It was launched on 14 April 1997 (as NRK Alltid nyheter) as part of an effort to attract listeners to DAB digital radio, and was the world's first all-digital news channel.

At the end of August 2018, NRK Alltid nyheter had a weekly reach of 82,000 listeners (an audience share of 1.8%).

Initially the station used the same production model as ABC NewsRadio in Sydney, Australia and broadcast news every fifteen minutes, in a less formal manner than traditional radio.

It had its own staff of 16 journalists who created stories based on material provided by NRK's main news division, the BBC World Service, and Sveriges Radio.

Although the channel had been set up with the aim of attracting listeners to DAB, it was later decided that early DAB coverage was too low, and parallel broadcasting on FM was begun in 17 of the largest Norwegian cities and towns.