UK radio frequencies: FM, AM and DAB for every major station

Updated October 21, 2026 · World Radio Stations · 9 min read

Almost every major UK radio station is on DAB digital radio, where you pick it by name and never need a frequency. On FM, BBC Radio 1, 2, 3 and 4 and Classic FM cover the whole country. Capital and Heart use different FM frequencies in different areas, while LBC is on FM only in London and Radio X only in London and Manchester. talkSPORT (1089 and 1053 AM) and BBC Radio 5 Live (693 and 909 AM) are the big stations still on AM. Several stations, including BBC Radio 6 Music, Absolute Radio, Virgin Radio UK, Times Radio and GB News Radio, are digital only.

The table below has the details. FM frequencies vary a little from area to area, so national stations are shown as a range.

UK radio frequencies at a glance

Look for these stations’ live streams in our player or on the United Kingdom page. The linked guides add each station’s history and a live player.

BBC radio frequencies

The BBC’s four original networks each have a national FM network. Your exact frequency depends on the nearest transmitter, which is why a long drive can take you through several.

• BBC Radio 1 is on 97.6–99.8 FM and plays new music and chart hits.
• BBC Radio 2 is on 88–90.2 FM. It is the UK’s most-listened-to station, with 12.37 million weekly listeners in RAJAR’s Q2 2026 survey.
• BBC Radio 3 is on 90.2–92.6 FM and covers classical music, jazz and the BBC Proms.
• BBC Radio 4 is on FM at 92.5–96.1 MHz, with 103.5–104.9 MHz in some areas. The BBC switched off its 198 kHz long wave service on 27 June 2026, saying the equipment had reached the end of its life. The last long wave transmitters at Droitwich, Westerglen and Burghead closed with it. If you used long wave, switch to FM, DAB or online.
• BBC Radio 5 Live has no FM frequency. Its main AM frequencies are 693 and 909 kHz. In 2026 the BBC began switching off smaller 5 Live AM transmitters one at a time, starting with Redruth and Folkestone in July. According to Radio Today, the BBC plans to close the AM network by the end of 2027, so DAB is the safer long-term choice.
• BBC Radio 6 Music has been digital only since it launched in 2002, so you need DAB, digital TV or a stream.
• The BBC World Service is on DAB in the UK and streams online.

For help choosing between the networks, see our BBC Radio guide.

Commercial stations: talkSPORT, LBC, Capital, Classic FM and more

• talkSPORT has no FM frequency. It is on 1089 and 1053 kHz AM across most of the UK, with 1071 and 1107 kHz filling gaps. On DAB it sits on the national Digital One multiplex: block 11D across most of the UK and 12A in Scotland.
• LBC is on FM only in London, on 97.3. Elsewhere it is on national DAB, where it has been since February 2014, as well as online and in Global Player.
• Classic FM launched in 1992 as the UK’s first national commercial station. It is on 99.9–101.9 FM nationwide and on DAB.
• Capital uses different FM frequencies in different cities, including 95.8 in London, 102.0 in Manchester and 102.2 in Birmingham. It is also on DAB.
• Heart is on 106.2 FM in London and on local FM frequencies around the country. Heart’s website has a postcode checker for your local frequency, and it is on national DAB.
• Radio X is on 104.9 FM in London and 97.7 FM in Manchester, and nationally on Digital One DAB.
• Absolute Radio no longer has an analogue frequency. It left FM in London in 2021 and turned off its 1215 kHz AM transmitters in January 2023. It is now on national DAB, online and in its app.
• Absolute Radio Country has no FM or AM frequency. It went national on DAB+ on 16 October 2023, on the Sound Digital multiplex.
• Virgin Radio UK relaunched in 2016 as a digital-only station and is on national DAB.
• Kiss handed its London frequency, 100 FM, to Hits Radio on 23 September 2024. It now broadcasts nationally on DAB.
• Times Radio launched on 29 June 2020 on national DAB, online and on smart speakers.
• GB News Radio launched on 4 January 2022 on DAB+ via the Digital One multiplex. It is also online and on smart speakers.

DAB vs DAB+: what’s the difference?

DAB and DAB+ deliver digital radio in the same way. They differ in the audio codec. The original DAB standard uses an older codec, MP2. DAB+ uses HE-AAC v2, which needs far less capacity for similar sound. Absolute Radio Country, for example, broadcasts in stereo at just 32 kbps. That efficiency lets more stations fit on each multiplex, the block of frequency that carries a whole bundle of stations. The national commercial multiplexes are Digital One and Sound Digital, and the BBC’s national stations share their own multiplex.

The catch is that many older DAB radios can’t decode DAB+. In 2021 the industry estimated that only 30–40% of the DAB radios in UK homes could receive DAB+ stations. If a scan finds most stations but not Absolute Radio Country or GB News Radio, your set is probably DAB-only. Look for the DAB+ logo when you buy a new radio.

Why some stations have no FM or AM frequency

The FM band is full. The BBC’s four national networks and Classic FM occupy UK-wide FM networks, and the rest of the dial is split into local and regional licences. A new national station can’t find FM space, so it launches on DAB, where one multiplex reaches the whole country. That’s why stations such as 6 Music, Virgin Radio UK, Times Radio and GB News Radio launched on digital platforms instead.

Listeners have moved to digital. In RAJAR’s Q2 2026 survey, digital platforms accounted for 75.5% of all UK radio listening. DAB alone had 42.7%, and websites, apps and smart speakers together had 30.3%. AM and FM combined were down to 24.5%.

AM is being retired. The government’s 2021 Digital Radio and Audio Review found that AM accounted for less than 3% of listening. It recommended that national AM services plan their retirement. Absolute Radio’s AM shutdown in 2023, the end of Radio 4 long wave in 2026 and the 5 Live closures all follow that path.

FM isn’t going away yet. In 2021 the government committed to keeping FM and AM until at least 2030. A new review launched in 2026 is looking at whether there should be a managed move away from FM in the 2030s, with its report expected in late 2026.

How to retune your radio in the car and at home

1. DAB: open the DAB or digital menu and choose the option called something like “Scan”, “Autotune” or “Update station list”. Do this when you move to a new area or when new stations launch. Then pick stations by name.
2. Missing DAB+ stations: if Absolute Radio Country or GB News Radio never appear after a full scan, your radio probably doesn’t support DAB+.
3. FM: turn on RDS and the AF (alternative frequencies) setting. The radio will then follow a national network such as Radio 2 from transmitter to transmitter as you drive. Local stations change frequency between cities: Capital is 95.8 in London but 102.0 in Manchester.
4. AM: switch to the AM/MW band and enter 1089 or 1053 for talkSPORT, or 693 or 909 for 5 Live.
5. No DAB in the car? Stream from your phone over Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Expect to use about 45–90 MB of data an hour (roughly 58 MB at 128 kbps).

Listening online and from abroad

Every station in this guide also streams online. Our player and United Kingdom page need no app and no sign-up. Outside the UK, note that the BBC closed its BBC Sounds app to international users in July 2025 and now points them to BBC.com. For more ways to tune in from overseas, read how to listen to radio from another country, or compare FM and internet radio.

FAQ

What frequency is talkSPORT on?

talkSPORT is on 1089 kHz and 1053 kHz AM (medium wave), with 1071 and 1107 kHz in some areas. It is also on national DAB and streams online. It has no FM frequency. Listen to talkSPORT live.

Can I get LBC on FM outside London?

No. LBC’s only FM frequency is 97.3 FM in London. Elsewhere in the UK, listen on national DAB or stream it online. Listen to LBC live.

What frequency is Capital FM on?

It depends on the city: 95.8 FM in London, 102.0 FM in Manchester and 102.2 FM in Birmingham, with other local frequencies elsewhere. Capital is also on DAB. Listen to Capital live.

What frequency is Absolute Radio Country on?

Absolute Radio Country has no FM or AM frequency. It broadcasts nationally on DAB+, so older DAB-only radios may not find it, and it also streams online and in the Absolute Radio app. See our Absolute Radio guide.