Smooth Radio

About Smooth Radio

Smooth Radio is one of Britain's biggest commercial radio networks, a network of local FM and DAB stations playing soft adult contemporary music to nearly eight million listeners a week. Owned by Global Media & Entertainment, it broadcasts localised breakfast shows from studios across the country with networked programming from London at other times, all under the slogan "Always the best music". Its history is a tangled tale of jazz stations, format changes and corporate takeovers, beginning life as Jazz FM in 1990 and evolving through Smooth FM into the national Smooth Radio network of today.

History and Launch

Smooth Radio's story begins not with Smooth at all, but with jazz. On 4 March 1990, 102.2 Jazz FM launched in London, playing a wide variety of jazz with smoother sounds in the daytime to attract the 25-to-45 audience its licence required. A sister station, 100.4 Jazz FM, launched in the North West on 1 September 1994. By the early 2000s, both stations were drifting toward soul and soft R&B, and their owner, the Guardian Media Group's radio division GMG Radio, concluded through extensive research that the word "jazz" itself was putting listeners off.

The rebrand came in stages. 100.4 Jazz FM became Smooth FM on 2 March 2004, and London's 102.2 Jazz FM closed on 27 May 2005 to relaunch as 102.2 Smooth FM on 7 June 2005, with R&B singer Lemar helping launch the station and Sade's "Smooth Operator" as the first track played. After disappointing audiences, the London station sought and won Ofcom approval to reposition toward listeners aged fifty and above, relaunching as 102.2 Smooth Radio on 26 March 2007; the North West station followed suit as Smooth Radio 100.4. Meanwhile GMG Radio had been building the Smooth brand through its Saga licences, and on 4 October 2010 the stations were brought together as a national Smooth Radio network. In June 2012, Global acquired GMG Radio, and after regulatory review the Real and Smooth stations operated as a separate company, Real and Smooth Limited, until the merger was completed in May 2014, when Smooth became fully part of Global.

Ownership

Smooth Radio is owned by Global Media & Entertainment, which acquired the network through its 2012 purchase of GMG Radio Holdings from the Guardian Media Group. Four of the seven FM stations are owned and operated directly by Global, while the remaining three licences are owned by Communicorp UK and operated as a franchise. The network is regulated by Ofcom through its individual local licences. Within Global's vast portfolio, Smooth sits alongside Heart, Capital, Classic FM, LBC and Radio X, and its London operation broadcasts from Global's Leicester Square headquarters.

Format and Programming

Smooth Radio's format is soft adult contemporary, or "middle of the road" music: melodic, feel-good hits from the past six decades, from Motown and soul through 1980s pop to contemporary easy listening. The station's branding promises "Always the best music", a slogan introduced with a new logo in January 2023, and its playlist leans on familiar, singalong favourites rather than new discoveries. In recent years the music has become somewhat more upbeat than the gentle easy-listening of the network's early days. Each FM station broadcasts its own localised breakfast show, with networked programmes from London filling the rest of the day, combining local identity at the most important hour with the star power and production values of national shows.

Flagship Shows and Presenters

The network's best-known presenter is Kate Garraway, the Good Morning Britain anchor who has hosted Mid Mornings with Kate Garraway on Smooth Radio on weekdays from 10am to 1pm since 2014, blending music, chat and listener calls from Global's London studios. The station's history features a roll call of celebrated broadcasters: Chris Tarrant presented a Saturday morning show across the GMG stations; Paul Coia hosted drivetime on the London station; Andy Peebles presented the networked evening show Soul Train; and record producer Pete Waterman hosted a show of his favourite hits. The breakfast shows on the individual FM stations are fronted by local presenters who anchor the network's regional identity, while networked daytime and evening shows bring national names to the whole country.

Broadcast Area and Frequencies

Smooth Radio is a network of local stations covering much of the United Kingdom. Its FM frequencies include 102.2 MHz in London, 100.4 MHz in the North West, 105.7 MHz in the West Midlands, 105.2 MHz in Glasgow, 106.6 MHz in the East Midlands, 97.5 MHz in the North East and 101.4 MHz in Derby, with the overall FM band spanning 97.2 to 107.7 MHz across its stations. On digital radio it is carried on DAB multiplexes 10B to 12D depending on region, and on digital television via Sky 0124, Virgin Media 916, Freeview 718 and Freesat 732. Its RDS identifier is "Smooth". The network's medium-wave outlets, which dated back to the former Gold stations, ceased broadcasting on 28 February 2025, ending Smooth's presence on AM.

Audience and Ratings

According to RAJAR, the Smooth Radio network broadcasts to a combined weekly audience of 7.8 million listeners with a listening share of 4.1 per cent as of July 2025, making it one of the largest commercial radio networks in the country. The network's audience skews older than its Global siblings Heart and Capital, reflecting its easy-listening heritage and its deliberate targeting of the over-fifties in its formative years. Its scale gives it formidable commercial clout, and its listeners are among the most loyal in commercial radio.

Digital and Streaming

Smooth Radio streams live through the Global Player app and website, alongside Global's other stations, offering catch-up listening and curated content. The brand has been extended into a family of digital-only spin-offs: Smooth Chill, Smooth Country, Smooth Relax, Smooth 70s, Smooth 80s and Smooth Soul, each serving a distinct mood or era within the Smooth universe. These stations are available on DAB in various regions and nationally through Global Player and smart speakers, allowing the brand to capture listening occasions from relaxed evenings to decade-themed nostalgia.

Cultural Impact

Smooth Radio's cultural role is that of the nation's comfort blanket: the station people turn to for familiar, uplifting music without surprises. Its journey from niche jazz stations to a mainstream easy-listening giant mirrors the broader consolidation of British commercial radio, in which local stations were networked into national brands. The Smooth brand demonstrated that there was a huge, underserved audience for melodic adult music on commercial radio, and its success helped define the "soft AC" format in Britain. Its presenters, above all Kate Garraway, bring a warmth and conversational intimacy that has made the station a daytime companion for millions.

Sister Stations

Smooth's direct siblings are its digital spin-offs: Smooth Chill, Smooth Country, Smooth Relax, Smooth 70s, Smooth 80s and Smooth Soul. Within the Global family, its closest relations are Heart, the UK's biggest commercial brand, and Classic FM, with which it shares the Leicester Square headquarters and a broadly adult audience. The wider Global portfolio includes Capital, LBC, Radio X and Capital Dance.

Recent Developments

In January 2023, Smooth introduced a new logo and the slogan "Always the best music", signalling a subtle shift toward a more upbeat, confident sound. The closure of the network's last AM transmitters in February 2025 completed its transition to an FM, DAB and digital-only operation. Kate Garraway's mid-morning show continues to post record audiences, and the network's digital spin-offs keep expanding the brand's reach into specialist moods and decades. As Global continues to consolidate its brands, Smooth remains the group's easy-listening powerhouse, proof that in an age of infinite choice, millions of listeners still want someone to simply play the best music.