It commenced broadcasting on 1 January 1963 as Musikradioen in response to the popularity of the offshore pirate radio station Radio Mercur, which had been outlawed by the Danish parliament in June 1962.[1] In April 1966 the station became Danmarks Radio Program 3 and to Danmarks Radio P3 in 1971.[2] P3 started stereo broadcasts in 1972.
On 1 October 2017 P3 became available on DAB+ radio when a nationwide switch-over took place.[3]
On 5 April 2022, DR P3 merged with its sister online streaming service and former TV channel DR3.
The station's music features a mix of both established and emerging artists. The annual "KarriereKanonen" allows unknown musicians to breakthrough and have their songs played on P3.
Once a week, a song is selected to be P3s Uundgåelige (previously known as Ugens Uundgåelige and Powerplay) from the playlist, which means that the song is going to be rotated more frequently than any other songs on P3 this week.[4] Some of these songs that have been sung by Danish musicians have been released on CDs in 2004 and 2005.
