Founder and presenter Chris Stevens to leave Countryline Radio

CountryLine Radio’s founder and breakfast show host Chris Stevens is leaving the radio station at the end of July.

Chris originally launched Chris Country in 2013 and has continued to manage it since the station was acquired by CountryLine Media in March 2020.

Sharing the news on air this morning, Chris said “Running a radio station is a full-time job, and while I’ve loved every minute of it, it’s taken over my life in the last few years. Now that I’m the dad of a toddler, I want to be able to spare more time with my family while still being a massive country music fan. The radio station team are wonderful, and I’ve no doubt that the station will continue to go from strength to strength.”

Over the years, Chris has taken the station from being an online passion project to being on all platforms including DAB Radio in London, where CountryLine is the capital’s biggest country station by some distance. He was also awarded a CMA award in 2018 for broadcasting.

CountryLine Media’s founder Simon Walker added: “We’ll miss having Chris on the team, but we understand that family must come first. We’re excited to continue his vision and to build on the strength of CountryLine Radio as it works with our CountryLine TV team in the UK and Nashville.”

Chris continues to run Ignite Jingles, Devaweb and is a part-owner of TM Studios in Dallas.