Capital XTRA (formerly Choice FM) is a British digital

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

owned and operated by

Global Global may refer to: General *Globe, a spherical model of celestial bodies *Earth, the third planet from the Sun Entertainment * ''Global'' (Paul van Dyk album), 2003 * ''Global'' (Bunji Garlin album), 2007 * ''Global'' (Humanoid album), 198 ...

. It broadcasts on 96.9 and 107.1 FM in

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

, and nationally on DAB, Global Player and television platforms. It specialises in

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

, grime and R&B music, and is a commercial competitor to BBC Radio 1Xtra. As of September 2024, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 1.7 million listeners, according to

RAJAR Radio Joint Audience Research Limited (RAJAR; ) was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the BBC and Radiocentre. RAJAR's predecessor was c ...

History

Choice 96.9

Choice 96.9 began as an independent company in March 1990, broadcasting from studios in Trinity Gardens,

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

. It was Britain’s first 24-hour black music radio station with a licence, covering

South London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

. The group won a second licence (see Buzz FM) in 1995, bringing a local version of their London offering to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, on 102.2 FM - in place of Buzz FM. The advent of digital radio in the UK saw Choice, which already had an active webstream, joining the new MXR consortium and launching a DAB service which anchored London output with news inserts produced by the consortium's news service DNN. The Birmingham licence was sold to Chrysalis Radio in 1999 and became Galaxy Birmingham, but Choice expanded within the capital in May 2000 when a largely independent North London licence was awarded for Choice 107.1, with the intention of reaching a larger Afro-Caribbean audience outside the limited range of the coverage from Brixton. The station was now broadcasting from Borough High Street, Borough, London. Having previously been a minority shareholder, Capital Radio Group took full control of the station in February 2004 and moved the station's base from the target service area to the group's central studios in London's

Leicester Square Leicester Square ( ) is a pedestrianised town square, square in the West End of London, England, and is the centre of London's entertainment district. It was laid out in 1670 as Leicester Fields, which was named after the recently built Leice ...

. The move resulted in a community march from the coverage area and their studios. It was accused of

selling out To "sell out" is to compromise one's integrity, morality, Authenticity (philosophy), authenticity, or Principle#As moral law, principles in exchange for personal gain, such as money or power. In terms of music or art, selling out is associated w ...

as some of their DJs were removed and replaced by their

Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...

counterparts who play some electronic music. By 12 October 2004, Capital had received and implemented a merger of their FM licences, operating a service across the capital on the two frequencies and cutting back on the North London-specific music requirements. The DAB service also became a simulcast of the London station, with the demise of local drop-ins. Following their takeover of Choice, Capital Radio Group merged with GWR to form GCap Media in 2005. Choice was flagged up as one of the key brands of the new larger network, and the station was made available to digital TV viewers via its addition to

Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...

(and later to

Virgin Media Virgin Media Limited is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 ...

). GCap were subsequently taken over by

Global Radio Global Media & Entertainment Limited, trading as Global, is a British media company formed in 2007. It is the owner of the largest commercial radio company in Europe having expanded through a number of historical acquisitions, including Chrysal ...

, who already owned the Galaxy Network of dance/urban music stations. Despite the separate music format and branding, Choice was marketed to advertisers as part of the Galaxy network for package advertising deals. In 2010 Global Radio announced that the Galaxy network stations would be networked with 95.8 Capital FM, leaving Choice as a standalone brand again.

Capital XTRA

On 3 October 2013, Global announced that Choice would be rebranded as Capital XTRA on 7 October, sister station to Capital and using a naming scheme in reference to

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

and its sister station Radio 1Xtra A number of high-profile signings were made, at launch including former

and

1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio in the United Kingdom, digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts Black music and Urban contemporary music, urban music, including Hip hop music, hip hop and Contemporary R&B, ...

DJ Tim Westwood, and subsequently Kiss FM DJ Jez Welham for the station's flagship show, Capital XTRA In The Morning. Initially, the station introduced dance music alongside the urban offering provided by Choice FM. However, ratings, particularly in London, suffered, leading to a move back towards the mixture of primarily black music genres that is now heard on the station, which proved successful between 2014 and 2020 in the UK radio listening measurement system,

. Capital XTRA refreshed its weekend schedule at the start of 2018, hiring

Afrobeats Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a st ...

artist and DJ Afro B to host the Afrobeats show previously hosted by DJ Abrantee, and student radio winner Robert Bruce for a new UK-music led programme, 'Homegrown'. In a coup for the station, legendary hip-hop presenter DJ Semtex moved from BBC Radio 1Xtra to host the same slot on Capital XTRA in October 2018. In September 2019, a new weekday Breakfast show was launched, hosted by former evening presenter Yinka Bokinni, and Shayna-Marie Birch-Campbell. On 5 August 2022, Capital XTRA confirmed that Yinka Bokinni had quit the station. Evening show host Robert Bruce was subsequently confirmed to co-host the breakfast slot with incumbent presenter Shayna-Marie. Omah Howard replaced Robert Bruce on the evening show. On 1 September 2023, Manny Norte announced he would step down his mid morning weekday show to focus on his weekend shows with immediate effect. He presented the weekday slot for over 10 years with Omah Howard replacing him. On 2 September 2023, Remel London announced she would leave the station being replaced by Jourds

Capital XTRA Reloaded

A spin-off station, Capital XTRA Reloaded, was launched on 2 September 2019. It featured former Galaxy Birmingham presenter Sacha Brooks as host of the station's flagship show. Available nationally on DAB+, the station plays non-stop old skool hip-hop and R&B anthems.

Listening figures

Having launched with 850,000 listeners, Capital XTRA reached a peak of 1.9 million listeners across the UK in 2019. Following management changes in 2020, listenership dropped to an estimated 1.3 million people. As of 2025, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 2 million, according to

Programming

At Capital XTRA's peak, thematic programming included 'Reloaded', a daily hour of uninterrupted old-skool Hip-Hop and R&B anthems, "Homegrown", a focus on emerging UK talent including interviews and guest mixes, and "Chilled", a slow-jamz segment on weeknights and Sunday mornings. Since listening figures began falling in 2021, the majority of such programming has been axed, with output favouring a hegemonic playlist.

Current presenters

Current presenters include: * Dynamic, weekdays 1am - 4am * Jojo Silva, weekdays 4am - 6am * Capital Xtra Breakfast with Robert Bruce and Shayna Marie, weekdays 6:30am - 10am * Omah Howard, weekdays - 10am - 1pm & Saturday 1pm - 4pm * Toni Phillips, weekdays 1pm - 4pm * Yasser, weekdays 4pm - 7pm & Saturday 9am - 1pm * Kamila Rose, weekdays 7pm - 10pm * Leah Davis, weekdays 10pm - 1am & Sunday 1pm - 4pm * Teeshow, Friday 7pm - 9pm * DJ Semtex, Friday 9pm - 11pm * Kennedy Taylor, Friday 11pm - 1am * Temi Jonah, Saturday & Sunday 1am - 6am * Glory, Saturday 6am - 9am * Jourds, Saturday & Sunday 4pm - 7pm * Manny Norte, Saturday 7pm - 11pm and Sunday (The Norte Show) 7pm - 10pm * Afro B, Saturday 11pm - 1am (Afrobeats with Afro B) * Zeze Millz Sunday, 9am - 1pm * Ras Kwame Sunday, 10pm - 1am (The Reggae Recipe)

Events

Between 2016 and 2025, Capital XTRA hosted a number of events to complement its radio broadcasts, including: *Homegrown Live; an artist-led event which featured performances from UK talent at Koko, Camden. Previous performers include AJ Tracey, Aitch, Dappy, Hardy Caprio,

Stefflon Don Stephanie Victoria Allen (born 14 December 1991), known professionally as Stefflon Don, is an English rapper. She rose to fame with her 2017 single "Hurtin' Me" (featuring French Montana), which peaked at number seven on the UK singles chart, ...

and WSTRN. *Capital XTRA Upfront Live; was a live music event held on 26 September 2023 at KOKO, Camden. Hosted by Robert Bruce and Shayna Marie, it featured performances from Davido, NSG (group), Strandz, and Debbie, with DJ Manny Norté. The event also included a £1,000 prize giveaway for attendees. *Capital XTRA Comedy Club; is an annual charity in support of Global’s Make Some Noise. Held at Lola’s at The Hippodrome in London, the shows feature top comedians and are hosted by Andrew Mensah. The 2024 and 2025 lineups included acts like Axel Blake, Babatunde Aléshé and Kae Kurd, with all proceeds supporting UK charities tackling issues like poverty and mental health.

References

External links

* {{coord, 51.51007, N, 0.12929, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title 1990 establishments in England Capital (radio network) Global Radio Radio stations established in 1990 Radio stations in London Rhythmic contemporary radio stations