I don’t have a DAB radio, although I played with one for a bit once.  I can’t comment on the sound quality that a lot of listeners have criticised because I am a bit cloth-eared, but I liked the displays of information that were available.

One big reason why I have not bothered getting a DAB set is that most of the digital channels, if not all, are available online or on digital TV.   I have dipped my toe in and listened to Stuart Maconie and Phill Jupitus on 6Music, and I tried Radio 1Extra and the BBC Asian channel, but I keep returning to Planet Rock.

It has Alice Cooper, Rick Wakeman, and Guy Pratt amongst its presenters.  Tune in and you are likely to hear Genesis, Rush, Thin Lizzy, Steely Dan, Yes, Led Zep, Jethro Tull, Deep Purple and similar – and not always the obvious tracks either.  OK, so it can be like going through a timewarp to the 70s sometimes but that is part of the appeal.  There are often serious interviews and documentaries about rock acts and lots of interaction with its listeners.

Just look at the website to see all the competitions, suggestions from listeners and everything.  The audience is small but growing and its loyal.

So of course it is being closed down by the owners, Gcap…  one glimmer of hope is that the Planet Rock website presents this as the station being for sale.  If a buyer is not found before then, it will close down on March 28th.  I do hope someone will step in – maybe Alice Cooper and Rick Wakeman could put in a bid for it?    Fingers crossed that someone will step in, even if its Branson. The audience grew by a third last year so it must be a good bet for someone.

Compared to Northern Rock, Planet Rock is a bargain and a better prospect – it has 70,000 more listeners than 6Music and that is reckoned to be a success.  Is it only the BBC who are prepared to support niche programming?  Is it the fault of us, the public, for not straying out of our comfort zones of the main radio stations and TV channels often enough?