Hits Radio Pride is a national
digital radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...
owned and operated by
Bauer as part of the
Hits Radio
Hits Radio is a network of 25 contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK.
As of October 2022, the network has a combined reach of 6.6 million weekly listeners according to RAJAR.
Overv ...
network. It broadcasts across the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. It was launched on 28 August 2020 as a pop up Pride station focusing on music for the
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term ...
community.
The station was sponsored by Cooperative Bank for an initial run of 6 months. Additional content is produced by Reform Radio, as part of a grant awarded by the Audio Content Fund. Tough Talks’; is an 'intimate conversations between contributors from the LGBTQ+ community reflecting on the struggles that they face within society.'
Hits Radio Pride also works with LGBT+ helpline
Switchboard (UK)
Switchboard is the second-oldest LGBT+ telephone helpline in the United Kingdom, launched the day after Edinburgh Befrienders (later known as Lothian Gay and Lesbian Switchboard).
Switchboard was launched in March 1974 as the London Lesbian a ...
to promote support services.
History
On 29 July 2020, Bauer announced it was to launch a spinoff pop-up station under the Hits Radio brand.
Hits Radio Pride launched at 8:00AM on 28 August 2020. Its output is similar to its sister station
Hits Radio UK
Hits Radio UK is a national digital radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to the United Kingdom.
As of June 2022, the station has a weekly audience of 1.2 mill ...
, with a particular focus on artists and musicians loved by the LGBTQ+ community.
The concept for the station was first proposed in February 2020 by Ross Tilley, working across Bauer's Northern Ireland radio stations.
DAB availability
The service is available on a select number of Bauer owned ensembles including Northern Ireland, Liverpool, Swansea, Bradford and Huddersfield, South Yorkshire, Humberside, Stoke and London.
References
External links
Official website
{{Hits Radio
Hits Radio
Bauer Radio
Bauer Group (UK)
Radio stations established in 2020
LGBT-related radio stations
2020s LGBT-related mass media