Key 103
Key 103 is an independent local radio station that broadcasts to the city of Manchester and the north west of England. It mostly plays current pop and dance music. It used to be owned by Trans World Communications and EMAP. Now it is owned by Bauer Radio. It is part of the company's Big City Network of stations. The station is based in Castlefield, Manchester. It was first named Piccadilly Radio, from its set up in 1974. It was renamed in August 1988 when it was decided to re-brand Piccadilly Radio's FM frequency to the new name, with a younger target audience in mind. The original Piccadilly Radio continued to broadcast on the AM frequency of 1152 kHz.
| Key 103 | |
|---|---|
| City of license | Manchester |
| Broadcast area | Greater Manchester |
| Branding | Manchester’s No.1 Hit Music Station |
| Frequency | 103.0 MHz, CE Manchester DAB Multiplex, Online |
| First air date | 3 September 1988 |
| Format | CHR/Pop |
| Audience share | 7.1%[1] (December 2009) |
| Owner | Bauer Radio |
| Website | Key 103 |
The station broadcasts on the analogue frequency 103 FM, from a 4 kW transmitter on Saddleworth Moor. It broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio from City Tower (formerly Sunley Tower) on the CE Manchester multiplex. Key 103's live broadcast can also be listened to from their website, but only from inside the UK.
The station won three awards at the 2008 Sony radio awards. These consisted of Bronze in the entertainment category for the breakfast show 'Toolan in the Morning', Gold in the competition award for 'Sell Me The Answer' and Gold in the Station of the Year category. As of 2008/9, Key 103 and its sister station Piccadilly Magic 1152 are the official commercial radio partners of Manchester United and Manchester City, broadcasting all of both clubs' games live.
Other websites
- Key 103 Manchester
- Jason King's website Archived 2019-05-05 at the Wayback Machine
- In:Demand website