Virgin Radio is to go head-to-head with the BBC by launching a new download chart three days before Radio 1.
Virgin Radio is to go head-to-head with the BBC by launching a new download chart three days before Radio 1.

The national commercial station, owned by SMG, has signed a deal with online music service Napster to provide a rundown of its 20 most popular tracks.

It will launch the new chart at 7pm on 29 August and is to be presented by Virgin DJ Ben Jones.

This is three days before R1 begin broadcasting its weekly download chart at 6pm on Wednesday's in Scott Mills' Show, announced earlier this month following a deal with the Official Chart Company.

R1's chart will be based on sales of downloaded songs from several online music stores, including Napster.

John Pearson, chief executive of Virgin Radio, said that research showed the station's 4.4 million listeners were more likely to buy music online and own an MP3 player.

He added: "This groundbreaking chart with Napster puts Virgin Radio at the innovative edge of the radio industry. Napster is the premier online music partner in the UK and this is the first step in what will become a much broader partnership."

The move is hoped to reignite interest in the charts, which has waned in recent years due to a drop in the sale of singles and the rise in downloaded music from the internet.

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