is a
British Commercial Music Radio Station based in
London . Originally called '''Virgin 1215''' it was launched nationally on 1215 kHz (although some regional transmitters used other frequencies) at 12.15pm on
30 April 1993 by
Richard Branson as part of his
Virgin brand. It has since been sold to
Ginger Media (which was subsequently bought by
SMG Plc ) but has kept the ''Virgin'' name. The "Virgin" brand has been used by Branson for all of his businesses; the name was chosen because a female friend setting it up with him commented "We're all virgins at business".
Some months later the station also began broadcasting in stereo on satellite via
Sky Television (and this has continued with the switch to digital) and later acquired an
FM frequency, 105.8
FM , in the
London area.
In addition to these outlets Virgin also currently broadcasts on
DAB across
England ,
Scotland and
Wales , on
Digital TV and
Cable . It is also available in other parts of the world via
Satellite and cable, and on the
Internet . It has always placed a great emphasis on other methods of transmission than medium wave, as the 1215 kHz frequency suffers from considerable interference, particularly after dark -
BBC Radio 1 , which used 1215 kHz for its first eleven years on air, moved to higher-quality medium wave frequencies (now used by TalkSport) in 1978 mainly for this reason.
Other radio stations using the Virgin Radio name within the UK are
Virgin Radio Classic Rock and
Virgin Radio Groove . On
September 5th
2005 ,
Virgin Radio Xtreme launched, playing
Rock Music , and is aimed at
Teenage males. All 'Virgin' branded channels broadcast on
DAB in London, the
Internet , and
Sky Digital .
The Virgin name is used for other radio stations in other territories. Virgin Radio stations exist in
Greece ,
Thailand ,
Singapore and
China . These are not owned by SMG, and remain within
Richard Branson 's
Virgin Group . In the USA,
Radio Free Virgin is an online broadcaster - another
Virgin Group company - and many Virgin companies, including
Virgin Megastores and
Virgin Trains , have in-store radio stations.
Past presenters on the network have included
Chris Evans ,
Danny Baker ,
Nick Abbot ,
Jonathan Coleman ,
Daryl Denham ,
Jezza ,
Robin Banks ,
Lynn Parsons ,
Tommy Vance ,
Alan Freeman ,
Gary Davies ,
Kevin Greening ,
Richard Skinner & many others.
Saturdays
01.00
Steve Harris ''The Edge''
03.00
Robin Burke
06.00
Ben Jones
10.00
Martin Collins
14.00 Dominic Johnson ''Rock & Roll Football''
18.00
Suggs ''Virgin Party Classics''
22.00
Sarah Champion ''The Late Shift''
Sundays
01.00
Steve Harris
06.00
Ben Jones
10.00
Leona Graham
13.00
Robin Burke
16.00
Al Murray ''The Pub Landlord'' (for
Tim Lovejoy )
19.00
Ben Jones ''Napster Top 20 Online Music Chart''
20.00
Sarah Champion ''The Late Shift''
Weekdays
01.00
Robin Burke
04.00
John Osborne
06.00
Christian O'Connell
10.00
Russ Williams (including the Top Ten at Ten)
13.00
Neil Francis
16.00
Martin Collins
19.00 ''See Below''
Mondays to Thursdays
19.00
Ben Jones ''Virgin's Most Wanted''
22.00
Geoff Lloyd .''The Geoff Show''
Fridays
18.00
Suggs ''Virgin Party Classics''
22.00
Sarah Champion ''The Late Shift''
