It became the first BBC local radio station to adopt an all-speech format, with the broadcast slogan "all talk all the time" and was on air daily from 5am to 1am.

The next revamp occurred on 1 September 1997, when the station reverted to a more traditional mix of talk and music, and introduced new presenters such as Chris Ashley, John Radford, Giles Dilnot, Bill Buckley and Simon Bates, who presented the Sunday morning show.

Further changes followed, including the departure in 2005 of Brighton Breakfast Show presenter JoAnne Good who left to work at BBC London 94.9 and was replaced by Sarah Gorrell.

Four of the presenters, Bill Buckley, John Radford, Ed Douglas and Dominic Busby left the station shortly before the relaunch of 2006.

By early February 2009, all three had left the station and the designation "The New Sound of Sussex and Surrey" was no longer being used on air by presenters.

Increasingly, in its latter years, BBC SCR worked to provide extensive and interactive coverage of the Brighton Festival and Fringe.

Aside from dedicating a daily hour-long show to Brighton's festivals, it also provided in-depth internet coverage, including reviews, features and video clips.

During the station's downtime, SCR simulcasted BBC Radio 5 Live programming including Up All Night, Morning Reports and the Stephen Nolan show.