National DAB

At the heart of digital radio

From rolling out the UK’s first national DAB network for the BBC in 1995, to launching the UK’s first national commercial DAB multiplex  (Digital One) in 1999, we continue to be at the forefront of digital broadcasting.

Digital One

Digital One has been broadcasting a selection of digital radio stations since 1999, to give UK listeners more digital listening choice. The Digital One transmission network covers over 90% of UK households, over 160 transmitter sites, enabling commercial broadcasters to reach the widest audience possible.

We own and operate the Digital One multiplex, which currently broadcasts the following services:

• Absolute Radio – Bauer Radio - Adult alternative music
• Heart 70s – Global Radio - 70s music
• Heart 80s – Global Radio - 80s music
• Heart 90s – Global Radio - 90s music
• Capital XTRA – Global Radio - Urban and dance music
• Capital DANCE – Global Radio
• Classic FM – Global Radio - Classical music
• Heart UK – Global Radio - Adult contemporary music
• KISS UK – Bauer Radio - Hip-hop, R&B, urban and dance music
• LBC – Global Radio - Speech
• LBC News – Global Radio - Speech
• Magic – Bauer Radio - Soft adult contemporary music
• Radio X – Global Radio - Rock music
• Smooth UK – Global Radio - Melodic hits from the past five decades
• Smooth Chill – Global Radio
• talkSPORT – Wireless Group - Sport and talk
• Capital – Global Radio - Contemporary hit music
• Gold – Global Radio - Classic hits
• UCB 1 – United Christian Broadcasters - Christian music
• KISSTORY – Bauer Radio - Classic hip-hop, R&B, urban and dance music
• Heart Dance – Global Radio - Dance classics
• Capital XTRA Reloaded – Global Radio - Old skool hip-hop

Sound Digital

The second national commercial DAB multiplex, Sound Digital, launched in the UK in March 2016.

Working in collaboration with Bauer and Wireless, we built and launched the new network for Sound Digital. We continue to operate the multiplex, distribution network and contribution links from studios around the UK.

The Sound Digital transmission network covers 83% of UK households. With a network of 64 transmitters it achieves a combination of broad UK coverage and cost-effectiveness for digital radio stations.

The launch of Sound Digital saw a significant increase in choice of content for consumers, from a range of broadcasters.

The following services currently broadcast on the Sound Digital multiplex:

• talkRADIO – Wireless - News and current affairs
• talkSPORT 2 – Wireless - Live sports and sports talk
• Virgin Radio – Wireless - Rock and pop music
• Virgin Chilled – Wireless
• Virgin Anthems – Wireless
• Mellow Magic – Bauer Media - Relaxing and melodic music
• Absolute 80s – Bauer Media - 80s music
• Absolute 90s – Bauer Media - 90s music
• Planet Rock – Bauer Media - Classic rock music
• Scala Radio – Bauer Media - Classical music
• Sunrise Radio – Sunrise Radio - Asian music and speech programmes
• UCB 2 – United Christian Broadcasters - Christian music
• Premier Christian Radio – Premier Media Group - Christian music and speech
• Premier Praise – Premier Media Group - Popular Christian music and spiritual content
• Fun Kids – Folder Media - National children’s radio station
• BFBS – the Forces station
• Jazz FM – Jazz FM - Jazz, blues and soul
• Union JACK – Jack FM - British music
• Union JACK Dance - Jack FM
• Union JACK Rock – Jack FM
• Boom Radio UK – Boom Radio - music and chat for UK Baby Boomers
• Times Radio – Wireless Group - News and current affairs

DAB+ technology

Sound Digital was the first national multiplex to use the more efficient DAB+ technology for some stations. DAB+ uses less bandwidth than traditional DAB, allowing a multiplex to carry more stations, expanding listener choice. DAB+ is now used by more than half of the stations across Sound Digital and Digital One.

Broadcast on Digital One or Sound Digital

To find out more about how you could broadcast your station to a national audience on Digital One or Sound Digital, complete a Station Information Form. This will allow us to prepare a confidentiality agreement. Once that’s in place, we can discuss availability, detailed contract terms and prices.

We are keen to treat everyone who is seeking capacity on DAB digital radio fairly. As part of that, we have described some of the principles and processes we follow in this document.

For more information regarding our National DAB services, please get in touch.