GWR, an early mover in the digital sector, already has two licences covering Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury and Telford, and Bristol and Bath. The company, headed by Ralph Bernard, also has a 67 per cent holding in Digital One, a national digital licence. Other groups with digital licences include Emap, Capital Radio, Scottish Radio and the Wireless Group.
Digital radio has yet to take off in the UK but is set to grow sharply in the next few years.
GWR also said its digital subsidiary, Now Digital, will make further bids for digital radio multiplex licences once they have been advertised by the Radio Authority. The Coventry multiplex will enable GWR to transmit at least nine stations. One will feature dance, while another will provide Asian programming.