Absolute Radio Country is a
British digital radio station, and is owned and operated by
Bauer Radio
Bauer Media Audio UK is a UK-based radio division of the Bauer Media Group.
History
In early 2008, German magazine publisher Bauer bought the radio division of British company Emap, which had been established as East Midland Allied Press in ...
. It is available in selected areas via DAB, and across the U.K. online, on Smart Speaker and also via the Absolute Radio App as part of the Absolute Radio Network.
History
The station originally launched as Country Hits Radio on 5 April 2019 and was positioned as the UK's first national country music radio station. The station is focused on modern country music and is aimed at listeners of 25–44. RAJAR for Early 2020 puts the station on an average of 257k listeners per week. Absolute Radio Country is available on DAB in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, South Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, Lancashire, East Yorkshire, Tyne & Wear, Teesside, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Tayside, Inverness and Ayr. In 2021, it was also made available on digital radio in Bristol and Bournemouth.
In February 2021 Bauer revealed that the station would be renamed as Absolute Radio Country and made part of the
Absolute Radio Network
The Absolute Radio Network is a network of ten radio stations owned and operated by Bauer Radio. Bauer purchased the TIML Radio Limited network of stations in 2013. Most of the Absolute Radio stations are decade-themed services, alongside t ...
- the transition took place on 17 May 2021, in tandem with other changes to the availability of Absolute's digital stations. The first song to be played after the launch was "
Jolene" by
Dolly Parton
Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...
, which was chosen by listeners via social media.
In June 2022, a sister station called Absolute Radio Classic Country was added to Bauer's Absolute Radio Premium subscription streaming package.
Programming
Absolute Radio Country programming primarily comes from their studios in London as part of the Absolute Radio Network. From Sunday - Thursday from 7pm - 10pm, the station takes programming from
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
country station
WKDF
WKDF (103.3 FM, "103.3 Country") is a country music radio station from Nashville, Tennessee. WKDF is owned by Cumulus Media. The transmitter site is in Brentwood, Tennessee, and its studios are located in Nashville's Music Row district.
WKDF fo ...
.
Country Music artists have also been guest hosts on the station, including
Maddie & Tae
Maddie & Tae are an American female country music duo composed of Maddie Font (née Marlow) and Tae Kerr (née Dye), both of whom are singers, songwriters, and guitarists. The duo was signed to the revived Dot Records in 2014. Their debut album, ...
,
Tenille Townes
Tenille Nicole Townes (born Nadkrynechny; January 20, 1994) is a Canadian country music singer from Grande Prairie, Alberta. In 2011, at the age of 17, she was nominated for a Canadian Country Music Award for Female Artist of the Year.
Biograp ...
,
Elvie Shane
Elvie Shane (born May 22, 1988) is an American country music singer. He is signed to BBR Music Group and in 2020 he released his debut single "My Boy", which has charted on Country Airplay.
Shane was born in Caneyville, Kentucky, where he grew u ...
,
Sam Palladio
Sam Christian Palladio Scott (born 21 November 1986) is an English actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Gunnar Scott in the ABC musical drama series '' Nashville'' (2012–18). Palladio has also had recurring roles on ...
,
Brothers Osborne
Brothers Osborne is an American country music duo consisting of brothers T.J. Osborne (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) and John Osborne (lead guitar, background vocals). Born in Deale, Maryland, the duo signed a recording contract with EMI Records ...
&
Charles Esten
Charles Esten Puskar III (born September 9, 1965), also known professionally as Charles Esten, and Chip Esten, is an American actor, musician and comedian.
Esten played the role of country singer Deacon Claybourne on the ABC/ CMT drama ''Nashvi ...
.
Presenters
*
Dave Berry
*
Una Healy
Una Theresa Imogene Healy (born 10 October 1981) is an Irish singer. She rose to fame in 2008 as a member of five-piece girl group The Saturdays, who are signed to Fascination and Polydor Records. In 2006, she represented Ireland in the Eurovi ...
*
Ben Earle
* Baylen Leonard
* Lou Nash
* Jennie Longdon
* Hish
* Elaina D. Smith
See also
*
Downtown Radio
Downtown Radio is a Hot Adult Contemporary music radio station based in Newtownards, County Down, that serves all of Northern Ireland using a network of AM, FM and DAB transmitters.
As of December 2022, the station has a weekly audience of ...
*
Absolute Radio
Absolute Radio is a British National radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Absolute Radio Network. It broadcasts nationally across the UK via Digital audio broadcasting and on 1215 kHz MW.
History
1993–1997: Virg ...
*
Absolute Radio Network
The Absolute Radio Network is a network of ten radio stations owned and operated by Bauer Radio. Bauer purchased the TIML Radio Limited network of stations in 2013. Most of the Absolute Radio stations are decade-themed services, alongside t ...
References
External links
*
Digital-only radio stations
Bauer Radio
Radio stations established in 2019
Country radio stations in the United Kingdom
{{UK-radio-station-stub