For the former station launched in 1993 as Virgin Radio, see Absolute Radio.
Virgin Radio UK is a national Hot Adult Contemporary radio station in the United Kingdom that launched on 30 March 2016, owned by Wireless Group[1] which is itself a subsidiary of News Corp.[2] It is the second incarnation of Virgin Radio in the UK: the original station launched in 1993 before being rebranded as Absolute Radio in 2008.
The broadcasts are presented live from 04:00 to 01:00, and then music is played back-to-back overnight with pre-recorded announcements from rotating presenters from the day.
On 3 September 2018, Chris Evans announced that from January 2019 he would be moving to Virgin Radio after 13 years of broadcasting on BBC Radio 2.[5] He launched his new breakfast show on 21 January 2019.[6]
On 7 January 2019, Virgin Radio joined the Sky and Freesat satellite platforms.[7]
In January 2021[8]Graham Norton started a weekend show after 10 years at Radio 2. As with Chris Evans' show, it is distinguished by not having advertisements due to being wholly sponsored.
Sister stationsedit
Wireless launched two new Virgin-branded DAB+ spin-off stations on 21 December 2018. Virgin Radio Anthems plays guitar-based classics from the 1980s and 1990s. Virgin Radio Chilled features acoustic singer-songwriters and is designed to unwind and relax.[9] Both stations broadcast The Chris Evans Breakfast Show. When Virgin Anthems launched in December 2018, the station changed its slogan to "The Chris Evans Breakfast Show and Classic Tracks".
In June 2021[10] a temporary station launched for the LGBTQ+ community, Virgin Radio Pride; It featured many different programmes and documentaries presented by a wide variety of presenters. Virgin Radio Pride returned for a second run during summer 2022.
On 1 September 2022, the sister station Virgin Radio 80s Plus was launched, which plays the artists of the 1980s, plus the best music from the late 1970s and early 1990s. Virgin Radio 80s Plus can be heard online, on smart speakers across the UK and on DAB in Greater London and the Central Belt of Scotland. It replaces Virgin Radio Pride on DAB radio.[11]
virgin, radio, former, station, launched, 1993, virgin, radio, absolute, radio, national, adult, contemporary, radio, station, united, kingdom, that, launched, march, 2016, owned, wireless, group, which, itself, subsidiary, news, corp, second, incarnation, vir. For the former station launched in 1993 as Virgin Radio see Absolute Radio Virgin Radio UK is a national Hot Adult Contemporary radio station in the United Kingdom that launched on 30 March 2016 owned by Wireless Group 1 which is itself a subsidiary of News Corp 2 It is the second incarnation of Virgin Radio in the UK the original station launched in 1993 before being rebranded as Absolute Radio in 2008 Virgin Radio UKBroadcast areaUnited KingdomFrequencyDAB 11A Sound DigitalDAB 11C Switch AberdeenFreesat 736Sky UK only 0150ProgrammingLanguage s EnglishFormatHot Adult ContemporaryOwnershipOwnerWireless Group News UK Sister stationsTalkradioTalksportTalksport 2Times RadioVirgin Radio AnthemsVirgin Radio ChilledVirgin Radio 80s PlusHistoryFirst air date30 March 2016 2016 03 30 Technical informationLicensing authorityOfcomLinksWebcastRadioplayerWebsitevirginradio wbr co wbr ukAs of September 2023 the station has a weekly audience of 1 4 million listeners according to RAJAR 3 Contents 1 History 2 Sister stations 3 Notable presenters 3 1 Current presenters 3 2 Former presenters 4 References 5 External linksHistory editThe station launched at 11 00 on 30 March 2016 on a Virgin Trains service from Manchester to London by Edith Bowman and Matt Richardson and the first song played was a live cover version of David Bowie s song Changes by Gavin James 4 At launch Virgin Radio UK broadcast to about 75 of the UK population via the Sound Digital DAB ensemble and also broadcasts via online streaming to computers mobile device applications and internet radios It cannot be received outside of the UK The broadcasts are presented live from 04 00 to 01 00 and then music is played back to back overnight with pre recorded announcements from rotating presenters from the day On 3 September 2018 Chris Evans announced that from January 2019 he would be moving to Virgin Radio after 13 years of broadcasting on BBC Radio 2 5 He launched his new breakfast show on 21 January 2019 6 On 7 January 2019 Virgin Radio joined the Sky and Freesat satellite platforms 7 In January 2021 8 Graham Norton started a weekend show after 10 years at Radio 2 As with Chris Evans show it is distinguished by not having advertisements due to being wholly sponsored Sister stations editWireless launched two new Virgin branded DAB spin off stations on 21 December 2018 Virgin Radio Anthems plays guitar based classics from the 1980s and 1990s Virgin Radio Chilled features acoustic singer songwriters and is designed to unwind and relax 9 Both stations broadcast The Chris Evans Breakfast Show When Virgin Anthems launched in December 2018 the station changed its slogan to The Chris Evans Breakfast Show and Classic Tracks On 30 December 2019 Virgin Radio UK launched a third digital spin off station Virgin Radio Groove on DAB It consists of motown soul and disco music and broadcasts The Chris Evans Breakfast Show at breakfast In June 2021 10 a temporary station launched for the LGBTQ community Virgin Radio Pride It featured many different programmes and documentaries presented by a wide variety of presenters Virgin Radio Pride returned for a second run during summer 2022 On 1 September 2022 the sister station Virgin Radio 80s Plus was launched which plays the artists of the 1980s plus the best music from the late 1970s and early 1990s Virgin Radio 80s Plus can be heard online on smart speakers across the UK and on DAB in Greater London and the Central Belt of Scotland It replaces Virgin Radio Pride on DAB radio 11 Notable presenters editCurrent presenters edit Bam Vicki Blight Tim Cocker Chris Evans Ben Jones Maria McErlane Stu Elmore James Merritt Danny Cox Jayne Middlemiss Graham Norton Eddy Temple Morris Amy Voce Steve Denyer Sean Goldsmith Olivia Jones Rich Williams Ricky Wilson Leigh Francis Steve Jordan Former presenters edit Edith Bowman Jon Holmes Iain Lee Russell Kane Angela Scanlon Inel Tomlinson Matt Richardson Jamie East Nick Jackson Pete Mitchell Scott Hughes Debbie Mac Chris Brooks Christian Williams Sam Pinkham Kate Lawler Gaby RoslinReferences edit 18 radio stations confirmed for new DAB multiplex Radio Today 3 February 2016 Retrieved 11 February 2016 Gallivan Rory 25 June 2016 News Corp Buys Wireless Group for 296 Million The Wall Street Journal New York Retrieved 16 November 2020 RAJAR www rajar co uk Retrieved 27 October 2022 Clarkson Natalie 16 March 2016 Virgin Radio UK reveals launch plans Press release Virgin Radio Archived from the original on 24 October 2016 Savage Mark 3 September 2018 Chris Evans to leave Radio 2 breakfast BBC News Retrieved 3 September 2018 Chris Evans launches new Virgin Radio breakfast show BBC News 22 January 2019 Virgin Radio added to Freesat and Sky platforms Radio Today 8 January 2019 Retrieved 29 January 2019 Graham Norton joins Virgin Radio UK for weekends RadioToday 16 November 2020 Retrieved 12 September 2021 Virgin Radio UK launches two new digital spin offs Radio Today 21 December 2018 Retrieved 21 December 2018 Wireless launches LGBTQ station Virgin Radio Pride UK RadioToday 3 June 2021 Retrieved 12 September 2021 Collins Steve 31 August 2022 Virgin Radio UK to launch new station Virgin Radio 80s Plus RadioToday Retrieved 2 September 2022 External links editOfficial website nbsp Virgin Radio UK on Facebook nbsp Virgin Radio UK on Instagram nbsp Virgin Radio UK on Twitter nbsp Virgin Radio UK s channel on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Virgin Radio UK amp oldid 1185380669, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
