Classic FM live

Classic FM is the UK's national commercial classical music station, owned by Global. It went on air at 6am on Monday 7 September 1992 as the first national commercial radio station of any kind in Britain, and it still reaches around 4.7 million listeners a week, according to RAJAR figures from May 2025. Its approach is deliberately accessible. Where BBC Radio 3 broadcasts complete works and live concerts, Classic FM builds its schedule around single movements, film scores and well-loved repertoire, introduced in a relaxed, conversational style. Purists objected at launch; three decades of audience figures suggest the format brought classical music to people who would never have gone looking for it. The weekday schedule opens with Classic FM Breakfast, presented by Dan Walker since January 2024. Other familiar voices include Alexander Armstrong, Anne-Marie Minhall, Jonathan Ross with his film music programme, and Zeb Soanes in the evenings. The station's best-known fixture is the Classic FM Hall of Fame. Running since 1996, it asks listeners to vote for their favourite pieces and counts down the top 300 over Easter weekend, ending on Easter Monday — a useful snapshot of what the British public actually likes. Classic FM broadcasts from 30 Leicester Square in central London, on 99.9–101.9 FM across the UK and on DAB+. Two automated spin-offs, Classic FM Calm and Classic FM Movies, joined it on 12 September 2024.