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And Finally Business News Media
Smooth Radio is leaving the AM dial
By Chris Cooke | Published on Tuesday 27 June 2023
Bad news for fans of AM radio in the UK! Is that fans in the plural do you think? Bad news for the fan of AM radio in the UK, maybe. Anyway, the removal of music radio stations from good old fashioned medium wave continues.
Following the news last week that Global is switching off some of the AM transmitters used by its golden oldies station Gold, Radio Today has noted that the media firm is also ending AM broadcasts for its Smooth Radio service.
According to the radio news site, announcements are being aired on Smooth Radio AM broadcasts in Dorset, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex and the Plymouth area stating that those services will cease at the end of the week. Listeners are encouraged to find Smooth Radio on the DAB digital radio network or online.
Many of those AM frequencies previously ran the Gold service before Global decided it wanted to expand the reach of Smooth Radio in 2014.
However, most radio companies are now very much prioritising FM and digital channels, given that the number of people listening on AM is falling to the point where it’s not commercially viable to keep those broadcasts going.
Radio Today adds that – while Smooth Radio will still be available on AM in Hampshire, Kent, Sussex, North Wales and Cheshire beyond this week – those services will also be switched off in the near future.
