ContactTwo Counties Radio (2CR)
"Where your friends are..."
You're always at home with 2CR
Two Counties Radio
15th September 1980 was the launch date for Bournemouth's first commercial radio station, and is therefore one of the old school of ILR stations.
Along with Berkshire's Radio 210, Bournemouth's 2CR was part of a now defunct group called "Consolidated Radio Holdings". Little is known about the group's history. In 1989/1990, about to set about a prominent acquisitional program, CRH was taken over by Bristol's GWR, and the station now continues as part of the mother group's MIX network of FM stations, featuring the recent corporate 'flare' logo (or starfish) and now the 'bubble' logo.
Licenced to cover the Bournemouth area on 97.2 now, 102.3, a 24-hour a day service is offered. Programming is largely networked from Bristol's GWR HQ or some other satellite studio outside of these hours.
The station is further explained as being music-led, but information and/or features of particular local relevance will be in evidence (via at least three informational inserts/drop-ins during each hour of non locally produced programming, except for occasional syndicated shows such as the Sunday afternoon Chart Show), with hourly bulletins containing local news run at least during peak-time. National news will feature at other times. Speech should account for at least 10% of daytime output.
In 2000, 2CR FM took a serious hammering in RAJAR thanks to the new guys at The Fire. Notably, one of the south's largest advertising agencies reported to the industry "2CR were too busy looking over their shoulder at Wave 105, that Fire was able to come up and bite them on the bollocks".
Last time we looked, Two Counties Radio had a bloody great big grand piano in their Southcote Road studios, because they built the studios around the instrument. Obviously at a time when it was essential that a local radio station had access to a piano. Brilliant. We hope it's still there.
Information amended from the excellent Aircheck UK webpage
2CR Jingles
- 2CR - 2CR Makes Your Day - David Reilly (part 1)
- 2CR - 2CR Makes Your Day - David Reilly (part 2)
- 2CR - 2CR Makes Your Day - David Reilly (part 3)
- 2CR - 2CR Makes Your Day - David Reilly (part 4)
- 2CR - 2CR Makes Your Day - David Reilly (part 5)
- TBC - TM Century 1989
- TBC - JAM 1991