Kiss Network
 | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Radio stations | Kiss Kisstory Kiss Fresh Kiss Dance Kiss Garage Kiss Bliss Heat Radio Kerrang! Radio Klassic Kerrang! Radio Kerrang! Radio Unleashed Planet Rock |
| Headquarters | London |
Broadcast area | United Kingdom |
| Owner | Bauer Media Audio UK |
Former names | Bauer Passion |
The Kiss Network is a network of radio stations in the United Kingdom, owned by Bauer Media Audio UK, focusing on the 15-34 age group.[1]
According to RAJAR, the network broadcasts to a combined weekly audience of 3.6 million with a listening share of 1.6% as of September 2024.
Stations
Radio:
| Station | Details | Availability | Launched |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kiss | Rhythmic contemporary music, with some specialist strands in evening and weekend slots. Expanded onto former Vibe FM regional frequencies in 2006, and broadcast nationally on DAB since late December 2012, having previously been on local-tier multiplexes. | DAB (Digital One); Rayo | 1990 |
| Kisstory | Rhythmic adult contemporary music, with 'recent classics' from dance and urban genres. Broadcast on local DAB 2014-16 and SDL National from 2016 to 2019. | DAB (Digital One); Rayo | 2013 |
| Kiss Fresh | New and current electronic and rhythmic tracks. Was broadcast on DAB for a time, but these slots were subsequently turned over to Country Hits Radio. | DAB+ (London 1);(Cumbria); Rayo | 2013 |
| Kiss Dance | Electronic dance music stream, branded 'Kiss Dnce' at launch, though the name was subsequently changed to use the more conventional spelling. | DAB+ (Cumbria); Rayo | 2019 |
| Kiss Garage | Garage house music stream, launched alongside Kiss Dance and Kiss Ibiza. | DAB+ (Cumbria); Rayo | 2019 |
| Kiss Bliss | Slow-paced music/Acoustics. Took over the capacity used by Kiss Jams in May 2021. | DAB+ (Cumbria); Rayo | 2021 |
| Heat Radio | Adult Contemporary pop music station, built on the brand of Heat magazine. Originally a largely automated service, presented shows were introduced in a 2007 relaunch. Was broadcast on SDL National from 2016 to 2019: on its removal (to make way for Scala Radio), Heat reverted to mostly automated. Was on Freeview until 2020, making way for Greatest Hits Radio; following this, a DAB transmission was reinstated in Inverness. The station returned to Sound Digital, in stereo using the DAB+ standard, in October 2023. | DAB+ (SDL National); Rayo | 2003 |
| Kerrang! Radio | Contemporary rock music station, based on the magazine brand. Initially mostly automated; presented shows were added in tandem with the launch of broadcasts on FM to the West Midlands (which ran from 2005 to 2013.) Most DAB transmission ceased in 2014 (2018 in London) but as of 2021 some had been reinstated, and in October 2023 the station was made available nationally in DAB+ format. | DAB+ (SDL National); Rayo | 2002 |
| Kerrang! Radio Unleashed | Hard rock and Heavy metal music. One of a pair of Kerrang! subsidiary streams launched in 2019, alongside Klassic Kerrang! Radio. | Rayo | 2019 |
| Klassic Kerrang! Radio | 'Modern classic' rock and punk music, predominantly from the 1990s and 2000s, building on the 'Kerrang! Radio Klassics' hour strand broadcast within the parent Kerrang! Radio schedule. | Rayo | 2019 |
| Planet Rock | Adult classic rock station launched by GWR as part of the original lineup of Digital One, and remaining there until moving to SDL in 2016: now the UK's longest-established commercial DAB station (bar the INR simulcasts). Sold by GCap Media to the Rock Show consortium in 2008, and to Bauer in 2013. Broadcast on FM in the West Midlands from 2013 to 2015 on the frequency previously assigned to Kerrang! Radio. | DAB+ (SDL National); Rayo | 1999 |
Kerrang! Radio Unleashed and Klassic Kerrang! Radio were initially available at no cost, as were the other web streamed stations launched around that time, but since 2022 they have been available only to subscribers of the Kerrang! Radio Premium paid-for service.
Former stations
| Broadcast area | Branding | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|
| UK | Kiss Jams | Hip hop and R&B stream. Took over the capacity used by the first run of Kiss Ibiza. Ceased in May 2021. |
| UK | Kiss Ibiza | Launched in 2019. Celebrating the 'Ibiza sound'. Launched alongside Kiss Dance and Kiss Garage: transmission ceased for a period to allow the launch of Kiss Jams, before subsequently being restarted on a new stream. Ceased in January 2021. |
| Manchester | Kiss 102 | Now Capital Manchester and Lancashire |
| Yorkshire | Kiss 105 | Now Capital Yorkshire |
Television:
| Channel | Details | Availability | Launched | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kiss TV | Sky, Freesat, Virgin Media | 2000 | 2024 |
See also
References
External links
- KISS at Bauer's Planet Radio
- [1] - RadioToday article from 2019 on the initial suite of Kiss, Kerrang! and Heat siblings (the Heat spinoffs have since ceased)