The co-founders of Absolute Radio are set to take on their old company with a new DJ-less national radio station – featuring the voice of Blake’s 7’s Avon – where listeners pick the songs.

The new digital station, called Union Jack, is a national version of the three Jack FM stations that already serve the Oxford, Reading and Hampshire areas but targeting a slightly older demographic.



The station will target “reluctant adults”, those aged 40 to 54 who like homegrown classics but also buy or stream new music like Tom Odell, Jake Bugg, Biffy Clyro and Richard Ashcroft.



“We have conducted a huge amount of research and the feedback confirmed that there is a massive gap in the radio for a new national station that promotes the very best of British music,” said Donnach O’Driscoll, co-chief executive of Union Jack and the former chief executive of Absolute Radio.



O’Driscoll is one of a number of ex-Absolute Radio executives who are the main shareholders of Oxis Media, which owns the Jack FM and Union Jack business.



Others include Absolute’s former finance chief Adrian Robinson, chief operating officer Clive Dickens, and Ian Walker, who is co-chief executive of the Union Jack business.



With the former Absolute executives now out of their non-compete period, Union Jack is targeted directly at Absolute Radio’s audience as well as other rivals such as Virgin Radio, which has returned as a digital station via a deal between Richard Branson’s Virgin and TalkSport-owner Wireless Group, formerly known as UTV Media.



The new station follows the Jack FM model, which is popular in the US, where listeners pick from thousands of songs on the station’s app, which then enter its daily playlist according to popularity.



The model dispenses with “irritating” DJs, using Paul Darrow, Blake’s 7’s Avon, as the voice of the station declaring: “We play the tunes, you listen. Everyone’s a winner. Jack FM – playing what we want.”



“Britain has been at the forefront of groundbreaking music for over six decades,” said Walker. “Union Jack will lead the way in celebrating this rich heritage, playing the greatest UK music and also discovering and supporting new British talent.”



As well as being available as a national DAB station Union Jack will stream live at unionjack.co.uk, via the commercial radio industry’s RadioPlayer and on its own app.

