Early years Initially broadcasting as
257 Swansea Sound on 1169 AM and 95.1 FM on 30 September 1974, the AM frequency was later adjusted to 1170 and FM changed to 96.4. The station split into two separate services on 30 September 1995, creating a new music-led station called
96.4 Sound Wave, while
Swansea Sound continued to broadcast on 1170 AM. The separate stations were based at studios in
Gowerton, from where Swansea Sound began broadcasting. In 1998, the FM station changed its name to
96.4 The Wave.
The Wave 2000s In 2002, The Radio Authority announced plans for a
Swansea DAB multiplex to form, allowing The Wave to broadcast on a digital platform under the format of contemporary hit radio. 2003 saw the station adding the ''South Wales' Hit Music
tagline as their slogan as well as a highly popular competition called A Week on Wheels'', which returned the following year as a promotion. In January 2004, The Wave was officially launched on the new
DAB multiplex. The Wave came under management of UTV Radio in 2005, when the company acquired The Wireless Group, the owner of the station in the early 2000s. The station also ran
Party in the Park concerts in
Singleton Park, Swansea for many years, but due to the financial cost, the event ended in 2006. Instead, The Wave began a partnership with
Escape into the Park, a similar music event involving mostly contemporary dance music. In 2008, The Wave began using the marketing brand
You Love It, We Play It, which was processed by then-owners
UTV Radio. The following year, the station switched to the ''Today's Best Mix'' strapline.
2010s The Wave and Swansea Sound were involved in UTV Media's
Wales Live scheme, an aborted attempt to provide a service designed to support local news through radio, television and online services. The project was set to launch by October 2010, but ultimately failed. The Wave, along with other local commercial radio stations in the United Kingdom, became a part of the Radioplayer UK project, an internet service formed by the
BBC,
Global Radio and the
Guardian Media Group to supply a listen live feed of UK radio stations across the world. The Wave's owner, UTV, was renamed the
Wireless Group in 2016. On 8 February 2019, The Wave was sold alongside Swansea Sound and the Wireless Group's network of local radio stations to
Bauer Radio.
2020s In May 2020, Bauer announced that The Wave would join the
Hits Radio network, while retaining its localised on-air branding. The Wave began carrying most of the network's off-peak programming from Manchester from 15 June 2020. The Wave officially joined the Hits Radio network on 20 July 2020. In May 2022, The Wave began broadcasting network programming after the local breakfast show on weekdays, alongside hourly local news bulletins seven days a week and traffic updates at peak times.
Hits Radio rebrand In January 2024, The Wave moved from its former Gowerton studios to a new base in the
Llansamlet area of Swansea. Later that month, station owners Bauer announced The Wave would be rebranded as
Hits Radio from 17 April 2024, as part of a network-wide relaunch involving 17 local radio stations in England and Wales. The local breakfast show that was retained, along with local news and traffic bulletins, with the station rebranded Hits Radio South Wales. On 20 March 2025, Bauer announced it would end its local Hits Radio breakfast show to be replaced by a new national breakfast show for England and Wales. Local news and traffic bulletins were retained but the station's Swansea studios were closed. The station's final local programme aired on 6 June 2025. ==Coverage area==