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 - Rock music
• Capital DANCE – Global Radio - Pop music
• Capital UK – Global Radio - Pop music
• Capital XTRA – Global Radio - Pop music
• Classic FM – Global Radio - Light classical music
• GB News Radio – GB News - News
• Gold UK –  Global Radio - Easy listening
• Heart Dance  –  Global Radio - Pop music
• Heart UK – Global Radio - Pop music
• Heart 70s – Global Radio - Pop music
• Heart 80s – Global Radio - Pop music
• Heart 90s – Global Radio - Pop music
• Heart 00s – Global Radio - Pop music
• KISS – Bauer Radio - Pop music
• KISSTORY – Bauer Radio - Pop music
• LBC – Global Radio - Varied speech
• LBC News – Global Radio - News
• Magic – Bauer Radio - Pop music
• Radio X – Global Radio - Rock music
• Smooth Chill – Global Radio - Other music
• Smooth Relax – Global Radio - Easy listening
• Smooth UK – Global Radio - Easy listening
• talkSPORT – Wireless Group - Sport
• UCB 1 – United Christian Broadcasters - Religion
• UCB 2 – United Christian Broadcasters - Religion

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:

• Absolute 80s – Bauer Media - Rock music
• Absolute 90s – Bauer Media - Rock music
• Absolute Country – Bauer Media - Country music
• Absolute Classic Rock – Bauer Media - Classic rock music
• BFBS UK – Forces station - Pop music
• Boom Radio – Boom Radio - Pop music
• Capital Anthems – Global Radio - Pop music
• Capital XTRA Reloaded – Global Radio - Pop music
• Fix Radio – Rock music
• Greatest Hits Radio 60s – Pop music
• Hits Radio Chilled – Pop music
• Jazz FM – Jazz FM - Jazz music
• Kerrang! – Bauer Media - Rock music
• Magic Classical – Bauer Media - Classical music
• Magic Soul– Bauer Media - Easy listening
• Magic Musicals – Bauer Media - Easy listening
• Mellow Magic – Bauer Media - Easy listening 
• Planet Rock – Bauer Media - Rock music
• Premier Christian Radio – Premier Media Group - Religion
• Premier Praise – Premier Media Group - Religion
• Radio X Classic Rock – Global Radio - Rock music
• Smooth 80s – Global Radio - Pop music 
• Sunrise Radio UK – Sunrise Radio - National music
• Talk – Wireless - News
• talkSPORT 2 – Wireless - Sports
• Times Radio – Wireless Group - News 
• Virgin Anthems – Wireless - Pop music
• Virgin Chilled – Wireless - Pop music
• Virgin Radio – Wireless - Pop music

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.