Sunshine 106.8

Broadcast area	Dublin
Frequency	106.8 MHz, Online, Virgin Media Channel 933
Programming
Format	Soft AC/Easy Listening
Ownership
Owner	Star Broadcasting Limited[1]
History
First air date	October 2001 (as "Dublin's Country 106.8")[2]
Links
Website	sunshineradio.ie

Sunshine 106.8 is an easy listening radio station, based in Dublin, Ireland. It is licensed by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) as a commercial FM broadcaster in the Dublin area.^[1] The station broadcasts on 106.8 MHz from Three Rock Mountain to County Dublin. It is included on the rebroadcast system operated within the Dublin Port Tunnel, and took part in trial DAB broadcasts in Dublin and Cork between 2012 and 2017.^{[citation needed]}

History

The station launched in October 2001 and was originally identified on-air as 'Dublin's Country 106.8FM'^[2] and later (from 2005) as 'Country Mix 106.8'. The station was completely re-branded as Sunshine 106.8 in October 2010.^{[citation needed]}

Originally based from studios in Stillorgan, it subsequently moved to studios on North Wall Quay in Dublin 1.^{[citation needed]} The station later moved to studios and offices at Castleforbes House in Dublin 1.^[1] The studios at Castleforbes House went live in December 2015.^{[citation needed]}

Sunshine 106.8 broadcasts 24 hours a day and features an easy listening format, including genres such as soul, Country Crossover, Easy Listening and Irish music.^{[citation needed]}

The station signed a ten-year contract with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) on 12 September 2014 to continue broadcasting until 2024.^{[citation needed]} From 2014, the station adopted the slogan 'Dublin's New Place to Relax', modifying this (in 2017) to 'Dublin's Easy Place to Relax'.^{[citation needed]}

Listenership

The Joint National Listenership Research (JNLR) survey, published on 24 October 2019, recorded 84,000 daily listeners for the station.^{[citation needed]} Sunshine 106.8 recorded an 8.3% market share in the "All Adults" section of the JNLR report published in November 2022.^[3]