Today Ofcom announced the licence for the second national commercial network has been awarded to the Sound Digital consortium, made up of Bauer, Arqiva and UTV. The multiplex is due to launch within 12 months and the station lineup is as follows:
talkRADIO (news, current affairs and general speech)-UTV Media (GB) Limited
talkSPORT 2 (live sport and sports talk)-UTV Media (GB) Limited
talkBUSINESS (business and finance)-UTV Media (GB) Limited
Virgin Radio (rock and pop music)-UTV Media (GB) Limited
Kisstory (old skool dance tunes and anthems)-Bauer Radio Limited
Magic Mellow (relaxing and melodic music)-Bauer Radio Limited
Heat Radio (pop music, celebrity gossip and entertainment)-Bauer Radio Limited
Planet Rock (classic rock music)-Bauer Radio Limited
Absolute 80s (80s music)-Bauer Radio Limited
Sunrise Radio (Asian music and speech)-Sunrise Radio (London) Limited
British Muslim Radio (Asian music and speech, with elements of Islamic content)-Asian Sound Radio Limited
UCB Inspirational (Christian music)-United Christian Broadcasters Limited
Premier Christian Radio (Christian music and speech)-Premier Christian Media Trust
Jazz FM (non-mainstream music)-Jazz FM Investments Limited
DAB+ channel – TBC
Ford Ennals, CEO of Digital Radio UK, said “The award of the second national commercial DAB network to Sound Digital is a defining moment for digital radio and an unprecedented expansion, which will more than double the number of national commercial stations on DAB. Nearly 50% of UK households already have a digital radio, and over 60% of new car registrations have digital radio as standard, so if you don’t have digital radio at home or in your car, the time is now.”