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Virgin
Radio, originally known as Virgin 1215, is a British
commercial music radio station based in London
which plays popular music and rock. Virgin currently
broadcasts on mediumwave and DAB across England,
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, on 105.8
FM in London, on Freeview, Sky Digital and cable
television. It is also available in other parts
of the world via satellite, cable, and on the
Internet.
Broadcasting
history
Virgin Radio was originally called Virgin 1215
when it was launched nationally on 1215 kHz (although
some regional transmitters used other frequencies)
at 12.15pm on 30 April 1993.
The
first song was a special version of the Steppenwolf
song "Born to be Wild", recorded by
Australian group INXS. Richard
Branson was the first voice to-air, live from
the Virgin Megastore in Manchester. The first
voice in the studio was Richard Skinner.
Some
months later after the station launched, it also
began broadcasting in stereo on satellite via
Sky Television. This has continued with the switchover
to digital broadcasting. Virgin Radio later acquired
a local FM franchise for London, allowing it to
broadcast on, 105.8 FM, in that area. This service
launched on 10 April 1995 and initially carried
regional programming for the London area, although
this has now ceased.
The
station was then sold to Ginger Media, owned by
Chris Evans, who was a mainstay on the station,
presenting a breakfast show from 1997 until 2001.
Evans sold Ginger Media to SMG plc for £225
million GBP in March 2000 and was subsequently
fired by his new employer in 2001 for failing
to report into work for 5 consecutive days while
reportedly partying with his then wife Billie
Piper.
On
June 13, 2006 SMG plc signed a deal with YooMedia
to make Virgin Radio available on Freeview. It
has always placed a great emphasis on other methods
of transmission than medium wave, as the 1215
kHz frequency suffers from considerable interference,
particularly after dark - BBC Radio 1, which used
1215 kHz for its first eleven years on air, moved
to higher-quality medium wave frequencies (now
used by talkSport) in 1978 mainly for this reason.
Interference is thought to come from around Europe,
particularly Russia, which has a station on this
frequency.
The Station, its audience and playlist
Virgin Radio's former chief executive Fru Hazlitt,
when interviewed for The Guardian (September 25,
2006), described what type of music the station
champions. When told of comparisons between Virgin
and other MOR, or "Middle-of-the-road"
music radio stations, such as the BBC's Radio
2, she remarked that "that was [during] the
Chris Evans era. Now, it's pretty much mainstream
rock festival type music. Razorlight, Keane. These
bands are becoming some of the biggest in the
world."
The
station's output does mainly consist of contemporary
British-based guitar "MOR" rock-pop
bands, such as the aforementioned Keane and Razorlight
but also artists like Coldplay, Snow Patrol and
The Feeling. It also plays various other "Adult
album alternative" artists from Britain,
Ireland and America, like Oasis, U2, the Red Hot
Chili Peppers, R.E.M. and The Killers, as well
as "Golden Oldies" such as The Beatles,
Queen, The Clash and The Who to name a few.
Virgin
Radio's target audience is predominantly those
aged 25-44 [3]. Its "spin-off" digital
radio stations (see below) exploit the 'niche'
musical tastes of this target audience, and leans
on a particular rock sub-genre that is played
on Virgin Radio, or to cater for an audience that
is within its target demographic but are not served
properly by the flagship station.
Frequencies
In a number of areas, particularly in areas where
the signal from the main 1215 transmitters overlap
with each other, Virgin Radio operates a number
of filler transmitters on different frequencies
:-
1197
kHz - Brighton and Hove, Cambridge, South Devon,
Dorset, Gloucester, Oxford, South Nottinghamshire,
Medway, Merseyside
1233 kHz - Berkshire, Essex, Northampton, Sheffield,
Swindon
1242 kHz - Cleveland, Dundee, Lincolnshire, Staffordshire
1260 kHz - Guildford, East Kent
The
Big Star
A little after 8:00 on the morning of Monday 25
September 2006, The station's breakfast DJ Christian
O'Connell revealed The Big Star, which has turned
out to be a giant 20 ft x 20 ft star, which took
three weeks to complete in a secret location and
hung above Regent Street. It was also revealed
that if listeners guessed the exact amount within
it one of them could win it in cash. To play,
listeners had to register the website and could
view the star on the webcam. A listener would
be selected randomly every hour. It was won at
noon on October 10, by Phil from Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire
with a winning guess of £108,125.15. (The
winning guess was an anagram of "105.8 1215",
the station's two main analogue frequencies.)
The
Big Star will return in 2007.
Around the world
The Virgin name is used for other radio stations
in other territories. Virgin Radio stations exist
in Thailand and India, and Oui FM in Paris is
due to rebrand in 2007. These are not owned by
SMG, and remain within Richard Branson's Virgin
Group. Many Virgin companies, including Virgin
Megastores and Virgin Trains, have in-store radio
stations.
Spinoff stations
SMG plc has recently launched a number of spin-off
stations within its Virgin Radio Network. These
are:
Virgin Radio Classic Rock
Main article: Virgin Radio Classic Rock
A radio station on DAB, Sky Digital and the Internet
playing classic rock from the sixties to the nineties.
Virgin Radio Groove
Main article: Virgin Radio Groove
A radio station on DAB, Sky Digital and the Internet
which plays motown, soul and disco music.
Virgin Radio Xtreme
Main article: Virgin Radio Xtreme
Launched on September 5 2005, Virgin Radio Xtreme
plays rock music, and is aimed at teenage males.
Virgin Radio Party Classics
Launched on Thursday 15 June 2006, Virgin Radio
Party Classics played party pop music. The radio
station was based on Suggs Virgin Party Classics
show broadcast on Virgin Radio. The station closed
down on Friday 13 October 2006.
All
'Virgin' branded channels broadcast on DAB in
London, the Internet, and Sky Digital.
Presenters
Sarah Champion
Robin Burke
Greg Burns
Neil Francis
Leona Graham
Guy Jogoo
Dominic Johnson
Ben Jones
Geoff Lloyd
Suggs
Christian O'Connell
John Osborne
Russ Williams
Past
presenters on the network have included Chris
Evans, Danny Baker, Nick Abbot, Jonathan Coleman,
Daryl Denham, Jezza, Robin Banks, Lynn Parsons,
Tommy Vance, Alan Freeman, Gary Davies, Kevin
Greening, Richard Skinner, Vic Reeves, Tim Lovejoy,
Martin Collins, Al Murray & many others.
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