| Licensed area | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 11A (216.928 MHz)[1] |
| Air date | 29 February 2016[2] |
| Owner | Arqiva (40%) Bauer Media Group (30%) Wireless Group (30%) [3] |
| Website | http://www.sounddigital.co.uk/ |
Sound Digital is a national commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, owned by Arqiva, Bauer Media Group and Wireless Group. The multiplex is planned to covers 73% of the population from a total of 45 transmitters.[3]
History[edit]
Following the collapse of the winning 4 Digital Group bid for the second national ensemble in 2008, the capacity was re-advertised in 2014.[4] Two bids were received, Sound Digital and Listen2Digital, a consortium run by Orion Media and Babcock International Group. [5] On 27 March 2015, Sound Digital were selected as the winner.[6]
Between award and launch, Premier Praise and Panjab Radio, a Listen2Digital station, joined the line up along with DAB+ stations Fun Kids and Magic Chilled.[7] Also, BMR and UCB Inspirational were rebranded Awesome Radio and UCB2 respectively and talkBUSINESS was replaced by Listen2Digital station Share Radio.[8]
Test transmission commenced in February 2016, which consisted of Sound Waves and Sound Waves+ for DAB and DAB+ respectively.[9] An official launch took place on 29 February, with the majority of stations launching on this date and the remainder following over the next month.
Stations carried[edit]
DAB[edit]
| Service | Service ID | Bit rate | Audio channels | Description | DAB launch date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Absolute Radio 80s | C8D8 | 80 kbit/s | Mono | 80s music | 29 February 2016 |
| Awesome Radio | CAD8 | 64 kbit/s | Mono LSF | British Muslim lifestyle, music and speech | 29 February 2016 |
| Heat Radio | CFD8 | 80 kbit/s | Mono | Pop music, celebrity gossip and entertainment | 29 February 2016 |
| Kisstory | C4D8 | 80 kbit/s | Mono | ‘Old skool’ dance tunes and anthems | 29 February 2016 |
| Mellow Magic | C5D8 | 80 kbit/s | Mono | Relaxing and melodic music | 15 March 2016 |
| Panjab Radio | CED8 | 56 kbit/s | Mono LSF | Delivering extra choice for British Sikhs and Panjabi speakers | 29 February 2016 |
| Planet Rock | C7D8 | 80 kbit/s | Mono | Classic rock radio | 29 February 2016 |
| Premier Christian Radio | CCD8 | 64 kbit/s | Mono LSF | Christian music and speech | 29 February 2016 |
| Premier Praise | CDD8 | 64 kbit/s | Mono LSF | Sister station to Premier Christian Radio | 27 March 2016 |
| Share Radio | C2D8 | 64 kbit/s | Mono LSF | Business and finance programmes | 29 February 2016 |
| Sunrise Radio | C9D8 | 64 kbit/s | Mono LSF | Asian music and speech programmes | 29 February 2016 |
| talkRADIO | C0D8 | 64 kbit/s | Mono | News and current affairs | 21 March 2016 |
| talkSPORT2 | C1D8 | 64 kbit/s | Mono LSF | Live sports and sports talk | 15 March 2016 |
| UCB2 | CBD8 | 64 kbit/s | Mono LSF | Christian music | 29 February 2016 |
| Virgin Radio UK | C3D8 | 80 kbit/s | Mono | Rock and pop music | 30 March 2016 |
DAB+[edit]
| Service | Service ID | Bit rate | Audio channels | Description | DAB+ launch date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fun Kids | C5D8 | 32 kbit/s | Stereo HE-AAC v2 | National children’s radio station | 29 February 2016 |
| Jazz FM | CAD7 | 32 kbit/s | Stereo HE-AAC v2 | Jazz music | 29 February 2016 |
| Union JACK | C7FF | 24 kbit/s | Stereo HE-AAC v2 | British rock/pop | 9 September 2016 |
| Magic Chilled | CED7 | 32 kbit/s | Stereo HE-AAC v2 | Sister station to Magic | 28 March 2016 |
References[edit]
- ^ "SDL National". Ofcom. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
- ^ "A Dozen Stations Launched On New DAB Multiplex". Radio Today. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
- ^ a b "More digital radio stations on their way to UK listeners". Ofcom. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
- ^ "Two horse race for Digital 2 DAB multiplex". a516digital. 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
- ^ Martin, Roy (2015-01-29). "Orion Media partners with Babcock for D2 bid". Radio Today. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
- ^ Martin, Roy (2015-03-27). "Sound Digital wins national DAB multiplex". Radio Today. Retrieved 2016-02-29.
- ^ Martin, Roy. "Fun Kids to go national as DAB+ radio service". Radio Today. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ "Sound Digital: full station list announced". a516digital. Retrieved 1 March 2016.
- ^ "Sound Digital tests: See how hi-tech your digital radio is". a516digital. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
