Heart (radio network)
Heart is a network of thirteen independent adult contemporary radio stations in the United Kingdom, broadcasting a mix of local and networked programming. Ten of the stations are owned and operated by Global, while the other three are owned and operated under separate franchise agreements. The national version of the network is widely available on Global Player, Freeview, Sky, Freesat, Virgin Media and Digital One DAB.
Not to be confused with iHeartRadio.Country
The Heart radio stations have a combined reach of 8.8 million listeners as of December 2023, making it the third most-popular radio network and the biggest commercial radio brand in the UK after BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4. The total reach for all Heart-branded stations is over 11.5 million.[1]
Criticisms[edit]
In August 2010, listeners in Bedfordshire and Crawley, West Sussex, complained about the merger of Heart stations and called for a boycott of the station.[36]
Some listeners have complained about what they regard as the repetitive nature of Heart's playlist. A public complaint to the regulator Ofcom in 2012 that the "More Music Variety" slogan was materially misleading was not pursued as Ofcom deemed that it did not warrant further investigation.[37] Ofcom stated that "We did not consider listeners were materially misled by this slogan."[38]
Further complaints were made to the station in 2019, largely regarding the merger of some Heart stations and the reduction in local programming, following the relaxation of local content guidelines by OFCOM.[39]