Greatest Hits Radio South Wales (formerly Swansea Sound) is Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer Radio as part of the Greatest Hits Radio network. The station broadcasts to Swansea, Cardiff, Newport and surrounding areas from studios in the Gowerton area of Swansea on DAB. Up until 2022, the station broadcast on 1170 kHz across its original target service area of Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and east Carmarthenshire. History Launch Swansea Sound began broadcasting at 6a.m. on Monday 30 September 1974. The first voice heard on air was its managing director, Charles Braham: "Bore da. Good Morning. As managing director I am very proud to say for the very first time that this is Swansea Sound bringing independent radio to Wales, to entertain, to inform and above all give yourselves a real involvement in community matters..." Chris Harper presented the station's first breakfast show, opening with MFSB's Love Is The Message. At its launch, it was the first and only commercial radio station in Wales and the seventh in the United Kingdom - it was also the first independent radio station to broadcast a bilingual service in the English and Welsh languages. Originally, the station broadcast on 257 metres (1170 kHz) AM and 95.1 FM before moving its FM frequency to 96.4 in the early 1980s. Frequency split, launch of The Wave (1995) Until the early 1990s, FM adoption in the UK was relatively low, so it was common practice among stations to simulcast their programming on both AM and FM frequencies. Starting in the late 1980s, the UK government and the IBA required that ILR and BBC stations cease simulcasting and provide separate services on their AM and FM frequencies. In September 1995, Swansea Sound's FM frequency became a CHR (contemporary hit radio) station called 96.4 Sound Wave (now 96.4 The Wave), while Swansea Sound continued to broadcast its full service format on 1170 AM. Sale to UTV Media (2006) In 2006, UTV Media purchased the Wireless Group, owners of radio stations across the UK including Swansea Sound. It gave the station a new jingle package, logo and slogans, as well as a significant expansion to local programming. In late 2016, UTV's television assets were sold to ITV plc. The radio division of the company was later sold to News UK, and renamed back to its original name, the Wireless Group. At News UK, its sister stations