Hits Radio is coming!
Here's everything you need to know.
From April 17th Pirate FM will rebrand to Hits Radio Cornwall on DAB. You will continue to hear Neil and Saffy at Breakfast as they become part of the new station, with a line-up of shows from presenters including Fleur East, Sam Thompson, Gemma Atkinson and Sarah-Jane Crawford.
As Hits Radio, the playlist will be the biggest hits from current artists, alongside the biggest throwbacks, with a mix of artists from Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Harry Styles to Eminem, Rihanna and Katy Perry – as well news of all the biggest things happening right now and chats with some of music’s biggest stars.
Hits Radio Cornwall will be a digital only station – so, from Spring, you’ll find Hits Radio Cornwall on DAB, online at hitsradio.co.uk and by asking your Smart Speaker to ‘Play Hits Radio Cornwall’.
Coinciding with the launch of Hits Radio in Spring will be Greatest Hits Radio Cornwall taking over our current FM frequency 102.2 (Caradon Hill) and 102.8 (Redruth). Greatest Hits Radio plays the biggest songs of the 70s, 80s and 90s – the songs you know and love from artists including Elton John, Blondie, Queen, George Michael, Madonna, Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, Elton John and Whitney Houston.
All these Greatest Hits are played by radio legends including Ken Bruce with PopMaster, Simon Mayo, Jackie Brambles, Martin Kemp, Kate Thornton and Jenny Powell.
Both of our new stations will continue to provide your local news and information for Cornwall, including traffic and travel. As well as what you hear on-air, we remain connected to the community across Cornwall with our vital fundraising for disadvantaged young people through our Cash for Kids charity.
Why is the name of the station changing?
Pirate FM is already part of the Hits Radio Network, and this name change simply means that we’ll be more clearly linked as part of this bigger national brand, which brings more opportunities for us in the long-term.
We’ll still continue to have all the local elements on the station we know is important to you, including local news and traffic and travel available on DAB, online and in the app. Bringing Greatest Hits Radio to FM is something that we know listeners want and this change also gives us the opportunity to bring Ken Bruce, Simon Mayo, Jackie Brambles and the other brilliant broadcasters on the station to FM.
Are you making any changes to the schedule?
Alongside the station name changes there will be some changes to the schedules. Neil and Saffy will continue to present the Breakfast Show, weekdays from 6-10am, when we change to Hits Radio Cornwall. There will also be a local show on Greatest Hits Radio, 1-4pm weekdays, details to be announced soon.
Will you be changing the music that you play?
On Hits Radio Cornwall you’ll still be able to hear all of the biggest hits and biggest throwbacks on the station including songs from Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Harry Styles to Eminem and Rihanna that you heard on Pirate FM. Over on Greatest Hits Radio it’s the biggest songs from the 70s, 80s and 90s that will be keeping you company throughout the day.
Does this mean that it will no longer be a local station?
You’ll still be able to find all the same local elements including local news and information, traffic and travel on both stations, and the current weekday Breakfast show with Neil and Saffy will still be on Hits Radio Cornwall, and a new show on Greatest Hits Radio, with details being announced soon.
We’ll still be supporting fundraising for disadvantaged young people within the community through our Cash for Kids charity and will also continue to provide advertising opportunities for local commercial partners.
How will I be able to listen to the station from Spring?
We’ll update automatically on the current FM frequency to Greatest Hits Radio, and on DAB digital radio you may just need to retune your radio to make sure we come up as Hits Radio Cornwall, but you won’t need to do anything just yet.
To listen on your Smart Speaker you’ll need to just to ask it to “Play Hits Radio Cornwall", and to listen on the app. New websites will be available at ‘hitsradio.co.uk’ and ‘greatesthitsradio.co.uk’ and from both of these sites you’ll just need to select Cornwall as your local region to make sure you’re getting the localised version of the station.
Will I still be able to enter Make Me A Winner when Pirate FM becomes Hits Radio/Greatest Hits Radio?
Yes! Our life-changing cash competitions will continue be a big part of both stations and you’ll still be able to enter in all the usual ways.
I have a prize / offer voucher with the station – will that expire?
No don’t worry! Nothing changes with regards to our prizes; the validity period will remain the same.
What will happen to the Pirate FM building?
The address remains the same and we’ll continue to broadcast from the site as usual.
What will happen to the Pirate FM social media pages?
If you already follow the pages you won’t need to do anything as they’ll be renamed in due course.
Will I still receive regular emails from Pirate FM?
As we change our name to Hits Radio Cornwall, you’ll need to opt into our new emails to make sure you receive information ongoing. We’ll share details for how you can do this in due course.
How will I be able to contact the station from Spring?
Our address remains the same, you’ll just need to address any post to Hits Radio Cornwall/Greatest Hits Radio Cornwall. The phone number also remains the same and we’ll share new email details in due course.
Will you still be supporting Cash for Kids?
Yes absolutely! We’ll still be supporting fundraising for disadvantaged young people in the community through our Cash for Kids charity.
I’m a local business and want to understand more about the changes, who do I speak to?
If you already have a contact at the business, please feel free to reach out to them as normal or you can contact jon.brooks@bauermedia.co.uk.
If you have any other questions that haven’t been answered above, please feel free to contact feedback@hitsradio.co.uk and the team will get back to you in due course.
