A HEDGE End community radio station has gone digital after running for 15 years.

Skyline Gold, known for playing hits from the 50s to 80s and broadcasting across Southampton and Hedge End has moved from 102.5 FM to digital.

The 15-year-old radio station made the transition to "stay alive" keeping up with the latest digital moves whilst keeping their original style.

The station now hopes to be welcomed by a wider audience as its digital broadcast now reaches more locations, including Winchester and Chandler's Ford.

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Co-owner, Kevin Short said the change has been a "long time coming".

He said: "It's been a long-awaited change but a well-welcomed one. We are definitely a unique station with a lot to offer.

"We have music from the 50s to 60s, 70s, and 80s with some fantastic presenters that have been with us a long time. 

"On the station, you can listen at any time and hear about local events, traffic and weather news, and good chats about topics affecting everyone.

"We have even started a book review which is a novel thing for a station I suppose.

"We are a community radio station, we are supported by the community and we support the community.

"The station is made up of 15 volunteers and runs on local advertising. We have a lot of loyalty to our station and we hope to get more listeners. 

"During Covid, we didn't miss a beat and had at least one show every day updating people on when they could go out, where to get vaccinated, and when shops were open.

"We are a real hub of the community and by increasing our reach we can hopefully do a lot more for communities across Hampshire. 

"It's really about keeping us alive and being able to keep going and keep doing what we are doing."

Skyline Gold currently has around 90,000 listeners from its previous FM-only broadcast and plans to increase that amount to "as much as possible".

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