The Hits.(THE INSIDER)

Although launched less than three years ago, Emap-owned The Hits has quickly expanded to become the UK's most listened-to digital-only radio station.

The station is essentially a melting pot of the highlights from across Emap's Big City Network (Key 103, Viking FM, Radio City, Radio Aire, Metro Radio, TFM, Hallam FM and Rock FM), which targets 20- to 30-year-olds primarily in urban areas.

The combination of the best presenters and shows from these Emap stations coupled with a music policy of pcp hits from the past 15 years has resulted in an average of 2.5m to 3.3m listening hours per week via Freeview, Sky Plus, DAB and online. Its 0.97m reach in the first quarter Rajars puts it on the verge of becoming the first digital-only station to break the 1m audience barrier.

The station's programme director Anthony Gay says The Hits' non-music content has been integral to its success. "It's a proper radio station and not a digital jukebox, which is what a lot of digital stations are," he says. "It was always about presenters and content as much as the music policy, although the music forms the bedrock of the station."

Gay adds that the station's repackaging of a number of one-off specials has proved extremely popular this year, with a Key 103 Take That special being a particular highlight.

"We did an hour-long Take That special, which was pure speech, carrying interviews with the band," he says. "That was ambitious and proved huge for us."

Additional specials have included a Bon Jovi broadcast from Amsterdam via Sheffield-based ...