The move is the first substantive consolidation of brands since the merger of Capital Radio and GWR into GCap Media earlier this year.
It comprises nine Capital stations, including Beat 106, 95.8 Capital FM, 96.4 BMRB, Fox FM, Invicta FM and 30 local stations, serving the M4/M5 corridor, East Anglia and the East Midlands, that made up the Mix network. The stations have a combined weekly audience of 8.4m adults and a 25% share of radio advertising.
The individual stations will each retain their existing on-air identity, but will be sold in an advertising package and marketed with the tagline "Hugely personal".
The merger is likely to see an increase in the production of shows syndicated across the network to rival the BBC.
GCap expects the move will lead to bigger sponsorship deals in programming, such as traffic and travel, breakfast, drive-time and entertainment coverage.
It will also provide advertisers with a simplified "one-stop" buying point covering much of the UK, which GCap hopes will help re-verse recent declines in the national ad market experienced by most radio groups.
Former Classic FM sales director Simon Daglish will head The One Network. He recently took up the new position of GCap's director of national sales and trade marketing.
Daglish said the merger brought together stations that had a similar contemporary popular music format, with groups of listeners having a mid-30s age profile and attitude.
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