CountryLine Radio is a UK-based radio station playing
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...
. Founded by Chris Stevens, it launched as Chris Country on 27 April 2013. The station is now owned by
CountryLine, having purchased the station from Chris Stevens and
Nation Broadcasting
Nation Broadcasting is a British media company headquartered in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It currently owns and operates twelve Independent Local Radio stations across the United Kingdom.
History
Originally known as Town and Country Broa ...
in March 2020 and its owners rebranded the station on 7 March 2022 to CountryLine Radio.
DAB availability
CountryLine Radio is currently available in several areas of the UK. The station's first carriage agreements were on three of
Ofcom
The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.
Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...
's trial of small-scale DAB multiplexes - Manchester, Portsmouth and Cambridge. On 11 March 2016 the station launched on the
London 2 DAB multiplex. A month later the station launched on the North East Wales DAB multiplex
Chris Country arrives in NW England and NE Wales
/ref> Today the station can now also be heard on eight multiplexes.
Programming
Much of the station's output is automated although recently the station introduced more presenter-led shows. Chris Stevens, the station founder, hosts the breakfast show and John Collins presents drivetime. Other presenters include Miles Myers-Cough Harris. The station also broadcasts country countdown programmes from America, including Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40
''Bob Kingsley's Country Top 40 with Fitz'' (sometimes abbreviated as CT40) is an American country music radio countdown show created by former ''American Country Countdown'' host Bob Kingsley, who hosted the show from its January 2006 debut unti ...
, and other syndicated shows Nashville Access and Tim Rogers Classic Country. CountryLine Radio also broadcasts hourly news summaries from Radio News Hub.
Chris Country Weekly
The station produces a weekly 3-hour syndicated show for commercial & community radio stations. It's presented by the station manager Chris Stevens and distributed via his company Devaweb. It plays the very best in current and classic country music, the same as that of the 24/7 radio station. Occasionally, there are special star guests from the country music scene that appear on the program and sometimes even perform acoustic live sessions.
See also
*Country 1035
Country 1035 was a country music based Independent Local Radio station based in London, England.
History
After airing test transmissions the first voice officially heard on air was the station's chairman John Wellington. In his opening words ...
, a 1994-2002 London based country music station
* 3C (radio), a station that broadcast country music across the UK on DAB radio until 2007.
References
External links
Station website
{{Coord, 53, 28, 24, N, 2, 17, 58, W, type:landmark_region:GB-MAN, display=title
Country radio stations in the United Kingdom