Planet Rock (radio station)
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| Planet Rock | |
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| Broadcast area | United Kingdom |
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| Frequency | DAB Channel 0110 (Sky) Channel 730 (Freesat) Channel 924 (Virgin Media) |
| First air date | 15 November 1999 |
| Format | Classic Rock |
| Audience share | 0.5% (December 2008, [1]) |
| Owner | Rock Show consortium led by Malcolm Bluemel |
| Website | www.planetrock.com |
Planet Rock is a Sony Award winning digital radio station in the United Kingdom. The station broadcasts classic rock music. it is available nationally via the Digital One DAB network, and on Virgin Media cable television and Sky Digital, as well as via the website.
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[edit] Shows and presenters
Planet Rock has had many rock stars such as Ian Anderson, Tony Iommi, Fish, Gary Moore, and Phil Manzanera presenting their own weekly radio shows. Since July 2006, Planet Rock has also been broadcasting the syndicated Alice Cooper breakfast show "Breakfast with Alice" from 6am until 9am on weekdays. From 7pm until 8pm on Tuesdays and 9pm until midnight on Sundays Joe Bonamassa presents a show focused more on blues-rock. Fish presents “Fish on Friday” at 6pm until 8pm on Fridays, with a shortened repeat on at 6pm on Sundays. Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman presents "Rick's Place" on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm. Session bassist Guy Pratt does the Sunday 7-9pm show.
Rob Birnie follows Cooper with his weekday show until 1pm. Mark Jeeves starts presenting at 2pm on weekdays after the "Rockblok", finishing at 6pm, having given the day's "Trilogy at 3" and "Quadrophenia". Nicky Horne, also a presenter on Capital Gold and previously on Jazz FM (now called Smooth FM) and Capital Radio, presents the 8pm until midnight show. "Listomania" is hosted by Bernard Doherty on Mondays and Thursdays from 6pm until 7pm. Murray J presents the weekend breakfast slot between 7am and 10am. Darren Redick has a show from 2pm until 6pm on Saturdays and Sundays called “Darren’s Double Shots”. David Jensen presents “ David Jensen’s Another Dimension” from 10am until 1pm each Sunday. The “Rockblok” is an hour of music chosen by one listener broadcast each day at 1pm as well as 7pm on a Monday. “My Planet Rocks” is a regular feature on at 6pm on a Tuesday where different rock musicians are interviewed and some of their music played.,[1] [2]
[edit] Awards and achievements
In 2006, the station received the Sony Radio Academy Gold Award for Digital Terrestrial Radio Station of the Year,[3] and in 2007, the Gold Award for Station Imaging.[4]
In January 2008, Planet Rock reached a new height of 563,000 weekly listeners putting it further ahead of BBC 6 Music. In addition to Planet Rock's success, the PlanetRock forum also reached 4,000 members.[5]
On 12 May 2008, Planet Rock won three Sony awards, Bronze in the Multi-Platform radio category, Silver for Fish's "Fish on Friday" show, and (for the second time) the Gold Award for Digital Terrestrial Radio Station of the Year.[6]
[edit] Sale
On 11 February 2008, previous owner GCap Media (now Global Radio), announced that the station would be closing by 31 March 2008, along with sister station theJazz, unless a buyer was found. According to a statement by former presenter Fish, this was not due to the profitability of Planet Rock itself, which had been reported to be good, but rather to GCap's overall financial state. The station's relative popularity on digital radio brought controversy to the closure threat.[5][7]
Although theJazz ceased broadcasting on schedule, a campaign by listeners meant that a number of buyers expressed interest in Planet Rock, including a consortium publicly headed by Queen guitarist Brian May.[8] The station therefore remained on air while sale negotiations continued.
On 4 June 2008, Planet Rock announced that it had been sold to a consortium led by Malcolm Bluemel and supported by Tony Iommi, Ian Anderson, Gary Moore, and Fish. There was no break in transmission and the programming will remain unchanged. [9]
[edit] References
- ^ "Planet Rock Presenters". Planet Rock. http://www.planetrock.co.uk/presenters.html_&year=2008. Retrieved on 2008-12-02.
- ^ "Planet Rock Broadcasting Schedule". Planet Rock. http://www.planetrock.co.uk/schedule.html_&year=2008. Retrieved on 2008-12-02.
- ^ "Digital Terrestrial Station Of The Year". Sony Radio Academy. http://www.radioawards.org/winners/?category=Digital_Terrestrial_Station_Of_The_Year_&year=2006. Retrieved on 2008-02-17.
- ^ "Station Imaging Award". Sony Radio Academy. http://www.radioawards.org/winners/?category=The_Station_Imaging_Award&year=2007. Retrieved on 2008-02-17.
- ^ a b "Planet Rock Rocks Louder Than Ever". Planet Rock. 2008-01-31. http://www.planetrock.co.uk/Article.asp?id=565330. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ "Digital Terrestrial Station Of The Year". Sony Radio Academy. http://www.radioawards.org/winners/?category=Digital_Station_of_the_Year&year=2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-13.
- ^ "Two GCap digital stations closed". BBC News Online. 2008-02-11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7238444.stm. Retrieved on 2008-02-11.
- ^ "Brian May on mission to save Planet Rock". Digital Spy. 2008-05-08. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/broadcasting/a95482/brian-may-on-mission-to-save-planet-rock.html. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ "PLANET ROCK SOLD". Planet Rock Online. 2008-05-08. http://www.planetrock.co.uk/article.asp?id=731764. Retrieved on 2008-06-04.
