Choice FM
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Choice FM | |
 |
|
| Broadcast area | England and Wales |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 96.9, 107.1 FM in London, Tiscali TV 622, Virgin Media 969, Sky Digital 0113, DAB on the MXR regional multiplexes |
| First air date | May 31, 1990 |
| Format | R&B, hip-hop |
| Audience share | 2.0% (September 2007, [1]) |
| Owner | GCap Media |
| Website | www.choicefm.com |
Choice FM is a brand used by the UK's biggest radio company, GCap Media for its network of black music radio stations. It is anchored by an FM operation in London, and is also broadcast via DAB Digital Radio, Sky Digital, Tiscali TV, Virgin Media and online.
Contents |
[edit] Origins
Choice 96.9 began broadcasting in March 1990 from inner London as Britain’s first 24 hour soul music station, under independent ownership and a licence to cover Brixton from studios on Borough High Street.
[edit] Expansion and contraction
The group won a second licence (see Buzz FM) in 1995, bringing a local version of their London offering to Birmingham, on 102.2 FM - in place of Buzz FM.
The advent of digital radio in the UK saw Choice, which already had an active webstream, joining the new MXR consortium and launching a DAB service which anchored London output with news inserts produced by the consortium's news service DNN.
The Birmingham licence was sold to Chrysalis Radio in 1999 but Choice expanded within the capital in May 2000 when a largely independent North London licence was awarded for Choice 107.1, with the intention of covering the large African-Caribbean community outside the range of the coverage from 96.9.
[edit] Capital takeover
Having previously been a minority shareholder, Capital Radio Group (now GCap) took full control of the station in February 2004 and moved the station's base from the TSA to the group's central studios in London's Leicester Square. The move resulted in a community march from the coverage area and their studios.
By October 12, 2004, Capital had received and implemented a merger of their FM licences, operating a service across the capital on the two frequencies and cutting back on the North London-specific music requirements. [2]
[edit] See also
|
|||||||||||
