by the Local Radio Company. To complement the new jingles, the station's strap line was changed from ''music:fun:life'' to ''from Huddersfield with West Yorkshire's greatest hits.''

When the station became Pennine FM, another batch of idents were produced by [[Jones Radio Networks#TM Studios.2C Inc. .28formerly JonesTM.2C Inc..29|JonesTM]] which incorporated "''the New Pennine FM''" moniker.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080304002728/http://www.jinglemad.com/e107_plugins/forum/forum_viewtopic.php?59095 jinglemad.com]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/ainley-top.php Ainley Top transmitter photographs]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091022155814/http://geocities.com/thehotw/aircheck_UKYorks.htm  History of local radio in Yorkshire]

[[Category:Huddersfield media]]
[[Category:Radio stations in Yorkshire|Pennine]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1998]]
[[Category:Radio stations disestablished in 2010]]
[[Category:Defunct radio stations in the United Kingdom]]