Smash Hits Radio was a UK-based digital radio station owned and operated by

Bauer Radio Bauer Media Audio UK is a UK-based radio division of Bauer Media Group owning brands; Absolute Radio, Greatest Hits Radio, Jazz FM, Hits Radio, KISS, Planet Rock, Magic, Kerrang! Radio and Heat Radio. History In early 2008, German ma ...

based in Manchester. It was available throughout the UK on Freeview channel 712. The format was based on the now defunct

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

Magazine. It was a

Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

format. The station opened in 2002 and continued to play a 'non-stop' music format without presenters or DJs, with only one minute of adverts every half an hour. The station formed part of the Bauer Passion Portfolio. The longest-serving DJ was presenter Natalie Brown, who had been involved from 10 April 2003 until the final day on air. In 2007 and 2008, Smash Hits Radio was removed from DAB radio in several areas during the introduction of Traffic Radio. In May 2009 Smash Hits Radio was removed from

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 ...

and

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 ...

, along with The Hits Radio,

Heat Radio Heat Radio is a British digital radio station, owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK. It originally launched in 2003, related to the ''Heat'' magazine. Heat Radio currently broadcasts on DAB in London and nationwide online. As of Decem ...

, Q Radio and Kerrang Radio. It remained available through Freeview until 5 August 2013, when it was replaced by

KissFresh Kiss XTRA (formerly Kiss Fresh), is a British digital radio station owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Kiss Network. As of May 2025, the station has a weekly audience of 209,000 listeners, according to RAJAR Radio ...

, at the same time the station ceased broadcasting online.

References

External links

Smash Hits Radio
Bauer Radio Digital-only radio stations Radio stations established in 2002 Radio stations disestablished in 2013 2002 establishments in the United Kingdom 2013 disestablishments in the United Kingdom {{UK-radio-station-stub