River FM
 | |
| Broadcast area | West Lothian |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 103.4. MHz, 107.7 MHz, Freeview 730 |
| First air date | 1 September 2003 |
| Format | Contemporary |
| Owner | Kingdom Radio Group |
| Website | www.riverfm.co.uk |
River FM was a radio station serving West Lothian, Scotland. The radio station was based at Livingston FC's stadium in the centre of the town. It played a range of hit music and older classics. Despite the limited area officially covered, it could sometimes be picked up as far away as Kilmarnock, Dundee and Stirling . On the Goodmans GDB9 Freeview Receiver when using a Yorkshire transmitter, River FM is available on Freeview channel 730. The MHEG Caption says "River FM West Lothian's radio station in Scotland www.riverfm.co.uk" with a River FM logo at the top, until July 2007 when a station was removed from a platform.
Presenters
Some of the many past presenters are: Jimmy Young, Pete Smith, Dave Ross, Vicky Pichters, Rod Johnston, Donny Hughes, Scotty B, Gus Bain and Dave McIntosh, John Burns, Ryan Morrison, Scott Laing, Alex Boyd, Charlie Mac, Elanie Notman, Keith Crombie, Keith Reid, Paul Scott, Steve Hamilton, Jana Ramos, Katie Burnett to name a few.
The lineup immediately prior to closure consisted of James Russell (Breakfast Show), Barry Snedden (Hits and Headlines and mid morning show), Paul Scott (Drivetime), Colin Young (Evenings), Rod Johnston (Saturday Breakfast), Grant Thomson, Keith Crombie, Colin Jackson, Gordon Hunter & Daimen Richards (Sunday Afternoons). Hit40UK could also be heard Sunday afternoons from 4 p.m.
Kevin Brady is the Managing Director of Kingdom Radio Group and Barry Snedden was the last Programme Controller of River FM.
Attempted sale by Kingdom Group and subsequent closure
In December 2006 the station went up for sale. The station is believed to have been unprofitable, and Kingdom Group's Board of Directors decision raised a big question over the station's future, and even its existence.[1]
On Monday 29 January 2007, at 15:00 GMT, River FM went into automation, with live programming going out as normal up until this point. At 18:00 on the same day, River FM fell silent, the deadline Kingdom Group had set for a buyer being identified or the station being shut down. On Monday 29 January Kingdom FM had no offers from any other radio organisation and shut down at 6.00pm with the last song being Nelly Furtado " All things come to an end ". The radio presenters and staff did not know about the shutdown of the company until 5.00pm that same day just one hour before the station shut and handed their licence. Ofcom will give the license back to West Lothian and Edinburgh for a local station only covering only Edinburgh and the Lothians. Some presenters found employment elsewhere in a freelance capacity.
References
- ↑ River FM for sale by Kingdom Radio Today 8 December 2006
Coordinates: 55°53′10″N 3°31′20″W / 55.8860°N 3.5222°W