Hits Radio is to replace KISS on FM in London, plus in Norfolk and the West of England later this year.
Hits will appear on 100FM in London, 101 in the west of England, along with 106.1 in Norwich.
KISS Radio will remain on 97.2FM in Bristol once the changes have been made.
The move means KISS will be digital only, like its former analogue sister brand Absolute Radio, with the exception of the local licence for Bristol.
KISS has been on 100FM in London since 1990, after getting a licence from the Radio Authority following many years as a pirate.
There’s no date for the move by Bauer, and RadioToday understands no Format change requests have been made to Ofcom.
It may well be that Bauer is announcing these changes ahead of the new Media Act coming into force in the coming months, thus eliminating the need to request format changes for frequencies changing from KISS to Hits.
Bauer is also launching a new national station, KISSTORY R&B on DAB+ and adding KISS Fresh and KISS Dance to DAB+ in London.
Simon Myciunka, CEO of Bauer Media Audio UK said: “We continually review the distribution of our services to make sure we meet our listeners needs and maximise all opportunities for our brands to grow.
“KISS has a phenomenal digital footprint with a massive 90% of its audience listening on digital devices and by further investing in digital distribution we’re excited to grow this while simultaneously unlocking the huge potential of our Hits Radio Network and further grow its 7 million strong audience.”
