| Commercial Radio in the UK |
Commercial radio licences are awarded by government body Ofcom, which advertises a licence for a specific area and holds a contest to determine which station will be granted permission to broadcast in that area. Stations submit detailed application documents containing their proposed format and the outcome of research to determine the demand for their particular style of broadcast. Most commercial stations broadcast to a city or group of towns, or regional stations covering larger areas.
Many local and regional radio stations are owned by large radio groups which broadcast a similar format to many areas. The largest operator of radio is Global Radio which bought the former media group, Gcap Media. It owns Classic FM and London's most popular commercial station, 95.8 CapitalFM. Other owners are Bauer Radio and UTV Radio, which mainly own stations that broadcast in highly populated city areas. |
| Listening outside the UK |
| Since 2006, many of the UK's commercial radio stations have been restricting live stream access to users from the United Kingdom only. This came as a response to PPL's announcement that they would only grant radio stations the webcasting rights to stream to audiences within the UK only, or to face additional costs. Many of these stations are available free-to-air on satellite. |
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| Absolute Radio |
Absolute Radio, (previously Virgin Radio), is one of the UK's three Independent National Radio stations. The station rebranded to its current name on 29 September 2008.
The station is based in London and plays popular rock music. It currently broadcasts on mediumwave and DAB across the UK, on 105.8 FM in London, Sky Digital (channel 0107), Virgin Media (channel 915), Freeview (channel 727), Freesat (channel 724) and Tiscali TV (channel 620).
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| Website: www.absoluteradio.co.uk |
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| Chill |
Chill plays a wide range of chillout music from around the world, put together with suggestions from listeners and Myspace friends, and the contributions of chillout experts like Pete Lawrence from The Big Chill. Here to help you
Chill is broadcast on DAB in Scotland, the Midlands, South England, South West England and South Wales, across the UK on Sky 0177 and cable on. The station's aim is to help listeners relax. It is owned by Global Radio.
The station is not currently on Freesat, though it can be accessed in non Freesat mode.
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| NOTE: The station's Live Stream is restricted to UK IP addresses, just enter a valid UK postcode to listen. |
| Website: www.helpmechill.com |
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| Choice FM |
| Choice FM Radio for Hip Hop and R&B. Choice 96.9 began broadcasting in March 1990 from inner London as Britain’s first 24 hour soul music station. In May 2000 Choice 107.1 was launched to north London to a potential audience of 6 million. CHOICE FM is London’s only true urban music station attracting a young, vibrant audience who live life to the full in every way – be it out partying at the hottest clubs or buying the biggest names in fashion.
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| Website: www.choice-fm.co.uk |
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| Classic FM |
| Classic FM - the UK's first national commercial radio station, broadcasts a wide range of programming 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on a range of frequencies between 100-102 FM. A chorus of birdsong heralded the launch of the UK's first national commercial radio station in the summer of 1992. Two months later, on September 7 1992, Classic FM hit the airwaves for the first time.
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| Website: www.classicfm.co.uk |
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| Fun Kids |
Fun Kids is about providing good quality programming to entertain children between the ages of three to eight but with enough to distract those a bit younger and a bit older too.
As will come as no surprise, this includes a lot of songs! Some are from TV shows or kids’ films, some are from nursery rhymes and others from the charts. Some are from nowhere in particular but we know that a high proportion of five year olds stand up and jiggle when they come on.
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There are also lots of stories on Fun Kids every day and a steady stream of competitions and news about events.
After 8pm, the programming changes to more of a chill out format – mainly for the benefit of the grown-ups, but safe for children to listen to as well.
You can listen to Fun Kids on DAB Digital Radio across London and South east England, Sky Digital, Virgin Media and online. |
| Website: www.funkidslive.com |
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| Galaxy Digital |
| Galaxy Digital is a radio station broadcasting through the digital platform across the United Kingdom and is owned by Global Radio which bought Chrysalis Radio in 2007 and then changed to the 'Global Radio' name. Through Global Radio are the network or 'sister' radio stations named Galaxy Birmingham, Galaxy Manchester, Galaxy North East and Galaxy Yorkshire which make up the Galaxy Network where other radio stations inside this network broadcast shows from one station to all the other stations. Galaxy Digital specialises in dance and r'n'b music.
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| Website: www.galaxyyorkshire.co.uk |
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| Gaydar Radio |
Gaydar Radio is a digital radio station for gay men, lesbians and those who love great music. It is available on DAB multiplexes in London and Brighton, across the UK on satellite, and also online. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, with live programming from 4am to midnight.
The station plays a mix of dance and mainstream pop music, interspersed with chat and news, with frequent bulletins devoted to news about the gay community.
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| The music becomes more club-orientated during the late evenings and also at the weekend when Club Nation presents some of the best DJs mixing the best feel good music. This music policy also gets the station a huge following from the straight community. |
| NOTE: You must register for free to listen online, there are no IP restriction. |
| Website: www.gaydarradio.com |
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| Gold |
Gold, the UK's newest and biggest classic hits radio network - was formed in August 2007 following the merge of the Capital Gold and Classic Gold radio networks.
Aiming to deliver the widest breadth of music currently available anywhere else on commercial radio, Gold plays the greatest songs from the last five decades and entertains with a variety of specialist music shows, exclusive interviews, free downloadable celebrity podcasts, special guest DJs and VIP gigs.
Gold is available og satellite as a free-to-air station, On Sky, Virgin Media, Tiscali, Online and on DAB.
Gold aim to deliver the widest breadth of music currently available anywhere else on commercial radio, Gold plays the greatest songs from the last five decades and entertains with a variety of specialist music shows, exclusive interviews, free downloadable celebrity podcasts, special guest DJs and VIP gigs
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| Website: www.mygoldmusic.co.uk |
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| Heat Radio |
Heat Radio - digital radio station that broadcasts to the UK on DAB. Playing mainstream pop, chart, rock and dance music, website information about the daily schedule, latest celeb gossip, news, movies, tv and sport.
The station is owned by Bauer Radio, a division of the company, Bauer which owns the magazine. The station can be listened to through digital television (Sky 0179 & Freeview 714) and through DAB radio. It can also be listened to through a live steam on the website.
Shows are presented by Lucie Cave, Bronagh Meere, Paul Coyte, Andy Wood and Rachael Hopper. Celebrities often present shows on a one week contract.
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| NOTE: The station's Live Stream is restricted to UK IP addresses |
| Website: www.heatworld.com |
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| Kiss Network |
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| Kiss 100 |
Kiss 100 is a radio station broadcasting to London on 100.0 MHz FM specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and dance music. It also broadcasts on digital radio in other parts of the UK on DAB and nationally on Freeview, Sky Digital and Tiscali TV. It is part of the Kiss Network, along with sister stations Kiss 101 (Severn Estuary) and Kiss 105-108 (East Anglia).
Kiss FM began in October 1985 as a pirate station, which broadcast across London on 94FM. It attracted a huge following before finally acquiring a legitimate licence in 1990 - it was thought to have commanded in the region of 500,000 listeners even as a pirate station.
On September 1st, 1990 Kiss relaunched as a legal station, its studio and offices located on the Holloway Road, and was supported financially by EMAP.
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| Kiss 101 |
Kiss 101 is a radio station in Bristol broadcasting out to South Wales and South West England playing Pop music, dance music and R'n'B.
The station broadcasts on 101.0 MHz FM from the Mendip transmitter in Somerset at a power of 40 kW. This transmitter is, however, highly directional with the maximum permitted effective radiated power (ERP) being directed towards the North West to ensure delivery of a strong signal into South East Wales, particularly Cardiff, Newport and Bridgend. This also appears to be in order to penetrate the Welsh Valleys which lie immediately to the North of Cardiff, and to deliver signal towards settlements at the heads of the valleys such as Merthyr Tydfil.
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| Kiss 105-108 |
Kiss 105-108 is the East of England's regional radio station broadcast from Reflection House, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, broadcasting dance music and R'n'B across Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and North Essex.
The station broadcasts on 106.4 MHz (FM Mendlesham 20 kW and the strongest signal by far which can be heard in Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire), 106.1 MHz FM (Stoke Holy Cross, near Norwich), 105.6 MHz FM (Madingley, near Cambridge), and 107.7 MHz FM (Gunthorpe; a district of Peterborough). Kiss 105-108 can also sometimes be heard across Lincoln, South Essex even the edge of Bedfordshire and Greater London although not officially serving these areas.
Kiss 105-108 currently broadcasts in DAB format to Cambridge, Norwich and Peterborough.
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| Website: www.totalkiss.com |
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| Heart 106.2 |
Heart 106.2 is an Independent Local Radio station based in London that specializes in "variety" and is owned by Global Radio as part of the Heart Network.
In addition to FM, the station is available on DAB digital radio in London, and across the UK on Sky Digital satellite, Freeview (England, Wales and Southern Scotland only), Tiscali TV and Virgin Media cable. The station is now also available on MXR regional DAB multiplexes in the North West, North East, the Severn Estuary and Yorkshire, as well as on Switch Digital in central Scotland and online in the UK.
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| Website: www.heartlondon.co.uk |
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| Jazz FM |
Jazz FM, is a radio station broadcasting on digital radio which predominately plays smooth jazz, jazz standards as well as blues and soul music. The station also plays specialist programming in a wide variety of jazz disciplines.
The station is being run by The Local Radio Company from October 6 as part of a three year licensing deal with GMG Radio.
The station broadcasts in London, the West Midlands, the North West of England, South Wales and the Severn Estuary, West Central Scotland as well as free-to-air digital satellite via the Sky Digital and Freesat platforms.
Jazz FM is also available via a live stream on the Internet, there are no UK IP restrictions.
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| Website: www.jazzfm.com |
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| Kerrang! |
Kerrang! Radio is a specialist rock music radio station broadcasting to the West Midlands. The station's format mixes modern & classic rock with speech programmes targeted at young people.
The station is based in Lionel Street in the city of Birmingham near to the BT Tower, and it broadcasts from the Sutton Coldfield transmitter, covering a wide area including Warwickshire, Derbyshire and Leicestershire. The station is also available on Sky, DAB and on Freeview.
It is connected with the Kerrang! print magazine in name, ownership and style, although the radio station has a more mainstream output than the magazine, featuring more indie and alternative rock.
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| NOTE: The station's Live Stream is restricted to UK IP addresses. |
| Website: www.kerrangradio.co.uk |
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| LBC Radio |
LBC Radio (originally the London Broadcasting Company) operates two London-based radio stations, with news and talk formats. LBC was Britain's first legal commercial Independent Local Radio station, providing a service of news and information to London. It began broadcasting on 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio. The launch of LBC also saw the beginning of IRN's broadcasting, as LBC provided the service to independent local radio stations nationwide.
In April 2007 a new marketing slogan for LBC 97.3: "London's Biggest Conversation", a play on the initials, was introduced. LBC is currently owned by Global Radio.
LBC 97.3, is available on FM in London, on DAB in some areason digital satellite and via a live stream on the LBC website.
LBC News 1152 is a 24 hour news and information radio station broadcasting in Greater London on AM, DAB and online.
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| Website: www.lbc.co.uk |
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| Ministry of Sound Radio |
Ministry of Sound the biggest brand on the planet when it comes to dance music, MOS living for the weekend.
Current MoS radios DJs include Lottie, Alistair Whitehead and Rob Roar, Mutiny, Hed Kandi residents David Dunne and Andy Norman, Matt Jam Lamont, Ross Allen, Jazzy M, Bill Brewster, Jon Gurd, Andy Farley, Darren Tate, Matt Darey, Above and Beyond, Adam White, BK, Guy Ornadel, J00F, and Graham Gold. From March 2007 the station expanded further launching two on-demand channels offering non-stop chill out and underground sessions.
The current team continues to syndicate radio shows around the globe as well as running the online stream and on-demand options.
The station is not available through any terrestrial transmitters either analogue or digital and is currently no longer carried on satellite. The station is broadcast on a live Internet stream, no UK IP restrictions apply.
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| Website: www.ministryofsound.com |
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| Planet Rock |
Planet Rock, the UK's classic rock dab digital radio station. Planet Rock plays music from the likes of Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, deep purple and Black Sabbath with presenters such as Rick Wakeman, Alice Cooper and Nicky Horne.
Planet Rock is available on DAB digital radio across the UK, on Sky, Cable, Freesat and at www.planetrock.com .
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| Website: www.planetrock.co.uk |
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| Radio Caroline |
| Radio Caroline - radio station broadcasting on the Astra satellite and via the internet. Contains a history of the station and how it started. Radio Caroline is rocking all around the world - listed Online to the live radio stream. Over 40 years ago a young Irish entrepreneur Ronan O'Rahilly founded Britain's first offshore radio station. Radio Caroline instantly became a household name. Caroline's continued existence became a lifetime mission for Ronan. Since starting a Sky Channel listing in June 2006 Radio Caroline has continued to receive a flow of e-mails from past listeners who have rediscovered the legendary station. Some haven't heard the station since the 1960's, while others were vaguely aware the station still broadcasts, today the station is in full voice.
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| Website: www.radiocaroline.co.uk |
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| Real Radio & Century Radio |
Real Radio is a brand of independent local radio stations owned by GMG Radio. The brand was developed by John Myers in 2000. Myers was also responsible for the similar early format of the Century FM radio stations, which were rebranded as Real Radio (North East and North West) in March 2009.
Currently, five stations in the UK operate under the Real Radio banner:
Real Radio (Wales) 105–106FM and on Sky Channel 0146.
Real Radio (Yorkshire) 106–108FM
Real Radio (Scotland) 100–101FM
Real Radio (North East) 100–102FM
Real Radio (North West) 105.4FM
Real Radio has News on the hour, every hour, 24 hours a day, provided by Real Radio journalists. In addition they also take Sky News Radio after midnight.
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| NOTE: Live Streams are restricted to UK IP addresses. |
| Website: www.realradio.co.uk |
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| Smash Hits Radio! |
Smash Hits Radio! is a digital radio station owned and operated by Bauer Radio based in Manchester. It is available throughout the UK on Freeview channel 712 and Sky channel 0171. The format is loosely based on the now defunct Smash Hits Magazine. It is a Variety Hit Radio station, but generally falls under the Contemporary hit radio format. The station opened in 2002 and continues to play a 'non-stop' music format without presenters or DJs, with only one minute of adverts every half an hour.
In 2007 and 2008, Smash Hits Radio was removed from DAB radio in several areas during the introduction of Traffic Radio, However, it is still be available through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media and online.
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| NOTE: The station's Live Stream is restricted to UK IP addresses. |
| Website: www.smashhits.net |
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| Smooth Radio |
Smooth Radio is a wholly owned subsidiary of GMG Radio Holdings Limited. GMG Radio is one of the UK's largest radio groups and operates stations across the UK under the brands of Real Radio, Century Radio, Smooth Radio & Rock Radio. More information about the group.GMG Radio is a wholly owned subsidiary of Guardian Media Group plc ('GMG'). Guardian Media Group is one of the UK's leading multimedia companies.
Following owners Guardian Media Group's acquisition of the three Saga stations, they decided to change the name of them, along with the North West England and London versions of Smooth FM, to simply Smooth Radio.
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| NOTE: The station's Live Stream is restricted to UK IP addresses. |
| Website: www.smoothradio.com |
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| Solar Radio |
Solar Radio is an independent radio station which bringing you the best in soul, jazz, funk, r&b, listen in online live. The Deep End Sessions happen on Sunday mornings from 4 to 8am with regular hosts, Kev Beadle and Steve Johns dropping the deepest sublime leftfield grooves plus mixes from nu jazz artists and labels from across Europe.
From its origins in the heady days of soul pirate radio in London, to the new media opportunities of the Digital age, Solar Radio has remained committed to bringing quality Soul-related music to a wide audience, with every DJ having complete freedom of choice.
The station is available on satellite and via a live Internet strean,
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| Website: www.solarradio.com |
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| talkSPORT |
talkSPORT, owned by UTV Radio, is one of three terrestrial analogue Independent National Radio broadcasters, offering a commercial sports and talk radio service from London to the United Kingdom.
Its content includes sports phone-ins and discussions, live sports commentaries, and general phone-in discussions. It is transmitted on 1089 and 1053 kHz across the UK and digitally via DAB digital radio, Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media and Tiscali TV. talkSPORT is also streamed online; however, due to rights restrictions on live coverage, some live sport commentaries are not available online.
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| Website: http://new.talksport.net |
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| The Arrow |
The Arrow is a radio station playing rock music. It broadcasts across the UK on DAB Digital Radio (in selected areas). It is also broadcast on Sky Digital channel 0161, Virgin Media channel 921 and Tiscali TV, and streaming online.
If you love rock music and your tastes range from legends like the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and Led Zeppelin, to the contemporary sounds of Coldplay, Oasis, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Killers, you’ll love The Arrow.
The Arrow plays lots of music, but without too many interruptions. On DAB you can see the title of each song as it plays, and the artist or group name too.
The station is owned by Global Radio, the largest in the country following acquisitions of Chrysalis Radio in July 2007 and GCap Media in June 2008.
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| Website: www.thearrow.co.uk |
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| The Hits |
The Hits Radio is a popular mainstream music channel operated by Bauer Media.
The station presents a mix of music genres along with chat and regular news updates. It has the same logo identity as the former The Hits television channel.
The station broadcasts its shows as voicetracked and simulcast individual shows from various stations within Bauer Radio's Big City Network. These shows are sent to The Hits studio base in Manchester (also base of Key 103), where shows are mixed and played out. The Hits is no longer available on satellite.
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| Website: www.whatson.com/thehits/ |
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| Traffic Radio |
Setting out on a journey? Before you go, listen to Traffic Radio to hear the latest traffic conditions on the motorway, major A roads and London's main roads, emergency incidents and roadworks. Brought to you by the Highways Agency and Transport for London broadcasting continuous live traffic updates 24 hours a day online and on DAB Digital Radio.
It offers regional traffic news, depending on which part of the country people are listening, as well as national headlines. The information comes from the National Traffic Control Centre, which has access to over 1,000 CCTV cameras and 3,750 road sensors, as well as information from the Highways Agency's seven regional control centres.
Traffic Radio is not designed as a competitor to local radio stations in the UK, many of whom provide travel information. It is a continuous spoken information service meaning people can quickly switch on for the latest traffic information before switching back to whichever station they were listening to.
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| Website: www.trafficradio.org.uk |
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| WRN |
| WRN (World Radio Network), is a private London based company that provides transmission services for radio and television broadcasters worldwide. This includes the creation and distribution of its own-branded radio channels which aggregate daily and weekly programmes from national public broadcasters around the world, and which, in turn, are distributed using international satellite radio networks, mobile platforms and local FM and AM rebroadcasters. A few of WRN's channels are also available online at its website.
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| International public radio broadcasters that use the WRN channels to distribute their programmes to listeners around the world include Radio Canada International, Radio France Internationale, Channel Africa, National Public Radio, Radio Netherlands, Pacifica Radio, Radio Australia, Radio Polonia, Radio Prague, Radio Sweden, Vatican Radio, Radio Guangdong, Israel Radio, Radio New Zealand and Radio Telefís Éireann. |
| Website: www.wrn.org |
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| XFM London & XFM Manchester |
Xfm focuses on alternative music, primarily indie, and is owned by Global Radio. Xfm was created in 1997 in London, but has since expanded to several stations. Each station produces its own content, with little syndication. XFM is now available across most of the country via DAB. and digital satellite.
Stations include:
Xfm London has been broadcasting since 1997.
Xfm Manchester was launched on 15 March 2006.
Mi Xfm, a 'personalised radio player' with no commercials or DJs.
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| Website: www.xfm.co.uk |
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