Beacon Radio's name to vanish

The Beacon Radio name is to disappear after more than a quarter of a century in a major rebranding move by station owner Orion Media, it was revealed today.

Beacon, based in Tettenhall Road, Wolverhampton, will be known as Free Radio Shropshire and the Black Country from early April, said Orion chief executive Phil Riley today.

The BRMB brand in Birmingham will also go as Orion renames its stations under the Free Radio banner. Also being rebranded are Orion's Wyvern and Mercia stations in the West Midlands.

Staff were being briefed on the name change today, but Mr Riley stressed there would be no change to station output. "People who listen to Fresh and Emma in the morning will hear the same programmes, local travel and news," he said.

Mr Riley said the move would allow for cost effective marketing of the combined brand name on TV.

It would also allow Orion to market a single station brand with one million listeners rather than four smaller brands with 250,000 listeners each, when trying to attract national advertising money.