A number of well-known radio broadcasters and DJs have been recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours List 2026.

Carl Cox has been awarded an OBE for services to music. The DJ and broadcaster has been a major figure in dance music for more than four decades, performing around the world and presenting shows on radio and online platforms.

Broadcaster and musician Cerys Matthews has also been awarded an OBE for services to music. The former Catatonia singer presents programmes on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6 Music and was previously made an MBE in 2014.

Among those receiving MBEs is broadcaster George Bowie, recognised for services to radio and charity in Glasgow and the west of Scotland. Bowie has hosted breakfast on Clyde 1 for almost three decades and is known for his fundraising work with charities across Scotland.

Speaking about the honour, Bowie said he was “delighted” to receive it. He added: “I’m lucky enough to work with a great group of people.” Reflecting on the recognition, he said the award was “amazing” and praised the support of his family, particularly his mother.

DJ and broadcaster Julius O’Riordan, better known as Judge Jules, has been awarded an MBE for services to music, entertainment law and young people. The former BBC Radio 1 presenter said the honour felt like “a reward for my industry”.

Speaking to the Press Association, he said: “I’m very proud, but I’m very shocked in equal measures. I genuinely don’t consider it a reward solely to me. It’s more of an acknowledgement of what my industry means to Britain.”

Judge Jules added that electronic music had grown from a “cottage industry” into a global business and said the honour recognised the contribution of British dance music culture.

Broadcaster Anneka Rice has also been awarded an MBE for services to charity and broadcasting, while veteran BBC sport presenter Garry Richardson receives an MBE for services to sport broadcasting following a career spanning more than four decades.

At BEM level, Neil Blanks has been recognised for services to hospital radio in Gosport and Portsmouth.

The honours recognise contributions across commercial radio, BBC broadcasting, sports broadcasting, community radio and the UK’s music industry.

Former Radio 1 news presenter Rod McKenzie is joining the line up at 80’s Heaven from 15 June.

He will host two weekly shows on the station, airing every Monday at 3pm and Friday at 5pm.

The schedule changes also see several existing presenters taking on additional shows each week. Dixie Peach, Graham Bannerman, Nino Firetto, Howard Pearce, Gavin McCoy, Mike Hollis, Tony Blewitt, Nik Martin and Dave Asher will all host a second show.

Weekday mornings are also being adjusted, with Mark Williams extending his programme by an extra hour until 11am.

A new Sunday feature is being added with a two-hour classic chart show from 5pm to 7pm hosted by Programme Director Shaun Tilley who says: “I am particularly thrilled that Rod is joining us. He might be best known for breaking the big news stories back in the day, but he can more than handle the music, as he proved when co-presenting the Radio 1 Roadshow and Top of the Pops in the late 80s.”

The government has confirmed Sir Ian Cheshire as Chair of Ofcom following his pre-appointment hearing at the Science, Innovation and Technology select committee.

Sir Ian was previously chair of Channel 4 and has held senior roles across business, including chair of Barclays UK and chief executive of Kingfisher plc.

Dame Melanie Dawes, Chief Executive, Ofcom, welcomed the appointment, highlighting Sir Ian’s experience at a time of significant changes across sectors it regulates.

Sir Ian said: “It’s a privilege to take on the role of Chair of Ofcom to drive forward our important agenda, tackling some of the most pressing issues impacting society today.

“Together with my fellow Board Members and Ofcom’s talented team, I look forward to working effectively with Government to serve the interests of UK citizens and consumers.”

BBC Radio 2 will air a Madonna special after its BBC One television debut.

Madonna and Graham will first be shown on BBC One on Friday 26 June at 10.40pm, before being broadcast on BBC Radio 2 on Saturday 4 July from 6pm to 8pm.

Both versions will also be available on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds for 30 days after transmission, giving the programme a route across radio, television and streaming.

Recorded at Koko in Camden, London, the special sees Graham Norton in conversation with Madonna about her life and career, ahead of the release of her new album Confessions II in July.

The venue has a connection with Madonna’s history in the UK, having hosted her first UK show in 1983 and the launch of Confessions on a Dance Floor in 2005.

The programme will include discussion of her early days in New York, her relationship with the UK, and her recent performance at Coachella.

Stuart Price, Madonna’s long term collaborator, also appears in the programme, with the pair discussing the stories, inspirations and creative process behind the new album.

Graham said: “As a lifelong fan it is always a thrill to interview Madonna, but to meet her on the dance floor where she first performed in London over thirty years ago felt incredibly special.”

Madonna and Graham is made by So Television, produced by Andy Rowe, with Graham Stuart and Jon Magnusson as executive producers.

The programme was commissioned by Jonathan Rothery, Head of Popular Music TV at the BBC, with Rachel Davies as Commissioning Editor for BBC Popular Music TV.

Cornwall’s Rewind Radio is marking five years since its company was formed.

The station began with Richard Woods, Jamie Reed and Shaun Ford, who came together with a plan to preserve local radio for Cornwall.

Since then, the service has grown from Rewind Radio into Cornwall’s Rewind Radio, with a wider team of almost 40 staff and volunteers working across the station.

The station says it has attended more than 200 events over the past five years, including the Royal Cornwall Show, the Boconnoc Steam Fair and the relaunch carnival in St Newlyn East.

It has also supported local fundraising through Radiothon events, the Banger Rally Challenge and work with charities and organisations on auctions, raffles and awareness campaigns.

Richard Woods, Managing Director, said: “We are proudly local, we support local, and everything we do is centred around Cornwall and the people who live here.”

Richard added: “Our focus will always be on Cornwall, the county we love and live in, and on supporting our communities, charities and local businesses.”

Although the company anniversary is being marked now, the station’s broadcast birthday will be celebrated on 7 October. That date marks its first broadcast, which opened with Greatest Day by Take That.

A fifth birthday celebration event is also planned for Friday 5 December 2026, with further details due to be announced in the coming months.

CRFM says new listener data shows further growth for the Cumberland community radio station.

The station says the figures, taken from REVMA Listener Analytics for 1 to 30 April 2026, show its audience is growing across FM and online listening.

The station operates from the John Myers Studios at Carlisle Enterprise Centre, James Street, Carlisle, as well as from its Workington studios at St Helens Business Park, which opened last year.

A further FM transmitter for West Cumbria is also being prepared, with the station saying the move will help it reach more rural communities where local radio reception can be limited or inconsistent.

Darrell Thomas, Managing Director of CRFM, said: “Community radio is about far more than playing music. These figures show that people are choosing CRFM because they feel connected to it.”

Darrell added: “They trust us to share local information, support local people and give Cumberland a voice.”

The station says its output includes local news, community updates, emergency information, rural issues, specialist music, interviews and stories from across Cumberland.

Its presenter line up includes Val Armstrong, Joe Costin and Paul Braithwaite, along with former CFM presenters Simon Williams, Andy Wood, Bekah Fowler, Matt Peters and Paul Johnston.

Darrell also said CRFM had helped volunteers build confidence, learn new skills, move into employment and gain opportunities with the BBC.

CRFM broadcasts on 102.7 FM in Carlisle, online, through its app and on smart speakers. It first went on air on 15 April 2024.

Radio.co has launched EDGE Audio Processor for online radio stations.

The cloud based software is designed to monitor and shape a station’s output, with one click activation from the Radio.co dashboard for scheduled and live broadcasts.

EDGE uses tools including Automatic Gain Control, EQ, limiting and multiband compression to balance levels across music, speech and other station content.

Radio.co says the processor can help online stations achieve a more consistent and polished sound without requiring external equipment or detailed audio engineering knowledge.

The company says EDGE has an ultra low latency rate of 7.8 milliseconds, designed to keep delay below the point where listeners would notice it.

Stations can choose from 16 mastered presets, tuned by audio engineers, including CHR Power for Top 40 formats, Talk Radio Focus for speech, Club Dance for electronic music and Smooth Jazz for a more refined output.

Radio.co CEO and Founder James Mulvany said: “Audio processing is often the missing piece for an online station to compete with FM stations.”

James added: “EDGE Audio Processor helps level the playing field, making this technology more accessible to those stations that don’t have huge budgets.”

The processor is available as a free demo for any radio stream. For Radio.co customers, it is offered as an add on for Lite, Standard and Plus plans, and included with the company’s highest plan.

Broadcast radio remains the most used audio choice for car buyers, according to new international research from WorldDAB.

The study, launched today at WorldDAB Automotive 2026 in Frankfurt, found that 83% of car buyers listen to radio in the car, with half saying it is the audio they use most often.

Streaming services were chosen most often by 20%, followed by personal music on 12%, with podcasts and audiobooks further behind.

The research also found that 62% of respondents see radio as a must have feature when buying a new car, ahead of built in navigation, touchscreen displays and smartphone mirroring systems.

Among those who listen to radio in the car, 85% said they would really miss having it available.

DAB and DAB+ also scored strongly in the study, with 95% of listeners saying they like using it and 91% saying it is easy to access while driving.

WorldDAB President Jacqueline Bierhorst said: “This research gives a clear verdict from car buyers: broadcast radio belongs in cars.”

Jacqueline said DAB+ brings radio’s strengths into the digital age, describing it as “free-to-air, reliable, easy to access and designed for universal broadcast delivery.”

The research was commissioned by WorldDAB and carried out by Fifty5Blue, formerly Kantar Media. It is based on 8,000 online interviews across Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.

Respondents were adults who had bought or leased a vehicle in the past five years and were familiar with modern car infotainment systems.

Radio presenter Mark Goodier, comedian Ellie Taylor, and One Show host Alex Jones will cover Drive on BBC Radio 2 when Sara Cox leaves the show tomorrow (Friday 12th June).

Sara will take a break before moving from ‘teatime’ to Breakfast later this year, with a start date yet to be announced.

The new permanent presenter for Drive has also not been announced by the station.

The BBC announced in April that Sara Cox will replace Scott Mills, who was let go when the corporation received new information relating to a police investigation over alleged historic sexual offences.

Here’s how the Drive schedule looks:

Monday 15th June – Thursday 18th June – MARK GOODIER

Friday 19th June – ELLIE TAYLOR

Monday 22nd – Friday 26th June – MARK GOODIER

Monday 29th June – Friday 3rd July – ALEX JONES

Jazz FM has marked Robbie Vincent’s 80th birthday with a special programme about his broadcasting career.

The programme featured an in-depth conversation with Robbie, looking back at his early days on Radio London in the 1970s, including his work on phone-in radio and later as a music presenter.

It also covered his time at LBC and Radio 1 in the late 1980s, along with his different periods at Jazz FM. Robbie’s most recent run with the station began in 2021, following specials during Jazz FM’s 30th anniversary year.

The show was hosted by Chris Philips and produced by Jazz FM Head of Content Chris Gilvear.

Contributors included musicians Robbie supported early in their careers, including David Grant of Lynx and Bluey from Incognito. More recent artists Laura Doyle and Lois Levin also took part, while Trevor Nelson spoke about Robbie’s influence on his own broadcasting career.

Music featured during the programme included artists Robbie helped bring to UK radio audiences, including Maze, Second Image, Incognito and Bob James.

Robbie said: “I was flattered by the kind messages from music makers like David Grant and Bluey, and the music players like Chris Philips and Trevor Nelson.”

He added: “I am very grateful to my friends at Jazz FM for such an honour!”

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