''Sunshine 106.8'' is an

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

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 ...

, based in Dublin,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is licensed by the

Broadcasting Authority of Ireland The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) ( ga, Údarás Craolacháin na hÉireann) was established on 1 October 2009 effectively replacing the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) ( ga, Coimisiún Craolacháin na hÉireann). The BAI is ...

(BAI) as a commercial FM broadcaster in the Dublin area. The station broadcasts on 106.8 MHz from Three Rock Mountain to County Dublin. It is included on the rebroadcast system operated within the

Dublin Port Tunnel The Dublin Tunnel (Irish: ''Tollán Bhaile Átha Cliath''), originally and still commonly known as the Port Tunnel, is a road traffic tunnel in Dublin, Ireland, that forms part of the M50 motorway. The twin tunnels form a two-lane dual carri ...

, and took part in trial DAB broadcasts in Dublin and Cork between 2012 and 2017.

History

The station launched in October 2001 and was originally identified on-air as 'Dublin's Country 106.8FM' and later (from 2005) as 'Country Mix 106.8'. The station was completely re-branded as Sunshine 106.8 in October 2010. Originally based from studios in Stillorgan, it subsequently moved to studios on North Wall Quay in Dublin 1. The station later moved to studios and offices at Castleforbes House in Dublin 1. The studios at Castleforbes House went live in December 2015. Sunshine 106.8 broadcasts 24 hours a day and features an easy listening format, including genres such as

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

, Country Crossover, Easy Listening and

Irish music Irish music is music that has been created in various genres on the island of Ireland. The indigenous music of the island is termed Irish traditional music. It has remained vibrant through the 20th and into the 21st century, despite globalis ...

. The station signed a ten-year contract with the

(BAI) on 12 September 2014 to continue broadcasting until 2024. From 2014, the station adopted the slogan 'Dublin's New Place to Relax', modifying this (in 2017) to 'Dublin's Easy Place to Relax'.

Listenership

The Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) survey, published on 24 October 2019, recorded 84,000 daily listeners for the station. Sunshine 106.8 recorded an 8.3% market share in the "All Adults" section of the JNLR report published in November 2022.

References

External links

Official Web Site
{{coord missing, County Dublin Radio stations in the Republic of Ireland Mass media in Dublin (city)