Long-running Swansea radio station The Wave is to start broadcasting the majority of its schedule from outside of Wales
The change will see presenter Jamie Pritchard, who has been at the station since 2013, performing his last show on May 13, while it will be swapping out some of its local programmes for national ones. 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 in England and Scotland.
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.” You can get more Swansea news and other story updates by subscribing to our newsletters here.
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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 mid-morning show from former KISS Breakfast host, Tom Green. You can read more stories about Swansea here.
However, some Swansea listeners are concerned that the changes will impact the local feel of the show. There was similar disappointment among Swansea 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 local listeners describing the original station, launched in 1974, as "the heart of our town" and the re-brand as "a terrible loss to the area".
Nathan Watters, 34, who lives in Coelbren said: “This is a massive blow for the area with all programmes going to be networked from England except breakfast. No call in to let them know about traffic issues or for a chat and no way of anything local being mentioned.
“I feel sorry for the local presenters that will lose their jobs with this news. Radio is a changing landscape admittedly, but all this networking and failed celebrities over proper presenters who are capable of producing amazing radio is utter rubbish. Although community radio is great, the presenters don’t get paid a penny, not even expenses.”
Also responding to the recent news about the The Wave, a Facebook user said: “I stopped listening to Swansea Sound when Hits Radio took over, it wasn’t the same. We lost Kevin John, the Sunday phone-in, local news and also the personal contact with the staff who were local people. It was a slap in the face for those who gave loyalty to the radio station.”
Hits Radio has said that changes to The Wave mean that some jobs are under review, while some new roles are also being created to support the network.
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.”
The new schedule for The Wave launching Monday, May 16, is as follows:
Monday – Friday
6am – 10am: The Wave Breakfast with Leigh & Claire
10am – 1pm: Tom G
1pm – 4pm: Hattie Pearson
4pm – 7pm: Gemma Atkinson & Mike Toolan
7pm – 10pm: Jordan Lee (mon-thu - on Fridays 7pm – 10pm: Friday Night Hits with Max George)
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