Two new radio stations from Smooth have launched today. They are the last two stations of five to be launched by media company Global in the last few days.
Smooth Country will celebrate “the very best in country music”, playing music from country icons including Dolly Parton, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Shania Twain and Lady Antebellum. A new weekday morning show will be hosted by Eamonn Kelly from 9am to 1pm.
The new station is available on DAB digital radio in London, Manchester and the south of England.
There are now several country music radio stations in the UK. Chris Country is available in London and some parts of the UK, while Downtown Country is available on DAB in Northern Ireland. Country Hits Radio launched earlier this year and is primarily available in the north of England and Scotland.
New station Smooth Chill replaces existing radio station Chill in London. Smooth Chill will play non-stop chill-out music from artists like Morcheeba, London Grammar, Moby and Portishead.
“To launch two new Smooth branded stations on one day is hugely exciting for us and confirms our vision to grow and develop the brand,” said Sam Jackson, Managing Editor of Smooth.
“Smooth Country will celebrate the best country music hits, while Smooth Chill will play the best music to relax and unwind to, no matter what time of the day. Through these new stations, we can’t wait to introduce Smooth to even more people, as well as giving our existing 5.7 million weekly listeners even more opportunities to enjoy the music they love.”
The new stations are the final two to be launched by Global in the last week. Heart 90s and Heart 70s began on DAB digital radio last week and were followed by Capital XTRA Reloaded yesterday. The new Heart and Capital XTRA stations are available across the UK in DAB+.
A radio station playing non-stop rock music has left DAB in London. The Arrow was owned by Global, the media company behind Smooth, as was Chill.
Both new stations are available on the Global Player and Smooth app on smartphones and tablets, as well as smart speakers and online on the Smooth website.