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Broadcast area | United Kingdom |
Frequency |
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Programming | |
Format | Classical music |
Network | Bauer National |
Ownership | |
Owner | Bauer Media Audio UK |
History | |
First air date | 4 March 2019 |
Links | |
Webcast | Rayo |
Website | Scala Radio |
Scala Radio is a classical music digital radio station in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Radio since its launch in March 2019. The station broadcasts nationally on the DAB Sound Digital multiplex, via Smart speaker, app, and online. The station was the first national classical music service to launch on terrestrial radio in the UK since Classic FM in 1992.
The station's playlist features 70% popular classics and 30% new and "surprising" music. Scala also aims for more speech content – or more "storytelling" – than Classic FM or BBC Radio 3. [1]
On 22 December 2018, following the demise of his BBC Radio 2 drivetime show –which had been co-hosted with Jo Whiley since May 2018 – Simon Mayo revealed that "...the new radio show will be announced in January. It will be startling." [2]
A month later, on 21 January 2019, Bauer Radio announced plans to launch a new national classical music service under the name Scala Radio from March, with Mayo having signed up to be one of the lead presenters of the new station. [3] More information about presenters and their shows was confirmed in February 2019. [4]
Scala Radio launched at 10am on 4 March 2019 with Simon Mayo hosting the first live programme. The first track played was the prélude to Carmen Suite No. 1 by Georges Bizet. [5]
Advance weekly listings for Scala Radio were published from launch in Radio Times and the Bauer-owned Total TV Guide. The Radio Times removed listings for BBC Radio 1Xtra and details of news and weather bulletins on Radios 1 and 2 to make space for the new station.
The station launched on Sky on 1 May 2019 on channel 0216 (later moved to channel 0151). It was removed on 14 December 2022, and was replaced by sister station Greatest Hits Radio on the platform. [6]
Changes made to the programming schedule from 2 March 2024 resulted in a presenter-less format for most weekday slots, in response to falling listening figures. The changes also led to the loss of Mark Kermode, Luci Holland, Richard Allinson, Sam Hughes, and Mark Forrest as presenters. [7]
The presenters on Scala Radio include a range of radio and television personalities, some of whom have previously presented on other Bauer stations, as well as with competitor stations such as Classic FM. The current presenters with regular shows are: [8]
According to RAJAR data, the station has a weekly reach of 188,000 people as of March 2024. [9]
Scala Radio recommends an album weekly as their Album of the Week, and conducts relevant give-away activities. [10]
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Magic Radio is a British digital radio station owned and operated by Bauer. The station is available on 105.4 FM in London and across the UK on Digital Radio, on the Magic Radio app, online, and on Smart speakers. It plays "soft adult contemporary classics" such as Elton John, Madonna, Hot Chocolate, Whitney Houston, UB40, Simply Red, and more.
Simon Andrew Hicks Mayo is an English radio presenter and author who worked for BBC Radio from 1982 until 2022.
Mark Kermode is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter, author and podcaster. He is the co-presenter, with Ellen E. Jones, of the BBC Radio 4 programme Screenshot and co-presenter of the film-review podcast Kermode & Mayo's Take alongside long-time collaborator Simon Mayo. He is a regular contributor to The Observer, for which he was chief film critic between September 2013 and September 2023.
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JACK FM was an adult hits format radio station that broadcast on 106.8 MHz FM in Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom, and on DAB in Oxfordshire. Between 2016 and 2017 it also broadcast in Surrey and parts of Hampshire. The station shared premises in Eynsham, Oxfordshire, with its sister stations JACK 2 and JACK 3.
Greatest Hits Radio is a classic hits radio network in the United Kingdom, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK.
This is a list of events in British radio during 2015.
This is a list of events in British radio during 2016.
This is a list of events taking place in 2018 relating to radio in the United Kingdom.
A timeline of notable events relating to Magic 105.4, a commercial radio station operated by Bauer Radio, and the former Magic Network broadcast on AM stations in the north of England.
This is a list of events taking place in 2019 relating to radio in the United Kingdom.
This is a list of events taking place in 2021 relating to radio in the United Kingdom.
This is a timeline of notable events relating to Greatest Hits Radio, a British commercial radio station operated by Bauer Radio. The timeline also covers the Magic and Big City 2 networks, which were the forerunners to Greatest Hits Radio.
This is a list of events taking place in 2022 relating to radio in the United Kingdom.
This is a list of events in 2024 relating to radio in the United Kingdom.