Timeline of independent radio in the United Kingdom

• 1985
  • 13 February – Financial difficulties force South Wales station Gwent Broadcasting to close down after less than two years on air.^[8]
  • 1 May – Invicta Sound is rebranded as Invicta Radio.
  • 9 September – Radio West closes down after Wiltshire Radio buys struggling Radio West and on 1 October a merged station, GWR, launches to Bristol and Swindon / West Wiltshire with shared (networked) and split local programming.
  • 1 October –
    Radio Hallam's broadcast area is expanded when the Sheffield-based station starts broadcasting across all of South Yorkshire
    .
  • 14 October –
    Red Dragon Radio. The station also covers the Newport area, offering a replacement service to Gwent Broadcasting and provides separate breakfast shows for Cardiff and Newport until the early 1990s.^[9]
  • October – Plymouth Sound launches an opt-out service for Tavistock. The service operates on weekday breakfast and drive time and weekend mid-mornings.
  • Unknown – Due to general difficulties within the commercial radio industry,
    Chiltern Radio Group
    .

• 1986
  • The
    Viking Radio
    .
  • A European-wide re-organisation of band 2 of the VHF band comes into effect in July 1987. In preparation for this, 1986 sees many local stations change their VHF/FM frequency.
  • 28 June – Portsmouth station Radio Victory goes off air. It was the first commercial radio station to lose its licence.
  • 12 October –
    Ocean Sound begins broadcasting. Replacing Radio Victory in East Hampshire, it introducing commercial radio to Southampton, Winchester and the Isle of Wight. The station transmits with split frequencies; Ocean Sound West on 103.2FM and 1557AM and Ocean Sound East on 97.5FM (former 95FM transmitter for Radio Victory) and 1170AM, the former AM transmitter of the former ILR
    station.
  • 30 November – Following its purchase of
    Northants 96
    . Only the mid-morning show is broadcast locally.

• 1987
  • 1 January – A new transmitter for Radio 210 is switched on, allowing the Reading-based station to broadcast across Berkshire and north Hampshire.
  • 3 March – Radio Trent's broadcast area expands when it starts broadcasting to the Derby area.
  • 18 May – The
    Radio Hallam in Sheffield
    – providing programming every night between 8 pm, starting slightly earlier at weekends, and 6 am.
  • 22 May – GWR's broadcast area expands when it launches in Bath.
  • 14 July –
    Beacon Radio's broadcast area expands when it launches in Shropshire
    .
  • 6 December –
    Ocean Sound launches a third station Ocean Sound North. It covers Winchester
    and the north of its region. It shares much of its programming with Ocean Sound West, except for a local breakfast show.

• 1988
  • January –
    TFM
    .
  • 1 June – County Sound becomes the first station to introduce full-time split programming on FM and AM. County Sound Premier Radio on FM and County Sound Gold on AM.
  • 7 June – County Sound Gold was rebranded as First Gold Radio.
  • 1 July – The Superstation launches an overnight sustaining service on a number of ILR stations around the country at 10pm. The service would run until 6am each morning, later expanding to start at 7pm.
  • 2 July – Capital Gold starts broadcasting, initially as a weekend only service on AM.
  • 12 August – Radio Clyde split their FM and AM services at the weekends to Radio Clyde 261 on AM and Clyde FM on FM.
  • 3 September –
    Piccadilly Radio
    .
  • 20 September – The Radio Data System (RDS) launches, allowing car radios to automatically retune, display station identifiers and switch to local travel news.
  • 4 October – Launch of
    Radio Trent and Leicester Sound
    's FM and medium wave frequencies.
  • 31 October – Viking Radio is replaced on FM by
    Viking Gold
    .
  • 15 November – Brunel Classic Gold launches on MW across the west of England.
  • 1 November – Capital Gold begins broadcasting full-time on MW across London and the FM service is renamed as 95.8 Capital FM.
  • November – Supergold begins broadcasting on MW across Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire.
  • 4 December –
    Ocean Sound continues its full service operation on 97.5 FM in Portsmouth
    .

• 1989
  • 15 January – Wolverhampton station Beacon Radio is replaced on FM by Beacon FM and on MW by WABC.
  • 12 February – CNFM begins broadcasting to Cambridge and Newmarket.
  • 27 March – Kent station Invicta Radio is replaced on FM by Invicta FM and on MW by Coast AM.
  • 31 March –
    • MFM 97.1 begins broadcasting to the Wirral area.
    • Marcher Gold begins broadcasting on MW to Wrexham and Chester and the area's FM station is renamed MFM.
  • 4 April – Xtra AM begins broadcasting on the MW frequencies of BRMB and Mercia Sound.
  • 8 April – Great North Radio begins broadcasting on MW to north east England.
  • 1 May –
    Viking Gold
    .
  • 4 July – A new transmitter for DevonAir is switched on allowing the station to expand its transmission area to East Devon, West Dorset and South Somerset. The relay broadcasts under the name of South West 103.
  • 16 July – The Breeze begins broadcasting on MW across Essex and Surrey.
  • 15 September – Fox FM starts broadcasting to Oxford and Banbury. It becomes the first UK commercial station to be licensed to broadcast on a single waveband.
  • 2 October – LBC ends and is replaced on FM by news and comment station LBC Crown FM
  • 15 October – Horizon Radio starts broadcasting to Milton Keynes.
  • 22 October – The first of the
    independent local radio
    . The stations came on air in 1989 and 1990.
  • 5 November – Sunrise Radio begins broadcasting to west London's Asian community on MW.
  • 13 November – London Greek Radio and WNK begin broadcasting. They are the first stations to share a frequency and they alternate every four hours.
  • 26 November – Orchard FM begins broadcasting to Yeovil, Taunton and the surrounding area.
  • 9 December – Asian radio station
    Sunrise Radio Yorkshire begins broadcasting in Bradford
    .
  • Unknown – Liverpool station City Talk 1548 AM becomes the UK's first all-talk radio station outside of London.This was unusual as most stations launched 'golden oldie' stations on their AM frequencies.
  • Unknown – Southern Sound's broadcast area is expanded when it begins broadcasting to East Sussex.

1990s

• 1990
  • 1 January – Delta Radio launches using one of the previously County Sound Premier transmitters.
  • 3 January – Glasgow station Radio Clyde is replaced by
    Clyde 2 on MW in Glasgow
    .
  • 22 January – Radio Borders begins broadcasting across the Scottish Border region.
  • 7 February – Cool FM begins broadcasting to Belfast on FM. Downtown Radio continues on MW in Belfast and on FM across Northern Ireland.
  • 17 February – KFM begins broadcasting to Stockport.
  • 4 March – London's Jazz FM, a station playing mainly soul and jazz music, launches with an Ella Fitzgerald concert at the Royal Albert Hall.^[10][11]
  • 18 March – Radio Thamesmead begins broadcasting to the Thamesmead area of London.
  • 31 March –
    Choice FM begins broadcasting to the Brixton area of London.^[12]
  • 6 April –
    • KCBC begins broadcasting to Kettering and Corby.
    • Belfast Community Radio launches.
  • 15 April – Isle of Wight Radio begins broadcasting.
  • 21 April – FTP begins broadcasting to Bristol.
  • 14 May – Buzz FM begins broadcasting to Birmingham.
  • 21 May –
    South West Sound
    begins broadcasting across Dumfries and Galloway.
  • 1 June –
    Red Rose Gold
    on the medium wave frequency.
  • 4 June –
    • Centre Sound begins broadcasting to Stirling.
    • CityBeat begins broadcasting to Belfast
      .
  • 24 June – Chiltern Supergold begins broadcasting on the MW frequencies of Chiltern Radio.
  • 25 June –
    • Airport Information Radio begins broadcasting, providing a travel news service to Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
    • Spectrum Radio begins broadcasting. The station provides airtime to various ethnic communities across London.
  • 9 July – Melody 105.4 FM begins broadcasting an easy listening melodic music service across London.
  • 15 July –
    • Edinburgh station Radio Forth is replaced on FM by Radio Forth RFM and on MW by
      Max AM
      .
    • Touch AM begins broadcasting in South Wales.
  • 17 July –
    Magic 828
    .
  • 28 August – Radio Harmony begins broadcasting in Coventry.
  • 1 September – Official launch of dance music station Kiss FM. The station had previously operated as a pirate broadcaster but now broadcasts legally across London..
  • 6 October – The Superstation closes after 2 years 3 months on air at 6am after going into liquidation.
  • 7 October –
    Mellow 1557
    begins broadcasting to the Tendring area of Essex.
  • 8 October – Severn Sound splits into two services, with Severn Sound continuing on FM with 3 Counties Radio launching on MW.
  • October –
    Echo 96
    begins broadcasting to South Cheshire and Staffordshire.
  • 5 November – Wear FM begins broadcasting to Sunderland.
  • 26 November – Centre Sound relaunches as Central FM.
  • 30 December – WABC begins broadcasting to Shropshire.

• 1991
  • 1 January –
    The Radio Authority comes into being, replacing the Independent Broadcasting Authority
    as the UK's radio regulator.
  • 27 January – Galaxy Radio replaces FTP in Bristol. This station would be part of Chiltern Radio's Hot FM network, with separate programmes during the day and taking the main network output from Milton Keynes between 2200 and 0600 overnight.
  • 10 March – South Coast Radio launches on MW along the Sussex and Hampshire coast.
  • March – After two years on air,
    Radio City Gold
    .
  • June – Airport Information Radio closes after just a year on air.
  • 5 July –
    Network News
    .
  • July –
    The Radio Authority awards the first Independent National Radio licence to Showtime Radio, which proposes a 'songs from the shows' format. The rules, as set out by the Broadcasting Act 1990, stated that the authority had to give the licence to the highest cash bidder, providing that the applicant met criteria set down in the Broadcasting Act^[13]
    and Showtime offered the highest amount out of the three applicants.
  • August –
    The Radio Authority re-awards the first Independent National Radio licence to Classic FM
    because Showtime has been unable to secure the required funding within the required time as stipulated by the Authority.
  • 31 August –
    The Pulse of West Yorkshire replaces Pennine FM
    in Bradford, Halifax and Huddersfield.
  • 16 September –
    KFM and merges the station with Echo 96 resulting in the launch of Signal Cheshire.^[14]
  • 19 October –
    Shetland Islands
    .

• 1992
  • 15 February –
    SGR FM following the purchase of the station by East Anglian Radio
    .
  • 1 March –
    Lincs FM beings broadcasting to Lincolnshire
    .
  • 14 March –
    Aberfeldy
    .
  • 3 April –
    Pirate FM begins broadcasting across Cornwall
    .
  • 14 April – Peterborough station Hereward Radio is replaced on FM by Hereward FM and on MW by The Worlds Greatest Music Station.
  • April –
    The Radio Authority awards the second Independent National Radio licence to Independent Music Radio, a consortium jointly owned by TV-am
    and Virgin Communications Ltd. The Authority had hoped that the station would launch by the end of the year but it didn't launch until the following April.
  • 4 May – Mercury 96.4 begins broadcasting to Guildford.
  • 25 May – Radio Wave 96.5 begins broadcasting to Blackpool.
  • 1 July –
    West Norfolk
    .
  • 4 July – Minster FM begins broadcasting to York and the surrounding areas of mid North Yorkshire.
  • July – As Classic FM prepares to launch, test transmissions are carried out using a recording of
    Birdsong Radio.^[15]
  • 1 September – Q96 begins broadcasting to Paisley in Renfrewshire.
  • 5 September – Spire FM begins broadcasting to Salisbury and the surrounding area.
  • 7 September – Britain's first national commercial radio station, Classic FM launches at 6am.
  • 1 October –
    Sunshine 855 begins broadcasting on MW to the Ludlow area. The frequency had previously been used by BBC Radio Shropshire
    .
  • 15 October – Island FM begins broadcasting to the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Alderney.
  • 18 October – After previously enjoying success as a pirate radio station,
    Sunshine 855 in Shropshire
    officially goes on air.
  • 19 October – Lantern FM starts broadcasting to the Barnstaple and Ilfracombe areas of north west Devon.
  • 25 October – Channel 103 begins broadcasting to the Channel Island of Jersey.
  • 22 November – Delta Radio's new owners close the station after 2 years, and the transmitter is goes back to being a relay of Radio Mercury. Meanwhile, Wey Valley Radio launches in a different frequency.
  • 14 December – Radio Ceredigion begins broadcasting to Aberystwyth and the West Wales Coast.

• 1993
  • 18 January – Signal Gold launches as a full-time station on Signal Radio's MW frequency although a limited split service had been operating for the past year in the form of a separate MW-only Golden Breakfast Show.
  • 1 March –
    The Bay
    begins broadcasting to southern Cumbria and north Lancashire.
  • 14 April –
    Carlisle
    .
  • 30 April –
    Virgin 1215, Britain's second national commercial radio station broadcasting on Radio 3's old mediumwave frequency, is launched by owner Richard Branson
    at 12.15pm.
  • 1 May –
    Ten 17 begins broadcasting to Harlow in Essex
    .
  • 21 May – Star FM begins broadcasting to the Berkshire towns of Slough, Maidenhead and Windsor.
  • May – Country Music Radio begins broadcasting a country music service on satellite and cable.
  • 1 July –
    Radio Maldwyn begins broadcasting on AM to the Montgomeryshire
    area of Wales.
  • 25 July – The last Network Chart Show goes out on Independent Local Radio.
  • July –
    Midland Radio Plc, which owns several stations, including BRMB, is acquired by GWR Group
    .
  • 1 August –
    commercial radio, and based on single sales and airplay
    .
  • 27 August – Marcher Coast begins broadcasting. The station covers the north Wales coastal area from Llandudno eastwards.
  • 3 September – The
    Radio Authority announces that it will not be renewing LBC's licence. The new licensee is to be London News Radio, a consortium led by former LBC staff and backed by Guinness Mahon.^[16]
  • 4 September – Wessex FM begins broadcasting across central and western Dorset.
  • 7 October – Yorkshire Coast Radio begins broadcasting to the North Yorkshire coastal towns of Scarborough and Whitby.
  • 17 October – SGR Colchester begins broadcasting to the Colchester area.
  • 21 October –
    Q102.9 begins broadcasting to the Derry area of Northern Ireland
    .
  • October – Manchester station Sunset 102 goes into liquidation.
  • 30 October –
    Blackburn Rovers FC
    's home games.
  • Unknown –
    London station WNK closes.^[17] WNK's closure allows London Greek Radio
    , with whom it had shared a frequency, to begin full-time broadcasts.
  • Unknown – Sunrise Radio starts to broadcast across London when it begins transmission on the MW frequency previously occupied by BBC GLR.

• 1994
  • 5 March – Following the purchase by
    Mercia FM, Trent FM and Leicester Sound, Radio Trent's Derbyshire service is renamed Ram FM and two days later Xtra AM in Coventry is replaced by a Mercia-branded relay of Classic Gold
    .
  • 7 March –
    Manchester United launches its own radio station Manchester United Radio.^[18]
    The station operates on home match days.
  • 15 April –
    Mix 96 begins broadcasting to Aylesbury
    .
  • 6 June – NECR begins broadcasting to Inverurie and the surrounding areas of Aberdeenshire.
  • 20 June – Fortune 1458 launches in Manchester. The station uses BBC Radio Manchester's old MW frequency.
  • June – Following the purchase of Cambridge station CNFM by GWR, the station is relaunched as Q103.
  • 4 July –
    97.2 Stray FM begins broadcasting to the Harrogate and Ripon
    areas of North Yorkshire.
  • 1 August –
    Fort William
    area.
  • 1–16 September – The UK's first five regional commercial stations start broadcasting. They are
    100.7 Heart FM which launches on the 6th and covers the West Midlands and Scot FM
    which broadcasts music and speech to the Scottish central belt.
  • 1 September – Country 1035 begins broadcasting a country music service on MW to London.
  • 5 October –
    Radio Authority not to renew LBC's licence, instead giving it to London News Radio, a consortium led by former LBC staff and backed by Guinness Mahon.^[19]
  • 16 October – Kiss 102 begins broadcasting a dance music service to Manchester.
  • 22 October – Oasis Radio begins broadcasting to Watford.
  • 31 December – This is the final day on air for
    Gemini Radio^[20] and Choice FM
    respectively.

• 1995
  • 1 January –
    Gemini Radio and Choice FM
    's first day on air.
  • 9 January –
    • Two Scottish stations do the splits when
      Northsound Two
      begin broadcasting.
  • 14 January – Coventry station Radio Harmony is rebranded as Kix 96 and changes frequency.^[21]
  • 14 February –
    Talk Radio UK becomes the last of three national commercial radio stations to go on air. It broadcasts on the old Radio 1
    mediumwave frequency.
  • 10 April – Virgin Radio starts broadcasting on FM in London. The station is a full simulcast of the national service apart from a 45-minute weekday early evening programme.
  • 30 May –
    BBC WM
    .
  • 10 June – Premier Christian Radio becomes the UK's first Christian radio station when it launches on AM across London.
  • 25 June – Vale FM begins broadcasting to the Shaftesbury area of Dorset.
  • 3 July – Viva 963 becomes the UK's first female-orientated radio station when it starts broadcasting on AM across London.
  • 8 July – KFM begins broadcasting to the towns of Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Dartford, Gravesend and the surrounding areas of South East of England.
  • July –
    The Radio Authority gives permission to GWR Group to begin programme networking across many of its FM stations. This landmark ruling begins the move by commercial radio companies in the UK to replace locally produced shows with networking.^[22]
  • 17 August – London Turkish Radio begins broadcasting.
  • 5 September – Heart 106.2 begins broadcasting an adult contemporary music service across London.
  • 9 September –
    Sabras Sound begins broadcasting to Leicester's Asian community on AM. It replaces Sunrise East Midlands
    .
  • 24 September – Amber Radio launches on MW across East Anglia.
  • 30 September –
    • CFM West Cumbria begins broadcasting to the Cumbrian towns of Workington and Whitehaven
      .
    • Swansea Sound
      continues on AM.
  • 30 November –
    103.2 Alpha Radio begins broadcasting to the Darlington
    area.

• 1996
  • 5 February – Radio Wyvern becomes the last commercial station in England to end simulcasting on FM and AM.
  • 1 April –
    Network News
    closes.
  • 4 April – Guildford station 96.4 The Eagle replaces Mercury 96.4.
  • 21 April –
    Spirit FM begins broadcasting to the Sussex coastal towns of Chichester, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
    .
  • 24 May – FM102 The Bear begins broadcasting to Stratford-upon-Avon.
  • 3 June –
    Asian Sound Radio
    begins broadcasting on MW across East Lancashire.
  • 1 July – The LBC name returns to London's airwaves following a rebrand of London News Radio's MW station News Talk 1152.
  • July – The Radio Authority receives 25 bids for the final FM citywide London licence. XFM is chosen as the winner.
  • 15 July – Oban FM begins broadcasting to the Oban area of west Scotland.
  • 2 September – Supergold closes after eight years on air, replaced by Classic Gold at 7am. Classic Gold was based at Chiltern Radio studios in Dunstable from this point.
  • 9 September – Following a change in ownership, Manchester station Fortune 1458 is renamed Lite AM.
  • September – The Radio Authority awards a full-time commercial licence to a student radio station for the first time when it awards the Oxford licence to
    Oxygen FM
    .
  • 29 September –
    103.4 The Beach begins broadcasting to the coastal towns of Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth
    .
  • 23 November – Valleys Radio begins broadcasting on MW to the South Wales valleys.
  • Unknown –
    Hallam FM switches off its transmitter covering Rotherham
    as part of its licence agreement.
  • Unknown – Following its purchase of Bedford station Chiltern 96.9, new owners GWR Group rebrand the station as B97 FM.
  • Unknown –
    Allied Radio
    the previous year.

• 1997
  • January – Leicester Sound moves frequency (from 103.2 to 105.4) and increases transmitter power to allow the station to cover the county of Leicestershire.
  • 6 January – West FM begins broadcasting on FM to Ayr and the surrounding areas. West Sound Radio continues on MW.
  • February – Emap launches a network of Magic stations on its MW frequencies across the north of England. The Yorkshire stations launch on 12 February, replacing and
    Magic 1152 and Magic 1170 replace Great North Radio
    .
  • 14 February – At 1.05pm, Kiss 105 begins broadcasting a dance music service across East, West and South Yorkshire.
  • 17 March –
    • The roll-out of the Magic brand concludes when the north west Magic stations –
      Magic 1548
      launch.
    • After broadcasting a one-month temporary service called 1278 and 1530 AM West Yorkshire, Classic Gold launches in Bradford and Halifax/Huddersfield. The station is a simulcast of the Classic Gold network heard on MW in central and southern England with a local breakfast show supplemented by local news and information throughout the day.
  • 1 April – Wish FM begins broadcasting to Wigan.
  • 4 May – Yorkshire Dales Radio begins broadcasting on MW across the Yorkshire Dales.
  • 23 May – Lochbroom FM begins broadcasting to the Scottish town of Ullapool.
  • 31 August – Regular programming across UK radio is interrupted to provide ongoing news coverage of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales.
  • 1 September –
    • XFM London begins broadcasting an indie music service across London. It becomes the final London-wide station on FM.
    • KMFM Medway begins broadcasting to the Medway Towns area of Kent
      .
  • 6 September – Many UK radio stations broadcast live coverage of the Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales.
  • 21 September – KMFM Canterbury begins broadcasting.
  • 23 September –
    Century 106
    begins broadcasting a regional service across the East Midlands.
  • 29 September –
    • Following the purchase of
      Chrysalis Radio, the dance music stations are renamed Galaxy 102 and Galaxy 105
      .
    • KMFM Shepway and White Cliffs Country begins broadcasting to Dover and Folkestone.
  • 7 October – 107.7 The Wolf begins broadcasting to Wolverhampton.
  • 12 October – Dune FM begins broadcasting to Southport.
  • 20 October – European Klassik Rock begins broadcasting a classic rock service via satellite. The station also operates 28-day RSLs in various cities and counties.
  • 17 November – Sovereign FM begins broadcasting to Eastbourne and Hailsham.
  • 22 November – Vibe 105–108 begins broadcasting a dance music service across East Anglia.
  • 28 November – Star FM 107.2 begins broadcasting to Bristol.
  • 6 December – Waves Radio begins broadcasting to the Peterhead area of Aberdeenshire.
  • 9 December – Chris Evans's media production company,
    Capital Radio
    , but Evans, who had not wanted to work for the station, launched a rival bid.

• 1998
  • 17 January –
    KMFM Thanet
    begins broadcasting to the Thanet area of Kent.
  • 1 March –
    • Huddersfield FM begins broadcasting to Huddersfield.
    • Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland
      .
  • 7 March – Isle of Wight Radio and Isles FM begins broadcasting. The latter station broadcasts to the Scottish Western islands.
  • 23 March – Star Radio (Cambridge and Ely) begins broadcasting to Cambridge and Ely.
  • 27 March – 107 Crash FM begins broadcasting a new music service to Liverpool.
  • 10 April – Arrow FM begins broadcasting to the Hastings area of East Sussex.
  • April – After just seven months on air,
    Radio 106 is rebranded as Century 106 and relaunched with a new team of presenters.^[23]
  • 18 May –
    • Kestral FM begins broadcasting to Basingstoke.
    • Active FM begins broadcasting to the Havering area of east London.
  • 25 May – Silk FM begins broadcasting to Macclesfield.
  • 31 May –
    Invicta Supergold
    respectively.
  • 6 June – Centre FM begins broadcasting to Burton, Lichfield and Tamworth.
  • 14 June –
    Solent
    area.
  • 15 August – QuayWest Radio begins broadcasting to the Bridgwater area of West Somerset.
  • 1 September – Wire FM begins broadcasting to Warrington.
  • 7 September – CAT FM begins broadcasting to the Cheltenham and surrounding areas of north Gloucestershire.
  • 8 September –
    Century 105
    starts broadcasting, becoming the north west's second regional station.
  • 5 October –
    • One hour of Virgin Radio's breakfast show starts simulcasting on Sky One. When a track was played on the radio, viewers saw the song's video.^[25]
    • Kingdom FM begins broadcasting across Fife.
  • 7 October – Peak FM begins broadcasting to the Chesterfield area of Derbyshire.
  • 18 October – Chelmer FM begins broadcasting to Chelmsford.
  • 1 November – Fosseway Radio begins broadcasting to the Hinckley area of Leicestershire.
  • 12 November – TalkCo Holdings, whose chairman and chief executive was former Sun Editor Kelvin MacKenzie, purchases Talk Radio.^[26]
  • 19 November –
    Dream 100.^[27]
  • 28 November – RNA Arbroath begins broadcasting.
  • 29 November – The Falcon begins broadcasting to Cambridge.
  • 11 December – Champion 103 begins broadcasting to Caernarfon and Anglesey.
  • 13 December – Rutland Radio begins broadcasting to the Rutland area.
  • December –
    Emap
    .
  • Unknown – After just a year on air, European Klassik Rock closes down.
  • Unknown – South Coast Radio closes after seven years on air and its station is replaced by Capital Gold.

• 1999
  • January –
    • Choice FM Birmingham
      Galaxy 102.2.
    • London's dance/urban station
      EMAP Radio
      with a new logo and mainstream pop music is introduced to the playlist, this leads to criticism from some DJ's and listeners.
  • 1 February –
    Mansfield 103.2
    begins broadcasting.
  • 8 February – FLR 107.3 begins broadcasting to the Lewisham area of south London.
  • 20 March – Tower FM begins broadcasting to Bolton and Bury.
  • 3 May – Telford FM begins broadcasting.
  • 22 May – Northern Ireland stations Goldbeat and Heartbeat 1521 close down.
  • 18 June – Launch of
    Talk Radio
    .
  • 26 June –
    Fire 107.6 begins broadcasting to Bournemouth and Poole
    .
  • 24 July –
    106.8 Lite FM begins broadcasting to Peterborough
    .
  • 30 August –
    • Wave 102 begins broadcasting to Dundee
      .
    • The Revolution begins broadcasting go the Oldham, Rochdale and surrounding areas of eastern Greater Manchester.
  • 5 September –
    SouthCity FM
  • 19 September –
    107.4 The Quay begins broadcasting to Portsmouth
    .
  • 3 October –
    • Fen Radio 107.5 begins broadcasting to the Fenlands area.
    • Ridings FM begins broadcasting to the Wakefield and the five towns area of West Yorkshire.
    • Win 107.2 begins broadcasting to Winchester.
  • 23 October –
    Star 107.7 begins broadcasting to Weston-super-Mare
    .
  • 7 November – Yorkshire Coast Radio Bridlington begins broadcasting to Bridlington and Filey. It operates as an opt-out service from the nearby Scarborough station.
  • 15 November –
    • Britain's first national commercial
      GWR Group. Digital One would extend its station lineup and transmission area over subsequent years, and became available to Northern Ireland from 2013 (following the completion of digital television switchover in the UK and Republic of Ireland
      the prior autumn).
    • Bath FM begins broadcasting.
  • 19 November –
    • Beat 106
      begins broadcasting across the Scottish central belt.
    • 107 The Edge begins broadcasting across Lanarkshire
      .
  • 1 December –
    South Hams Radio begins broadcasting to the South Hams area of Devon
    .
  • Unknown –
  • Bedford station B979 is rebranded back to its original name of Chiltern FM.

2000s

• 2000
  • 26 January –
    Q97.2, fully known as Q97.2 Causeway Radio, begins broadcasting to the Coleraine area of Northern Ireland
    .
  • 17 February –
    Talk Radio UK
    is rebranded as Talksport.
  • 14 March –
    SMG plc for £225m.^[28] The sale made Evans the highest paid entertainer in the UK in 2000, estimated by the Sunday Times Rich List to have been paid around £35.5million.^[29]
  • 1 May –
    106.3 Bridge FM begins broadcasting to the Bridgend
    area of South Wales.
  • 2 May – Oneword begins broadcasting on Digital One.^[30]
  • 3 May – Choice 107.1 begins broadcasting to north London.
  • 29 May –
    Kick FM begins broadcasting to the Newbury area of Berkshire
    .
  • May – Capital Radio buys
    Border Radio Holdings, thereby acquiring the three Century radio stations.^[31]
  • 26 June – The Groove begins broadcasting.
  • 10 July –
    • Argyll FM begins broadcasting across Kintyre and wider Argyll, the southern Inner Hebrides, Clyde islands and Ayrshire in south-west Scotland as well as to the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland.
    • Ten 17
      changes its name to Ten 17 Mercury.
  • 25 July – 2BR begins broadcasting to the Burnley area of east Lancashire.
  • 28 September – Channel Travel Radio closes.
  • 3 October – South Wales regional station
    Real Radio Wales
    begins broadcasting.
  • 16 October – PrimeTime Radio begins broadcasting on Digital One. It provides a music service aimed at the over 50s.
  • 4 December – FLR 107.3 changes its name to Fusion 107.3FM.
  • Unknown – Coventry student station Source FM begins broadcasting.
  • Unknown – Delta FM's broadcast area expands when it is merged with Wey Valley Radio.

• 2001
  • 1 March –
    Kingston-upon-Thames
    area.
  • 3 March – Hertbeat FM begins broadcasting to Hertford.
  • 31 March –
    Bright 106.4 begins broadcasting to the Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath
    areas of West Sussex.
  • 3 June – Compass FM begins broadcasting to Grimsby and Cleethorpes.
  • 16 June – KCR 106.7 begins broadcasting to the Knowsley area of Merseyside.
  • 4 July –
    Quay West 107.4 begins broadcasting to the Somerset
    coast.
  • August – The
    KM Group take full control of Neptune Radio and CTFM
    .
  • 11 September – Following a
    Twin Towers in New York City
    , live on television, most broadcasters abandon regular programming in order to provide up to date coverage of unfolding events.
  • September – The
    KM Group rebrands its newly acquired Mercury FM stations as KMFM West Kent and KMFM Medway
    .
  • 16 October – Saga 105.7 FM, the UK's first radio station dedicated to the over-50s, begins broadcasting in Birmingham.
  • October – The Sky News Radio service is expanded to provide hourly news bulletins, audio and scripts for a number of clients in the commercial radio sector.
  • 23 October –
    Lakeland Radio begins broadcasting to the Cumbrian towns of Keswick, Windermere and Kendal
    .
  • 31 October – Mix 107 begins broadcasting to Aylesbury.
  • 5 November – 3TR FM begins broadcasting to the Warminster area of Wiltshire.
  • December – The eight medium wave
    Magic 105.4
    providing the programmes.
  • Unknown – Garrison FM begins broadcasting. The station serves military bases across the UK.

• 2002
  • 8 January –
    Real Radio Scotland
    .
  • mid February – 107.7 Chelmer FM is renamed Dream 107.7.
  • 28 February–1 March – The first three community radio stations – Bradford Community Broadcasting, Cross Rhythms in Stoke and Angel Community Radio (Havant) – start broadcasting as part of a trial of community radio which sees 15 stations go on air during 2002. The trial, under the title of "Access Radio", saw each station originally licensed for one year. All three stations are still on air today.
  • 11 March – TEAMtalk 252 launches. It is intended as a rival for Talksport and BBC Radio 5 Live.
  • 19 March –
    Q101.2 begins broadcasting to Omagh and Enniskillen
    .
  • 25 March – Real Radio Yorkshire begins broadcasting a music and speech service to West and South Yorkshire.
  • 14 July – 102.5 Radio Pembrokeshire begins broadcasting.
  • 31 July – TeamTalk 252 closes after four months on air.
  • 31 August –
    Rugby FM
    begins broadcasting.
  • September – The
    KM Group rebrands its newly acquired Mercury FM stations as KMFM West Kent and KMFM Medway
    .
  • 22 October –
    Reading 107
    begins broadcasting.
  • 8 November –
    The Radio Authority relieves London station Liberty Radio of its licence to broadcast. The station had repeatedly only obtained a 0.1% share of listening. The Authority awarded the licence to Club Asia, which had previously been broadcasting for several hours each day on Spectrum Radio
    . This had been the first time in several years that the incumbent broadcaster's licence had not been renewed.
  • Unknown – Smash Hits Radio begins broadcasting.

• 2003
  • 3 January – Severn Estuary regional station
    Vibe 101
    .
  • 6 January – The
    Chrysalis Radio
    .
  • January – Neptune Radio and CTFM are rebranded KMFM Shepway and White Cliffs Country and KMFM Canterbury respectively.
  • January – Just over a year after EMAP decided to simulcast London station
    Magic 105.4
    . It replaces the simulcast with a regional northern network.
  • 1 February –
    Mid 106 FM
    begins broadcasting across mid Ulster.
  • 11 February –
    GEM-AM in 1988.^[32]
  • 1 March –
    Dee 106.3 begins broadcasting to Chester
    .
  • 5 May – 107 Splash FM begins broadcasting to Worthing.
  • 30 May – Castle Rock FM begins broadcasting to the Dumbarton area.
  • 1 July – The rolling news service on Digital One, provided by ITN, stops broadcasting.
  • 3 July – Having lost its licence, Liberty Radio closes down after eight years on air. It is immediately replaced by Club Asia.
  • 3 September – River FM begins broadcasting to the Livingston area of West Lothian.
  • 5 October – Dearne FM begins broadcasting to Barnsley and the surrounding area.
  • 18 October – CTR 105.6 begins broadcasting to Maidstone in Kent.
  • 26 October – Ivel FM begins broadcasting to the Yeovil area of south Somerset.
  • 10 November – North Norfolk Radio begins broadcasting.
  • 22 November –
    Two Lochs Radio begins broadcasting to the Loch Ewe
    area of Scotland.
  • 6 December – Bloomberg stops broadcasting on Digital One.
  • Unknown –
    The Hits Radio
    begin broadcasting.
  • Unknown –
    Insight Radio
    begins broadcasting.

• 2004
  • 1 January –
    The Radio Authority
    .
  • 13 February – North west regional station 100.4 Jazz FM closes down after nearly ten years on air. It is replaced on 1 March by 100.4 Smooth FM.^[33]
  • 4 April – High Peak Radio begins broadcasting to the High Peak area of Derbyshire.
  • 1 May – KMFM Extra begins broadcasting across Kent.
  • 10 June –
    Kerrang! 105.2 begins broadcasting an indie-rock service across the West Midlands
    .
  • 13 June –
    97.1 Radio Carmarthenshire
    begins broadcasting.
  • 14 July –
    97.5 Scarlet FM begins broadcasting to the Llanelli
    area.
  • 4 September – The Superstation Orkney begins broadcasting as a community radio station, broadcasting to Orkney and Caithness.
  • 7 September –
    Saga 105.2 FM
    begins broadcasting, becoming the third station to broadcast to Scotland's central belt.

• 2005
  • 17 January – Almost all of the UK's commercial stations join to broadcast UK Radio Aid, a twelve-hour event to raise money for the victims of the Asian tsunami.
  • 21 February –
    Chill
    begins broadcasting.
  • 7 June – London's 102.2 Jazz FM is relaunched as 102.2 Smooth FM. It replaces 102.2 Jazz FM which had closed on 27 May.^[34]
  • 21 June –
    Emap buys Scottish Radio Holdings.^[35]
  • 29 August –
    Heart 106
    .
  • 3 October – KMFM Ashford begins broadcasting.
  • 1 November –
    Aston FM
    begins broadcasting.
  • 19 November – Lanarkshire station L107 launches, replacing 107 The Edge which had been on air since 2003.
  • 25 November – The UK's first
    Islamic radio station, Islam Radio, is established in Bradford, West Yorkshire.^[36]
  • 5 December – 102.6 & 106.8 Durham FM begins broadcasting.
  • Unknown – After being acquired by the CN Group, Kix 96 and its other sister stations in the south Midlands are rebranded as Touch FM.

• 2006
  • 14 February – Talk 107 begins broadcasting a speech-based service across Edinburgh.
  • 25 February –
    Touch FM (Banbury)
    begins broadcasting.
  • 2 June –
    Primetime Radio
    closes after six years on air.
  • 29 June –
    99.9 Radio Norwich
    begins broadcasting.
  • 10 July – Yorkshire Radio begins broadcasting.
  • 15 August – Gaydio becomes the UK's first analogue radio station aimed at the LGBT community when it begins broadcasting in central Manchester.
  • 2 September –
    Brunel FM begins broadcasting to Swindon
    .
  • 6 September –
    Vibe 105-108 are also rebranded to Kiss
    .
  • November –
    KM Group
    , taking the number of KM-owned stations in Kent to 7.
  • December – GMG Radio purchases the Saga Radio Group.^[37]
  • 29 September – Cambridge station Star 107.9 closes after eight years on air.
  • 16 October – 107.3 Abbey FM begins broadcasting to Barrow-in-Furness and the surrounding area..
  • 18 December – Radio Music Shop begins broadcasting. The station, which claims to be the world's first retail radio station, lasted less than a year, closing on 5 October 2007.
  • 25 December – theJazz begins broadcasting on Digital One.^[38][39]
  • Unknown –
    Galaxy
    radio stations.

• 2007
  • January – The Channel 4 Radio brand is launched by Channel 4.^[40]
  • January – 96.3 Rock Radio launches. It uses the frequency previous occupied by Q96.
  • 29 January – Livingston station River FM closes after less than four years on air.
  • February – Harborough FM begins broadcasting to Market Harborough.
  • 5 March – The
    Kix 96 after it was rebranded as Touch Radio and adopted an adult contemporary
    format.
  • 26 March – All Smooth Radio and
    105.7 Smooth Radio airs in the West Midlands
    .
  • 27 March – Country music station
    3C
    closes after eight years on air.
  • 16 April – Life FM (Harlesden) begins broadcasting to the Harlesden are of London.
  • 20 May – Original 106.5 (Bristol) begins broadcasting.
  • 8 June – Newcastle-based community station
    NE1fm
    begins broadcasting.
  • 11 June – Minster Northallerton launches as an opt-out service from the York station.
  • 25 June – It is announced that the
    Chrysalis Radio.^[43]
  • 3 August – All stations in the
    Classic Gold and Capital Gold
    networks are replaced by a new network called simply Gold, the result of the merger of the Classic Gold and Capital Gold networks under one owner, GCap Media.
  • 6 August – Norwich-based community station Future Radio begins broadcasting.
  • 23 August – GMG Radio confirms that
    102.2 Smooth Radio will be syndicated across other Smooth stations in the network from September.^[44]
  • 3 September –
    Radio Scilly begins broadcasting to the Isles of Scilly
    .
  • 12 September – CTR 105.6 is rebranded as KMFM Maidstone.
  • 25 September – Heat Radio re-launches with presenters and showbiz news throughout the day, having previously been a music only service.^[45]
  • 5 October – Community station
    East Yorkshire
    .
  • 8 October – Radio Cardiff begins broadcasting.
  • 18 October – Community station BRfm begins broadcasting to the Ebbw Vale area..
  • 28 October –
    Original 106 (Aberdeen)
    begins broadcasting.
  • 10 December – Phoenix Radio begins broadcasting to the West Yorkshire town of Halifax.
  • 14 December – Sunshine Radio (FM) begins broadcasting to Herefordshire and Monmouthshire.

• 2008
  • 8 January –
    97.5 Smooth Radio
    becomes north east England's third regional station when it begins broadcasting. The licence had been awarded to Saga Radio but Smooth's owners GMG Group took over Saga in 2007, replacing the saga stations with Smooth Radio.
  • 11 January –
    • Classic FM.^[47][48]
    • Another of the original Digital One stations, Core Radio, stops broadcasting.
  • 12 January – The Forces Station BFBS begins a trial period of broadcasting nationwide across the UK on DAB from midnight. The trial ran until 23:59 on 31 March 2008, and audience research carried out during this time concluded that it was successful. BFBS subsequently returned to DAB Digital Radio on a permanent basis.^[49]
  • 16 January – Celtic Music Radio begins broadcasting a Celtic music service in Glasgow.
  • 28 January –
    City Talk 105.9 begins broadcasting, returning speech radio to Liverpool
    after 17 years.
  • 29 January –
    Emap's radio, television and consumer media businesses, purchasing the assets for £1.14bn.^[50]
  • 15 February – Exeter-based community station Phonic FM begins broadcasting.
  • 18 February –
    Exeter FM
    begins broadcasting.
  • 15 March – Swindon 105.5 begins broadcasting.
  • 26 March – Leicestershire stations Fosseway Radio and Oak 107 FM merge. Both had been on air since the late 1990s.
  • 31 March – Following its decision to exit digital broadcasting, GCap closes theJazz and Capital Life.^[51] To compensate, two hours of jazz music are broadcast each night on Classic FM.
  • 1 April –
    Rock Radio (North East)
    begins broadcasting.
  • 4 April –
    • Touch FM (Warwick) begins broadcasting.
    • Digital station Virgin Radio Groove closes after eight years on air.
  • 28 April – The
    Heart 106 in the East Midlands
    during weekdays and four hours on Saturday and Sunday.
  • 3 May – After 14 years on air, Manchester United Radio closes.
  • 5 May –
    106.1 Rock Radio begins broadcasting to Manchester
    .
  • 26 May –
    Andover Sound
    begins broadcasting.
  • 2 June – Q Radio begins broadcasting.
  • 16 June –
    Nation Radio
    begins broadcasting across South Wales.
  • 24 June – NME Radio begins broadcasting.
  • 31 July – Fen Radio 107.5 closes after nine years on air.
  • 9 August – South Birmingham Community Radio begins broadcasting.^[52]
  • 25 September –
    106.5 Central Radio begins broadcasting to Preston, Leyland and Chorley
    .
  • 29 September –
    Virgin Radio
    changes its name to Absolute Radio.
  • 8 October – Jazz FM returns to the airwaves.
  • 11 October – The closure of Channel 4 Radio is announced.^[53]
  • 14 October – Radio Hartlepool begins broadcasting.
  • 30 October –
    The Coast following the sale of the station two months earlier to Celador
    .
  • 5 November – Focal Radio (2008–2009)^[54]
  • 8 November –
    The Bay 102.8
    begins broadcasting.
  • 23 December – Edinburgh station Talk 107 closes after two years on air.

• 2009
  • 5 January –
    Global Radio.^[55]
  • 10 January –
    East Yorkshire
    .
  • 30 January – South Cumbria station 107.3 Abbey FM closes after less than three years on air.
  • 23 March –
    Heart
    .
  • 1 April –
    • Ownership of
      Touch FM (Banbury) is transferred to Banbury Broadcasting Company Ltd. The station was subsequently renamed Banbury Sound on 1 June.^[56]
    • Mersey 106.7 closes after six years on air.
  • 3 April – London stations Time 107.3 and Time 106.8 close. The latter station had launched as Radio Thamesmead in 1990.
  • 30 April – Welsh station Valleys Radio closes after thirteen years on air.
  • May –
    Global Radio for a sale price worth £37.5 million.^[57]
  • 28 May – Focal Radio closes after just a year on air.^[54]
  • 1 June –
    • Birdsong Radio, a digital radio station broadcast from 2008 as a filler on the Digital One platform following the closure of Oneword, goes off air with the launch of Amazing Radio.^[58]
    • Banbury Sound begins broadcasting.
  • 20 June – 96.5 Bolton FM begins broadcasting.
  • 14 June – Launch of
    commercial radio stations in the UK, and based on a combination of airplay and music download figures provided by iTunes
    .
  • 18 June – It is announced that the media executive Steve Orchard has bought the
    101.6 & 102.4 Touch FM and 107.1 Rugby FM
    .
  • 22 June –
    Heart
    .
  • 1 July – After eight years on air, Mix 107 closes down.^[59]
  • 14 September – All programmes, apart from weekday/Saturday breakfast and Sunday afternoons, are networked across the KMFM network.
  • 2 November –
    Durham FM are merged into a single station called Star Radio North East
    .
  • 10 November – Thirteen stations owned by GMG Radio take part in an eighteen-hour on-air appeal to raise money for the Help for Heroes charity. The event raises almost £200,000.^[60]
  • 1 December –
    Touch Radio
    is rebranded to Touch FM.
  • 4 December – Absolute 80s launches.
  • Aston FM
    changes its name to Big City Radio.