GMG Radio is to turn its five Smooth Radio regional stations in England into a single national broadcaster, with the loss of up to 60 jobs.
The new station will be based in Manchester and will broadcast on the national digital audio broadcasting (DAB) platform Digital One in addition to Smooth's five FM frequencies in north-west England, north-east England, London, the West Midlands and the East Midlands. It will begin a phased launch on 4 October.
The switch was made possible by regulatory changes ushered in by the recent Digital Economy Act and comes a week after Global Radio announced it was halving the number of its Heart regional stations.
Three of Smooth's regional bases outside Manchester will suffer significant cuts, and the East Midlands HQ in Nottingham will be shut. Smooth's Scottish station, which broadcasts to Glasgow and the west of Scotland, will be unaffected.
It is understood that between 40 and 60 people will lose their jobs as a result of the switch.
The five England stations currently simulcast a large proportion of their content, including a mid-morning show presented by Mark Goodier, who is expected to remain with the station in its new national incarnation.
Listeners on the FM and REGIONAL DAB services will continue to receive regional news, travel and weather which will be produced out of Smooth's Manchester base close to the BBC's new Media City development. Each region will also retain its own sales team.
"We are trying to change the shape of UK radio," said GMG Radio chief executive Stuart Taylor.
"Commercial radio has lacked scale and national delivery and the BBC has had all the national stations apart from the three commercial ones. We are going to add to that as the nation's first UK-wide easy listening station.
"We want to be number one among 40-to-59-year-olds. Smooth Radio is well-loved and we are investing in reach and talent.
"On the downside we are having to make some tough decisions and lose some trusted and valued colleagues. That is regrettable."
He added: "The future of radio is all about establishing strong brands, available across multiple platforms, and the future for Smooth is a truly national station. This deal with Digital One will enable Smooth to develop into one of the strongest names in UK radio.
"We regret the impact this will have on our people, but this new approach means Smooth Radio will be even better placed to serve its listeners and advertisers, more cost efficient as a business and in prime position for the digital future."
Smooth Radio already broadcasts nationwide on digital TV and online, but retains local programming, including breakfast and drivetime shows, in each region. It will now be a single national service across all platforms.
GMG Radio is part of Guardian Media Group, the company that publishes the Guardian, the Observer and theguardian.com, including MediaGuardian.co.uk. Smooth Radio has an average weekly reach of 2.6 million listeners.
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