[BBI45]

Would have included the BRMB name in the mix (well, the original BRMB, anyway - launched on 19th February 1974), but of course, previous owners Orion killed that off in favour of Free Radio.

General feeling seems to be Free won't be mourned and Hits will be a better fit for those four stations. Even their breakfast host, John Dalziel, isn't sad to see it go.

twitter.com 

Incidentally, has David Lloyd had anything to say about it, considering he's been frothing at the mouth regarding BBC Local Radio's changes? (he barely stayed five minutes as a head of region in Hull before being enticed back to commercial radio)

I've not seen anything from him, but I can't be too surprised given that 5 of the impacted stations were once under his stewardship with mixed success. He successfully oversaw the transition of Gem from a member of the Heart network, to a fully local station. He was even the person on air when the handover came.

www.aircheckdownloads.com 

However, he was also behind the decision to rebrand BRMB, Beacon, Mercia and Wyvern as Free Radio, and as we've seen since the Hits Radio news has come out, people didn't really gel with the name. I'm sure he's got his opinions just as everyone else does, but I think he's wisely chosen not to give the people of the West Midlands the opportunity to get some free hits in on his decisions 12 years ago.