Absolute Radio has been named Best Digital Radio Channel at this year’s Freesat Awards, while Planet Rock picked up the Freesat Viewers’ Choice award for Radio Channel of the Year.
The team from BBC Radio 5 Live also took home a trophy for their General Election 2010 coverage after being Highly Commended in the News Event Coverage of the Year category, in which they lost out to Al Jazeera TV.
The panel of judges said Absolute was ‘one of the most exciting and innovative radio stations in the UK’. The citation added: “The channel has worked tirelessly to build up an audience and provide unique content. The judges particularly loved the station’s eclectic mix, a winning combination of exclusive live music and gigs, and Premiership football, signing Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood and reuniting Baddiel and Skinner for the World Cup.”
Absolute Radio takes over the mantle from its sister station Absolute 80s which was the Freesat Digital Radio Channel of the Year in 2010. This year it beat another One Golden Square Station – Absolute Classic Rock – to the prize, as well as BBC Radio 4 Extra, BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra and Planet Rock.
Planet Rock, meanwhile, beat competition from the other 39 stations on the Freesat platform – both BBC and commercial – to win the Viewers’ Choice award for the second year running. It comes under a week since Planet Rock picked up the Digital Station of the Year prize at the Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards.
Planet Rock Programme Director Trevor White told RadioToday.co.uk: “The two awards in two weeks is quite remarkable; one awarded by our peers and the other by listeners of the station. We must being doing something right.”
Posted on Wednesday, July 13th, 2011 at 3:11 pm by RadioToday UK