Absolute Radio 90s will be aimed at Absolute Radio's target market, which the radio group terms "reluctant adults", and will play music from the nineties including Blur, Oasis, Texas, Lenny Kravitz, Manic Street Preachers and KLF.
As well as simulcasting the Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show on weekday mornings from 6am to 10am, Absolute Radio 90s will have its own DJs presenting live radio. The exact DJ line-up and number of live broadcast hours is yet to be determined.
Donnach O'Driscoll, chief executive of Absolute Radio, said: "Absolute 80s and Absolute Radio 90s are new and exciting formats for digital radio. What we feel we can do is bring new listeners to digital radio through them.
"If people are going to buy DAB sets they need to be incentivised by new programming and formats and these two stations show the commitment of Absolute Radio, and its owner Times of India, to DAB."
From 10am today Absolute 80s will be broadcast nationally on the Digital One multiplex as well as continuing to be broadcast on Sky, Freeview, Freesat, online and on mobile platforms.
Absolute 80s carries spot advertising and offers sponsorship and promotions opportunities and Absolute Radio 90s will be sold in the same way when it launches in June.
The Absolute Radio network currently includes Absolute Radio, Absolute 80s, Absolute Classic Rock and online 'user-controlled' station Dabbl. According to yesterday's Rajar figures for quarter one the network's total hours were up 12.1% quarter on quarter and 5.6% year on year.
Absolute 80s launched in December and in its first Rajar yesterday the station recorded a weekly reach of 264,000 and total hours of 1.4m a week. O'Driscoll said he hoped Absolute Radio 90s would achieve similar figures.
Absolute Radio's core channel Absolute Radio lost both share and listeners in the first three months of this year but chief operating officer Clive Dickens attributed to this to the growth of Absolute 80s.
O'Driscoll said he was not worried about Absolute Radio's digital stations canabalising listeners from Absolute Radio. O'Driscoll said: "It is positive as long as it's within the Absolute Radio family. If it is, we are very happy."
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