A new digital radio station dedicated exclusively to British and Northern Irish music is set to launch in early November, with a line-up of familiar broadcasting names and a playlist spanning six decades.
GB Music Radio is being launched by GB Media Ltd, the company behind GB News, under the strapline “All British, All Day”. The station will broadcast around the clock, playing music performed by artists from Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as well as bands whose members are predominantly British.
The new station’s presenters will include Paul Coyte on weekday breakfast, Rick Houghton on Drivetime and Nana Akua on weekend mornings.
Coyte, who will continue his role as a sports presenter on GB News Breakfast, is returning to music radio after previously working at Virgin 1215 and Capital Gold. He also presented breakfast on local radio in Peterborough earlier in his career.
He said: “Music radio was always my first love from hosting a breakfast show on local radio in Peterborough when I was 21, to the original Virgin 1215 and later Capital Gold.”
Rick Houghton joins the station with more than 30 years of experience in commercial radio across north-west England, having worked for many of the region’s stations.
Nana Akua, who has spent more than three decades in radio, will host the weekend breakfast programme while continuing to present her own weekend show on GB News.
She said: “There’s nothing like a Great British tune to set you up for the weekend”.
The weekend schedule will also feature Great British Party Night, offering six hours of commercial-free music every Saturday from 7pm until 1am.
Alongside its music output, GB Music Radio will provide hourly news bulletins and regular traffic and travel updates.
The station will be available on DAB+ in London and across other local digital radio multiplexes in the UK. Listeners will also be able to tune in nationwide through the station’s own website and app, as well as Nation Player, Radioplayer and TuneIn. Smart speaker access will also be available.
GB Media Ltd chief revenue officer Ross Sergeant said the station would offer advertisers a fresh proposition built around British music and its appeal across generations.
“GB Music Radio gives advertisers something genuinely new: a station built around a single, warm idea that almost everyone in this country can get behind,” he said.
“British music is a shared passion that cuts across generations, and we look forward to helping brands become part of the soundtrack to our listeners’ day, from Breakfast with Paul to weekend mornings with Nana.”
The launch will add another entrant to the UK’s digital radio market, with GB Music Radio aiming to stand out through its exclusively British music policy and a schedule combining established radio presenters, news and travel information.