As the UK radio industry prepares to lose the Virgin brand, Sir Richard Branson has launched his first station in North America by re-branding Mix 99.9 in Toronto as Virgin Radio 999.
Canada joins countries such as France and Italy which are now served by Virgin Radio International. The new station, owned by Astral Media, launched at 9pm Monday (BST) under a new licence agreement.
“I am thrilled to be partnering with Astral Media and launching Virgin Radio 999 FM, so we can serve up a fantastic new format to Torontonians that’s bound to be the bright spot of your morning, noon and night,” said Sir Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Group.
“Virgin Radio International is experiencing phenomenal growth around the world and recently we have expanded to Italy, France, Dubai and India. We are thrilled to add Canada to the list,” he continued.
Ian Grace, President of Virgin Radio International said: “With Astral Media’s strength and expertise, and Virgin’s international and customer focused experience, we believe we have built a station that listeners have been waiting for. Virgin Radio 999 FM is where it’s on and so we invite everyone in Toronto to join us and switch their dial to 999 FM now to make sure they aren’t missing out.”
Virgin Radio in the UK was bought by Times of India who are currently planning £15million worth of re-branding the station away from the Virgin Radio name.
