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For the French radio station, see Virgin Radio (France).
| Virgin Radio | |
 | |
| Broadcast area |  United Kingdom:Britain (AM); London (FM) |
|---|---|
| Slogan | "Connect With Music" |
| Frequency | 1215 kHz 105.8 MHz (G. London) DAB - (Digital One) - 11D (England & Wales) - 12A (Scotland) Virgin Media: 915 Freeview: 727 Tiscali TV: 620 Sky Digital: 0107/0203 WightCable: 851/9 Orbit Network: Channel 127 |
| First air date | April 30, 1993 |
| Format | Pop and Rock |
| Audience share | 3.2% ( September 2007, [1]) |
| Owner | SMG plc |
| Website | www.virginradio.co.uk |
Virgin Radio, originally known as Virgin 1215, is one of the UK\'s three Independent National Radio stations.
Virgin are based in London and play popular rock music. The station currently broadcasts on mediumwave and DAB across the UK, on 105.8 FM in London, on Virgin Media (channel 915), Freeview and Sky Digital. It is also available in other parts of the world via satellite, cable, and on the Internet.
Contents |
Virgin Radio was originally called Virgin 1215 when it was launched nationally on 1215 kHz (although some regional transmitters used other frequencies) at 12.15pm on 30 April 1993.
The first song was a special version of the Steppenwolf song "Born to be Wild", recorded by Australian group INXS. Richard Branson was the first voice to-air, live from the Virgin Megastore in Manchester. The first voice in the studio was Richard Skinner.
Some months later after the station launched, it also began broadcasting in stereo on satellite via Sky Television. This has continued with the switchover to digital broadcasting. Virgin Radio later acquired a local FM franchise for London, allowing it to broadcast on 105.8 FM in that area. This service launched on 10 April 1995 and initially carried regional programming for the London area, although this has now ceased.
The station was then sold to Ginger Media, owned by Chris Evans, who was a mainstay on the station, presenting a breakfast show from 1997 until 2001. Evans sold Ginger Media to SMG plc for £225 million GBP in March 2000 and was subsequently fired by his new employer in 2001 for failing to report into work for 5 consecutive days while reportedly partying with his then wife Billie Piper."Virgin axes DJ Evans", BBC News, 28 June, 2001. Retrieved on 2007-11-27. "Tuned in to Virgin", The Guardian, 25 September, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
On June 13, 2006 SMG plc signed a deal with YooMedia to make Virgin Radio available on Freeview. It has always placed a great emphasis on other methods of transmission than medium wave, as the 1215 kHz frequency suffers from considerable interference, particularly after dark - BBC Radio 1, which used 1215 kHz for its first eleven years on air, moved to higher-quality medium wave frequencies (now used by talkSport) in 1978 mainly for this reason. Interference is thought to come from around Europe, particularly Russia, which has a station on this frequency.
Current Presenters include:
Virgin Radio\'s original line-up included Russ Williams, Richard Skinner, Mitch Johnson, Tommy Vance, Jonathan Coleman, Nick Abbot and Wendy Lloyd. Other past presenters on the network include Danny Baker, Robin Banks, Greg Burns, Martin Collins, Gary Davies, Daryl Denham, Chris Evans (who also owned the station), Mark Fox, Alan Freeman, Nicky Horne, Janey Lee Grace, Gary King, Jezza (aka Jeremy Kyle), Tim Lovejoy, Kevin Greening, Pete Mitchell, Al Murray, Lynn Parsons, Vic Reeves, Richard Skinner, Suggs, Clive Warren, and many others.
Virgin Radio\'s former chief executive Fru Hazlitt, when interviewed for The Guardian (September 25, 2006), described what type of music the station champions. When told of comparisons between Virgin and other MOR, or "Middle-of-the-road" music radio stations, such as BBC Radio 2, she remarked that "that was [during] the Chris Evans era. Now, it\'s pretty much mainstream rock festival type music. Razorlight, Keane. These bands are becoming some of the biggest in the world."
The station\'s output does mainly consist of contemporary British-based guitar "MOR" rock-pop bands, such as the aforementioned Keane and Razorlight but also artists like Coldplay, Snow Patrol and The Feeling. It also plays various other "Adult album alternative" artists from Britain, Ireland and America, like Oasis, U2, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, R.E.M. and The Killers, as well as "Golden Oldies" such as The Beatles, Queen, The Clash and The Who to name a few.
Virgin Radio\'s target audience is predominantly those aged 25-44."Tuned in to Virgin", The Guardian, 25 September, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-11-27. Its "spin-off" digital radio stations (see below) exploit the \'niche\' musical tastes of this target audience, and leans on a particular rock sub-genre that is played on Virgin Radio, or to cater for an audience that is within its target demographic but are not served properly by the flagship station.
On 12 April, 2007, it was announced that SMG are to sell Virgin Radio, to enable the company to focus on its television station, STV."SMG strategy was \'flawed\'", The Guardian, 12 April, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
In a number of areas, particularly in areas where the signal from the main 1215 transmitters overlap with each other, Virgin Radio operates a number of filler transmitters on different frequencies :-
SMG plc has launched a number of spin-off stations within its Virgin Radio Network. These are:
A radio station on DAB, Virgin Media, Sky Digital and the Internet playing classic rock from the sixties to the nineties. Relaunched with live presenters (Richard Skinner, Gordon Loncaster and Alice Cooper) by Lali Parikh
A radio station on DAB, Virgin Media, Sky and the Internet which plays motown, soul and disco music. It has been reported that Virgin Radio Groove will close down at the end of 2007. This comes after it was revealed that Virgin Radio Viva, which was due to launch on the new Channel 4 platform next year, aimed at 15- to 29-year-old women, will now not go ahead."Virgin Radio cuts back digital operation", VirginRadioWorld.com, November 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-27.
A radio station on DAB, Virgin Media, Sky and the Internet which plays rock music, and is aimed at teenage males. Virgin Radio Xtreme was launched on September 5 2005, by Lali Parikh (Station Manager) with Steve Harris being the main on air talent
Launched on Thursday 15 June 2006, Virgin Radio Party Classics played party pop music. The radio station was based on Suggs\' Virgin Party Classics show broadcast on Virgin Radio. The station closed down on Friday 13 October 2006.
All \'Virgin\' branded channels broadcast on DAB in London, the Internet, Virgin Media cable television and Sky Digital.
| SMG plc | |
|---|---|
| Television | STV: Grampian Television · Scottish Television Defunct: Sky Scottish |
| Production | SMG Productions · Ginger Productions |
| Radio | UK National AM: Virgin Radio UK National Digital: Virgin Radio Classic Rock · Virgin Radio Groove · Virgin Radio Xtreme |
| Advertising | Pearl & Dean |
| Online | stv.tv · Other Internet |
| See also | Pacific Quay · Television in Scotland · Scottish television Channels · ITV · ITV Channels |
| Website: www.smg.plc.uk | |
| Radio stations in London | |
|---|---|
| FM Stations | 88.8 • 89.6 • 91.0 • 91.8 • 92.0 • 93.2 • 94.3 • 94.9 • 95.8 • 96.9 • 97.3 • 98.5 • 100.0 • 100.6 • 102.2 • 103.3 • 103.6 • 104.4 • 104.9 • 105.4 • 105.8 • 106.2 • 107.1 • 107.3 • 107.8 |
| MW Stations | 558 • 720 • 909 • 963 • 972 • 1035 • 1089 • 1152 • 1215 • 1305 • 1332 • 1413 • 1458 • 1503 • 1548 • 1584 |
United Kingdom Radio Markets: London • Manchester • West Midlands | |
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