Listeners’ anger as The Wave radio moves out of Wales
LONG-TIME listeners of Swansea radio station The Wave have reacted with anger and dismay to hear that most shows will soon be broadcast from England and Scotland, with the majority of local content being ditched.
Many listeners have said they will no longer be tuning in as a result of the changes, which the Post reported yesterday, while others have expressed what a loss it will be for Swansea and how sad it is for the “amazing staff.”
Tom Giffard MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Minister for Culture, Tourism and Sport, described it as “bitterly disappointing news for listeners” and “a worrying time for The Wave’s current staff members”.
The move will see popular presenter Jamie Pritchard performing his final show at The Wave on Friday, May 13, after spending over nine years on air at the station.
Other than the weekday breakfast shows, which will retain local news and local traffic content, from May 16 the rest of the schedule will be taken from Hits Radio hubs based outside Wales.
Gary Stein, content director for the Hits Radio Network, said: “We send our huge thanks to Jamie for keeping us all greatly entertained on weekdays, I hope you’ll join me in saying farewell as he signs off from his shows next month before this new chapter.”
With Jamie’s departure, The Wave, which was launched in Swansea in 1995, will be broadcasting new national shows including a drivetime show hosted by Gemma Atkinson and Mike Toolan, and a midmorning show from former KISS Breakfast host Tom Green.
Fans of the station have reacted to its new schedule with disappointment, and many listeners have taken to social media to express their frustration.
Zoe Parkinson said “absolutely gutted Swansea” and Gareth Caroline said the move was “very sad” and that “the staff are amazing and do amazing shows.” Emil Purzycki similarly called it “a shame” because he “loved listening to it on my way to work”.
Others said they would no longer be listening, with Harri Davies saying he will now “only listen to the Breakfast show, not the rest of it” and Mike Pouse Davies saying it is
“time to listen elsewhere then, all the phone-ins seem to be from England these days, sad times”.
Likewise, Richard Porter said the station would be “no interest to me at all” because “I really do not wish to be told there is a traffic hold up 80 miles away”.
Some listeners described what they felt the loss meant for Swansea, with Nathan Watters calling it a “massive blow for the area” and Jenny Francis saying: “What a shame to destroy such an amazing local station.”
“I can see there being no local stations in the future”, said Mark Morgan, while Paul Wiggins said: “It always amazes me how Wales can never keep its own content, it’s about time the Senedd required ‘X percent’ of radio content to come from Wales on stations like this.”
There was similar disappointment among residents when thousands of listeners signed a petition against the re-branding of sister station Swansea Sound radio in 2020. It has since been re-named ‘Greatest Hits Radio’ with listeners describing the original station, launched in 1974, as “the heart of our town” and the rebrand as “a terrible loss to the area.”
Jamie Mathias said: “I haven’t listened to The Wave since they ditched Swansea Sound, what they re-branded it to was garbage.”
Similarly, Stuart Davis said: “The Wave has gone downhill ever since Hits Radio took over. I only listen to Claire and Leigh and then I switch off because it’s utter rubbish with this new company. They have ruined our local station.”
Mr Giffard, MS for South Wales West, said: “This is bitterly disappointing news for listeners with the majority of The Wave’s shows going to be networked from outside of Wales. Radio is an ever-changing landscape, and this must be a worrying time for The Wave’s current staff members with some jobs under review. I hope to see the staff redeployed to support the network as it transitions because it is important we do all we can to protect local jobs for local people.”
Hits Radio has said changes to The Wave mean some jobs are under review, while some new roles are also being created.
Mr Stein added: “We are committed to ensuring the future of radio in local markets and in a fast-changing audio landscape we must reimagine local radio to secure its future success. Along with these exciting new programmes, listeners will continue to have access to local news content, local information and traffic and travel that is important to them.”