MFR (radio station)

MFR is an Independent Local Radio station based in Inverness, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to Moray, Scottish Highlands and North West Aberdeenshire.

As of March 2024, the station has a weekly audience of 89,000 listeners according to RAJAR.

Station information
MFR operates 97.4 FM (from the Mounteagle transmitter). The first voice heard on MFR, shortly after 6:30am on 23 February 1982, was Dave Cochrane. The longest serving presenter on MFR of 33 years was Tich McCooey, leaving on 29 May 2015.

MFR on FM largely broadcasts contemporary and chart music-led programming alongside hourly news bulletins and peak-time traffic updates. The majority of the station's output is produced and broadcast from its Inverness studios. In recent years, MFR opted out on Saturday evenings for a weekly bilingual music programme in English and Scots Gaelic, which also aired on Argyll FM, Cuillin FM, Isles FM, Nevis Radio and Two Lochs Radio.

History
The station began broadcasting on 23 February 1982. A year later, the station was making a profit.

Until August 2014, MFR 2 on AM and DAB aired specialist programming on Sunday - Friday evenings with automated music broadcast at all other times. In September 2014, the station axed its specialist output and began carrying programming from Bauer's 'Greatest Hits Network' of Scottish AM stations, switching to the Bauer City 2 network in January 2015. Since January 2019 it is part of the Greatest Hits Radio network and changed its name to the network name in April 2023.

MFR 3 launched on Monday 19 January 2015, broadcasting on DAB and online as a locally branded relay of The Hits aimed at 15-25-year-olds, with opt-outs for advertising. MFR 3 ceased broadcasting on 31 August 2017 and was replaced with a single national feed of The Hits, which was replaced ten months later with Hits Radio.

In addition to the main services, there is a local community station which opts into MFR during the daytime, broadcasting local programming produced by a non-profit community group during the evenings.


 * Caithness FM (Caithness), used to use 102.5 FM from MFR but now broadcasts under its own licence on 106.5 FM.

There also used to be five other community stations taking MFR:

AM transmissions on 1107 kHz ceased on 11th December 2023, greatly reducing the broadcast coverage area, from the whole of the North of Scotland, including Orkney and Shetland, down to just the vicinity of Inverness.
 * KCR 107.7FM (Keith, Moray), formerly known as Keith Community Radio, used to use 102.8 FM from MFR during evenings but now broadcasts under its own licence 24/7 on 107.7 FM.
 * SpeySound Radio (Aviemore), used to use 96.6 FM from MFR during evenings but now broadcasts under its own licence 24/7 on 107.1 FM.
 * Kinnaird Radio (Fraserburgh), used to use 96.7 FM from MFR during evenings but has now ceased broadcasting.
 * Oban FM (Oban) used to use 101.2 FM from MFR during their RSL period in October 1992 where MFR was broadcast on 101.2 FM in Oban in the early morning, afternoon and overnight hours, where both MFR and Oban FM carried London-based sustaining service Supergold concurrently through the night, From August 1994, Oban's community radio station no longer relayed MFR as a sustaining service, instead they opt to broadcast Greatest Hits Radio Glasgow & The West from Glasgow during their non-broadcasting hours from this point onwards until the station ceased broadcasting on 6th July 2024.
 * Nevis Radio (Fort William) used to carry MFR as their sustaining service up until mid 2000's providing news & overnight service. MFR was broadcast over Nevis Radio's 4 frequencies, 96.6, 97.0, 102.3 & 102.4 FM

Programming
Networked programming originates from Clyde 1 in Clydebank, Forth 1 in Edinburgh and Hits Radio in Manchester.

Local programming is produced and broadcast from the MFR studios in the Scorguie area of Inverness on weekdays from 6-10am, presented by Jodie McCluskey.

News
MFR broadcasts local news bulletins hourly from 6am to 7pm on weekdays and from 7am to 1pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Headlines are broadcast on the half hour during weekday breakfast and drivetime shows, alongside sport and traffic bulletins.

National bulletins from Sky News Radio are carried overnight with bespoke networked Scottish bulletins at weekends, produced from Radio Clyde's newsroom in Clydebank.