BBC Radio 4

Last updated

BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 2022.svg
Logo used since 2022
  • London
Broadcast areaUnited Kingdom and BBC Sounds
Frequency FM: 92–95 MHz, 103–105 MHz
LW: 198 kHz
MW: 603 kHz, 720 kHz, 756 kHz, 774 kHz, 1449 kHz, 1485 kHz
DAB: 12B
Freesat: 704 (FM), 710 (LW)
Freeview: 704 (FM)
Sky (UK only): 0104 (FM), 0143 (LW)
Virgin Media: 904 (FM), 911 (LW)
Virgin Media Ireland: 910 (FM)
RDS BBC R4
Programming
Language(s)English
Format News, talk, comedy and drama
Ownership
Owner BBC
BBC Radio 4 Extra
History
First air date
30 September 1967;54 years ago (1967-09-30)
Former call signs
 BBC Home Service
Former names
BBC Radio 4 UK (1978–1984)
Links
Website Radio 4 on BBC Sounds

BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. [1] It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasting House, London. The station controller is Mohit Bakaya. [2]

Contents

Broadcasting throughout the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands on FM, LW and DAB, and on BBC Sounds, [3] it can be received in the eastern counties of Ireland, northern France and Northern Europe. It is available on Freeview, Sky, and Virgin Media. Radio 4 currently reaches over 10 million listeners, making it the UK's second most-popular radio station after Radio 2. [4]

BBC Radio 4 broadcasts news programmes such as Today and The World at One , heralded on air by the Greenwich Time Signal pips or the chimes of Big Ben. The pips are only accurate on FM, LW, and MW; there is a delay on digital radio of three to five seconds and online up to twenty-three seconds. Radio 4 broadcasts the Shipping Forecast which, in August 2017, was 150 years old. [5]

Overview

BBC Radio 4 is the second-most-popular British domestic radio station by total hours, [6] after Radio 2. It recorded its highest audience, of 11 million listeners, in May 2011, [7] and was "UK Radio Station of the Year" at the 2003, 2004 and 2008 Sony Radio Academy Awards. [8] [9] It also won a Peabody Award in 2002 for File on 4: Export Controls. [10] Costing £71.4 million (2005/6), [11] it is the BBC's most expensive national radio network and is considered by many to be its flagship. There is no comparable British commercial network: Channel 4 abandoned plans to launch its own speech-based digital radio station in October 2008 as part of a £100m cost cutting review. [12]

In 2019, Mohit Bakaya replaced Gwyneth Williams, who had been the station controller since 2010. [2] [13]

Music and sport are the only fields that largely fall outside the station's remit. It broadcasts occasional concerts, and documentaries related to various forms of both popular and classical music, and the long-running music-based Desert Island Discs . Prior to the creation of BBC Radio 5 it broadcast sports-based features, notably Sport on Four , and since the creation of BBC Radio 5 Live in 1994, the station has become the home of ball-by-ball commentaries of most Test cricket matches played by England. The coverage is broadcast on long wave. Consequently, for around 70 days a year, listeners have to rely on FM broadcasts or DAB for mainstream Radio 4 broadcasts – the number relying solely on long wave is now a small minority. The cricket broadcasts take precedence over on-the-hour news bulletins, but not the Shipping Forecast, carried since Radio 4's move to long wave in 1978 because long wave can be received clearly at sea. [14]

As well as news and drama, the station has a strong reputation for comedy, including experimental and alternative comedy, many successful comedians and comedy shows first appearing on the station. Following the Six O'Clock News from Monday to Friday, the station normally broadcasts a thirty-minute comedy programme.

The station is available on FM in most of Great Britain, parts of Ireland and the north of France; LW throughout the UK and in parts of Northern Europe, and the Atlantic north of the Azores to about 20 degrees west; MW in some areas; DAB; Digital TV including Freeview, Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media, and on the Internet. Freesat, Sky and Virgin have a separate channel for Radio 4 LW output in mono, in addition to the FM output.

The longwave signal is part of the Royal Navy's system of letters of last resort. In the event of a suspected catastrophic attack on Britain, submarine captains, in addition to other checks, check for a broadcast signal from Radio 4 on 198 longwave to verify the annihilation of organised society in Great Britain. [15] [16] [17]

History

Logo of Radio 4 until 2007 R4logo.jpg
Logo of Radio 4 until 2007
Logo of Radio 4 used from 2007 until 2022 BBC Radio 4.svg
Logo of Radio 4 used from 2007 until 2022

The BBC Home Service was the predecessor of Radio 4 and broadcast between 1939 and 1967. It had regional variations and was broadcast on medium wave with a network of VHF FM transmitters being added from 1955. Radio 4 replaced it on 30 September 1967, when the BBC restructured and renamed its domestic radio stations, [1] in response to the challenge of offshore radio. It moved to long wave in November 1978, taking over the 200 kHz frequency (1,500 metres) previously held by Radio 2 - later moved to 198 kHz as a result of international agreements aimed at avoiding interference (all ITU Region 1 MW/LW broadcast frequencies are divisible by 9). At this point, Radio 4 became available across all of the UK for the first time and the station officially became known as Radio 4 UK, a title that remained until 29 September 1984.

For a time during the 1970s Radio 4 carried regional news bulletins Monday to Saturday. These were broadcast twice at breakfast, at lunchtime and at 17:55. There were also programme variations for the parts of England not served by BBC Local Radio stations. These included Roundabout East Anglia , a VHF opt-out of the Today programme broadcast from BBC East's studios in Norwich each weekday from 6.45 a.m. to 8.45 a.m. [18] Roundabout East Anglia came to an end in August 1980, ahead of the launch of BBC Radio Norfolk. [18]

All regional news bulletins broadcast from BBC regional news bases around England ended in August 1980, apart from in the southwest as until January 1983 there was no BBC Local Radio in the southwest so these news bulletins and its weekday morning regional programme, Morning Sou'West , continued to be broadcast from the BBC studios in Plymouth on VHF and on the Radio 4 medium wave Plymouth relay until 31 December 1982.

The launch of Radio 5 on 27 August 1990 saw the removal of Open University, schools programming, children's programmes and the Study on 4 /Options adult education slot from Radio 4's FM frequencies. Consequently, the full Radio 4 schedule became available on FM for the first time. However, adult educational and Open University programming returned to Radio 4 in 1994 when Radio 5 was closed to make way for the launch of BBC Radio 5 Live and were broadcast on Sunday evenings on longwave only.

Between 17 January 1991 and 2 March 1991 FM broadcasts were replaced by a continuous news service devoted to the Gulf War, Radio 4 News FM, with the main Radio 4 service transferring to long wave.

In September 1991 the main Radio 4 service transferred from long wave to FM coverage had now extended to cover almost all of the UK - Radio 4 did not become available on FM in much of Scotland and Wales until the early 1990s. Opt-outs were transferred to longwave: currently Test Match Special , extra shipping forecasts, The Daily Service and Yesterday in Parliament . Longwave very occasionally opts out at other times, such as to broadcast special services, the most recent being when Pope Benedict XVI visited Britain in 2010.

Programmes and schedules

Daily schedule

An online schedule page lists the running order of programmes. [19]

Production

Many programmes are pre-recorded. Programmes transmitted live include Today , magazine programme Woman's Hour , consumer affairs programme You and Yours , and (often) the music, film, books, arts and culture programme Front Row . Continuity is managed from Broadcasting House with news bulletins, including the hourly summaries and longer programmes such as the Six O'Clock News and Midnight News, and news programmes such as Today, The World at One and PM, which by early 2013 had returned to Broadcasting House after 15 years at BBC Television Centre in White City. [20] The news returning to Broadcasting House has also meant that newsreaders can provide cover for continuity, which regularly occurs at 23:00 each night and 16:00 on a Sunday. This has reduced the total number of continuity announcers required each day down from four to three.

The Greenwich Time Signal, popularly known as "the pips", is broadcast every hour to herald the news bulletin, except at midnight and 18:00, and 22:00 on Sunday, when the chimes of Big Ben are played. There is no Greenwich Time Signal at 15:00 on Saturday or 10:00 and 11:00 on Sunday due to the Saturday Afternoon drama and the omnibus edition of The Archers respectively. Only pips broadcast on FM, MW and LW are accurate. On digital platforms there is a delay of between three and five seconds, and up to 23 seconds online.

Programmes

Radio 4 programmes cover a wide variety of genre including news and current affairs, history, culture, science, religion, arts, drama and light entertainment. A number of the programmes on Radio 4 take the form of a "magazine" show, featuring numerous small contributions over the course of the programme— Woman's Hour , From Our Own Correspondent , You and Yours . The rise of these magazine shows is primarily due to the work of Tony Whitby, controller of Radio 4 from 1970 to 1975. [21] The station hosts a number of long-running programmes, many of which have been broadcast for over 40 years.

Most programmes are available for four weeks after broadcast as streaming audio from Radio 4's listen again page [22] and via BBC Sounds. A selection of programmes is also available as podcasts or downloadable audio files. [23] Many comedy and drama programmes from the Radio 4 archives are broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra. Due to the capacity limitations of DAB and increasing sport broadcasts on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, BBC Radio 4 DAB has to reduce its bit rate most evenings, such that after 7 p.m. its DAB output is usually in mono, even though many of its programmes are made in stereo (including its flagship drama "The Archers"), these can be heard in stereo only on FM, Digital TV on Freeview & Freesat (Ch. 704), Sky, Virgin and on line via BBC Sounds. BBC World Service, which uses BBC Radio 4 FM & DAB frequencies between 01:00 and 05:20, is in stereo, but only on Radio 4 FM & DAB and not on its own dedicated DAB channel. BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcasts in mono on DAB, but has always been in stereo on Digital TV (Freeview / Freesat Ch 708), Sky, Virgin and online.

Notable continuity announcers and newsreaders

Announcers carry out the following duties from Broadcasting House:

Newsreaders read hourly summaries and longer bulletins from New Broadcasting House. [24] [25] In 2012 the BBC announced that it would be reducing its main presentation team from 12 to ten. [26]

BBC

Freelance

Former

Frequencies and other means of reception

Radio 4 is broadcast on: [27]
Broadcast TypeFrequency
FM 92–95 MHz FM in England
94.6–96.1 and 103.5–104.9 MHz in Scotland [28]
93.2–96.0 and 103.5–104.6 MHz in Northern Ireland
Longwave 198 kHz (Droitwich, Burghead, and Westerglen)
Medium wave 603 kHz in Newcastle upon Tyne
720 kHz in London, Derry and Belfast
756 kHz in Redruth
774 kHz in Plymouth and Enniskillen
1449 kHz in Aberdeen
1485 kHz in Carlisle
DAB Standard FM content and subsidiary LW content, where applicable
Freeview channel 704 (FM only) [29]
Internet BBC Sounds live streaming
Digital satellite Freesat channel 704 (FM) and Freesat channel 710 (LW)
Sky channel 0104 [30] (FM) and Sky channel 0143 [30] (LW)
Virgin Media channel 904 (FM), channel 911 (LW)
Virgin Media Ireland channel 910 in Republic of Ireland
TalkTalk TV channel 604

Criticisms

Criticism voiced by centre-right newspapers in recent years have a perceived left political bias across a range of issues, [31] [32] [33] as well as sycophancy in interviews, particularly on the popular morning news magazine Today [34] as part of a reported perception of a general "malaise" at the BBC. Conversely, the journalist Mehdi Hasan has criticised the station for an overtly "socially and culturally conservative" approach. [35]

There has been criticism of Today in particular for a lack of female broadcasters. [36] In September 1972, Radio 4 employed the first female continuity announcers—Hylda Bamber and Barbara Edwards. For quite some time, the introduction of female newsreaders led to complaints from listeners; women discussing topics of feminist interest led to similar complaints. [37] In addition, there has been long-running criticism by atheist and humanist groups of Thought for the Day, a slot dedicated exclusively to religious discussion during Radio 4's flagship morning news programme. [38] [39] [40]

Radio 4 has been criticised for being too middle class and being of little interest to non-white listeners. [41] [42]

See also

Related Research Articles

The Shipping Forecast is a BBC Radio broadcast of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the British Isles. It is produced by the Met Office and broadcast by BBC Radio 4 on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The forecasts sent over the Navtex system use a similar format and the same sea areas. The waters around the British Isles are divided into 31 sea areas, also known as weather areas. There are currently four broadcasts per day at the following times:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio</span> Division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation

BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The service provides national radio stations covering the majority of musical genres, as well as local radio stations covering local news, affairs and interests. It also oversees online audio content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Longwave</span> Radio transmission using wavelengths above 1000 m

In radio, longwave, long wave or long-wave, and commonly abbreviated LW, refers to parts of the radio spectrum with wavelengths longer than what was originally called the medium-wave broadcasting band. The term is historic, dating from the early 20th century, when the radio spectrum was considered to consist of longwave (LW), medium-wave (MW), and short-wave (SW) radio bands. Most modern radio systems and devices use wavelengths which would then have been considered 'ultra-short'.

BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcasting virtually all major sports events staged in the UK or involving British competitors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Forces Broadcasting Service</span> Radio and TV service for the British military

The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides radio and television programmes for His Majesty's Armed Forces, and their dependents worldwide. Editorial control is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces themselves.

RTÉ Radio 1 is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The station is a rare modern example of a mixed radio channel, offering a wide spectrum of programming which is mainly speech-based but also includes a fair amount of music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Cambridgeshire</span> Radio station in Cambridge

BBC Radio Cambridgeshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Cambridgeshire.

BBC Radio Nottingham is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Nottinghamshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Sheffield</span> Radio station in Sheffield

BBC Radio Sheffield is the BBC's local radio station serving South Yorkshire and north Derbyshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Ulster</span> Radio station in Belfast, Northern Ireland

BBC Radio Ulster is a Northern Irish radio station owned and operated by BBC Northern Ireland, a division of the BBC. It was established on New Year's Day 1975, replacing what had been an opt-out of BBC Radio 4. It is broadcast on radio across Northern Ireland and parts of the Republic of Ireland, and on digital television services across all of Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Cymru</span> Welsh national radio station

BBC Radio Cymru is a Welsh language radio network owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts on two stations across Wales on FM, DAB, digital TV and online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Foyle</span> Radio station in Derry, Northern Ireland

BBC Radio Foyle is a BBC Northern Ireland local radio station, serving County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. It is named after the River Foyle which flows through Derry, the city where the station is based. The station broadcasts from BBC's Northland Road studios on 93.1 FM in Derry. It was available on 792 kHz MW until 6 May 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Wales</span> Welsh national radio station

BBC Radio Wales is a Welsh radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the 'Radio 4 Wales' opt-out service. Radio Wales broadcasts in English, whilst sister network Radio Cymru has Welsh language programming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westerglen transmitting station</span> Transmitter station in Falkirk, Scotland, UK

The Westerglen transmitting station is a facility for longwave and mediumwave broadcasting established in 1932 at Westerglen Farm, 2 miles (3 km) south west of Falkirk, Stirlingshire, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalundborg Transmitter</span> Mast in Kalundborg, Zealand

Kalundborg Radio is a major transmission facility for long- and mediumwave at the harbour of Kalundborg in Denmark.

RTÉ Radio 1 Extra is a digital radio station produced by the Irish public-service broadcasting service Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Today in Parliament</span>

Today in Parliament is a British radio programme that covers the daily proceedings of the Palace of Westminster, on BBC Radio 4. When re-broadcast at around 8.30am the next day on longwave and medium wave, it is known as Yesterday in Parliament, similar to The Daily Service. This longwave (LW) signal comes from the Droitwich Transmitting Station. It is produced by BBC News.

This is a timeline of BBC Local Radio.

A timeline of notable events relating to BBC Radio 4, a British national radio station which began broadcasting in September 1967.

This is a timeline of RTÉ Radio.

References

  1. 1 2 "History of the BBC: 1960s" (PDF).
  2. 1 2 "BBC - Controllers for Pop Music, BBC Sounds and Radio 4 have been appointed - Media Centre". bbc.co.uk.
  3. ↑ "Radio stations ranked by listeners weekly UK 2018 | Statistic". Statista. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  4. ↑ "RAJAR". www.rajar.co.uk. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  5. ↑ "Radio 4's Shipping Forecast reaches 150-years-old". BBC News. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  6. ↑ "Listening Figures – Quarterly Listening – All Individuals 15+ for period ending March 2012" (PDF). RAJAR. April 2012. Archived from the original on 31 May 2012.
  7. ↑ Guardian 12 May 2011 Retrieved 16 May 2011]
  8. ↑ "The Sony Radio Academy Awards: Winners 2004". Archived from the original on 6 October 2007. Retrieved 13 May 2004.
  9. ↑ "Sony Radio Academy Awards — Winners 2008". Radioawards.org. Archived from the original on 9 January 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  10. ↑ 62nd Annual Peabody Awards, May 2003.
  11. ↑ "BBC Annual Report and Accounts 2005/2006, page 106" (PDF). Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  12. ↑ John Plunkett (10 October 2008). "Channel 4 has abandoned its entire radio project, as it seeks to make £100m in savings". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  13. ↑ "Gwyneth Williams appointed BBC Radio 4 controller" The Guardian , 15 July 2010, Retrieved 15 July 2010
  14. ↑ "Met Office Shipping Forecast key". Metoffice.gov.uk. 11 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  15. ↑ Rosenbaum, Ron (9 January 2009). "Nuclear apocalypse and the Letter of Last Resort". Slate Magazine. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  16. ↑ "Radio silence puts subs on nuclear alert" 28 November 2003 Manchester Evening News Retrieved 11 February 2018
  17. ↑ BBC Press Office. "The Today Programme". BBC. Archived from the original on 25 May 2006. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  18. 1 2 "BBC Radio Norfolk's 25th anniversary". BBC. 9 September 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  19. ↑ "Radio 4 Daily Schedule page". BBC. 8 February 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  20. ↑ "New era for Broadcasting House". BBC News. London. 31 October 2000. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  21. ↑ Hendy, David (2007). Life on Air: A History of Radio Four. Oxford University Press. pp. 78–79. ISBN   9780199248810.
  22. ↑ "Radio 4: Listen Again". BBC. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  23. ↑ "Radio 4 – Downloading and Podcasting". BBC. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  24. ↑ "Being a newsreader by Harriet Cass". BBC. 30 April 2008. Archived from the original on 28 June 2008. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  25. ↑ "List of BBC Radio newsreaders". BBC News. London. 11 July 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  26. ↑ "Cass and Green to leave Radio 4". Bbc.co.uk. 5 September 2012.
  27. ↑ "How to Listen". BBC. 11 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  28. ↑ "Radio transmitters Scotland FM transmitters" (PDF). BBC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  29. ↑ "Get Freeview Play". Freeview.co.uk.
  30. 1 2 "Free Channels on the Sky Digital Satellite Platform". Wickonline.com. Archived from the original on 5 April 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2010.
  31. ↑ Fisk, Tracy (6 February 2007). "Is Radio 4 alienating its core audience?" . The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  32. ↑ BBC report damns its ‘culture of bias’ – Times Online Archived 26 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  33. ↑ Leonard, Tom (27 October 2006). "The BBC's commitment to bias is no laughing matter" . The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  34. ↑ "Stephen Pollard: I don't want bias with my cornflakes — Commentators, Opinion". The Independent. London. 20 October 2003. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  35. ↑ Hasan, Mehdi (27 August 2009). "Bias and the Beeb". New Statesman. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
  36. ↑ Barnett, Emma (16 July 2013). "Another woman on Radio 4's Today programme? The BBC ain't joking" . The Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  37. ↑ Hendy, David (2007). Life on Air: A History of Radio Four. Oxford University Press. pp. 99–100. ISBN   9780199248810.
  38. ↑ Sherwood, Harriet (13 November 2018). "BBC faces renewed calls to open Thought for the Day to atheists". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  39. ↑ Davies, Gareth (2 October 2019). "Radio 4's Thought for the Day should be scrapped because it is discriminatory, says John Humphrys" . The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  40. ↑ "BBC once more rejects non-religious voices on Thought for the Day". National Secular Society. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  41. ↑ Midgley, Neil (8 February 2011). "BBC Radio 4 'too middle class and London-centric'" . The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  42. ↑ Mair, John (22 February 2008). "Am I bovvered that Radio 4 is too middle class? No!". The Guardian Organ Grinder Blog. Retrieved 4 January 2014.

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