BBC Radio Solent

Last updated

BBC Radio Solent
Broadcast area Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight
Frequency FM: 96.1 MHz (Hampshire, Isle of Wight and East Dorset)
FM: 103.8 MHz (Central and West Dorset)
DAB: 11B (Bournemouth)
DAB: 11C (South Hampshire)
Freeview: 714 (Hampshire)
Freeview: 715 (Dorset)
RDS BBC SLNT
Programming
Language(s) English
Format Local news, talk and music
Ownership
Owner BBC Local Radio,
BBC South,
BBC South West
History
First air date
31 December 1970
Former frequencies
999 MW
1359 MW
Technical information
Licensing authority
 Ofcom
Links
Website www.bbc.co.uk/radiosolent/ OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

BBC Radio Solent is the BBC's local radio station serving Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight, broadcasting on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Havelock Road in Southampton.

Contents

According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 204,000 listeners and a 4.2% share as of September 2023. [1]

History

The station began broadcasting on 31 December 1970. It is named after the Solent, the area of sea between Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.

In 1996, Radio Solent expanded its coverage into West Dorset and South Dorset by taking over neighbouring BBC Dorset FM, which was formerly an opt-out of BBC Radio Devon.

In 2013, a new programme specifically for Dorset listeners on 103.8 FM was launched under the name Breakfast in Dorset, after campaigns for a more locally focused service. The programme is presented by Steve Harris from a studio complex in Dorchester and also broadcasts county-wide on DAB.

Technical

Former presenter Nick Girdler in an original BBC Radio Solent studio in Southampton Nickinhisstudio.jpg
Former presenter Nick Girdler in an original BBC Radio Solent studio in Southampton

The service is broadcast on 96.1 FM for Hampshire, the Isle of Wight and eastern Dorset from Rowridge transmitting station on the Isle of Wight; and on 103.8 FM for western Dorset from Bincombe Hill transmitter. Since 2003, the station has also been broadcast on DAB Digital Radio from the NOW South Hampshire and NOW Bournemouth networks from thirteen transmitters between them. [2] [3] [4]

The station also broadcasts on Freeview TV channels 714 (Hampshire / Isle of Wight) and 715 (Dorset) in the BBC South region, and streams online via BBC Sounds.

From launch until 2020, [5] BBC Radio Solent broadcast on medium wave, with the main AM transmitter on 999 kHz from Fareham covering most of the coverage area and a secondary transmitter covering Bournemouth and Poole on 1359 kHz from Fern Barrow, Bournemouth. [4]

North and north-east Hampshire

The signal for Hampshire on 96.1 FM from Rowridge on the Isle of Wight is weaker north of Winchester than the transmissions from other BBC Local Radio stations, so that the north Hampshire towns of Basingstoke and Andover are officially served by BBC Radio Berkshire, [6] while towns such as Aldershot, Farnborough and Fleet in the north-east of the county are served by BBC Radio Surrey.

Programming

As of 2023, local programming was produced and broadcast from the BBC's Southampton studios from 6 am to 6 pm each Monday to Friday and for sports coverage. Full speech content is required during the breakfast peak of 7 am to 8.30 am. [7] The station must also provide at least 95 hours of locally-made programming per week, that provides news, information and content relevant to the areas and communities it serves. [8]

On weekdays, the station's 6 am to 10 am breakfast show, 10 am to 2 pm morning show and 2 pm to 6 pm afternoon show are broadcast solely to the station's broadcast area. [9]

The station's Saturday and Sunday afternoon show is occupied by sports coverage under the BBC Radio Solent Sport banner. The Saturday evening 8 pm to 10 pm slot is occupied by the BBC Music Introducing programme [10] which features music from new and up and coming artists from the local area. [11] The show helped discover and launch the careers of Wet Leg [12] and has featured artists such as Natives [13] and Echotape.

During the station's downtime, BBC Radio Solent simulcasts overnight programming from BBC Radio 5 Live between 1 am and 6am

Presenters

Notable past presenters

Related Research Articles

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

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

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

BBC Radio Berkshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Berkshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds. It has studios at Thames Valley Park near Reading.

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, north Derbyshire and North Nottinghamshire.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Hereford & Worcester</span> BBC Local Radio service for Herefordshire and Worcestershire, England

BBC Hereford & Worcester is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire, which were one county from 1974 to 1998.

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

BBC Radio Stoke is the BBC's local radio station serving Staffordshire and South Cheshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capital South Coast</span> English radio station

Capital South Coast was a regional radio station owned by operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital radio network. It broadcast to Hampshire from studios in Segensworth, Fareham. In 2019, Capital South Coast was replaced by Capital South following a merger with Capital Brighton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold (British radio network)</span> United Kingdom oldies radio network

Gold Radio is a network of oldies radio stations in the United Kingdom, which was formed by the merger of the Capital Gold network and the Classic Gold network in August 2007. The station relaunched in March 2014 as a partly-automated service, broadcasting in fewer areas, after many of Gold's local AM/DAB frequencies were transferred to Smooth Radio. Most programming is broadcast from the Global Radio studios in Leicester Square, London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wave 105</span> Radio station in Fareham

Wave 105 was a regional radio station based in Fareham, England, owned and operated by Bauer. It broadcast to South Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, West Sussex, Wiltshire, and Dorset.

<i>BBC South Today</i> British TV news programme (since 1961)

BBC South Today is the BBC's regional television news service for the south of England, covering Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, West Sussex, much of Dorset and parts of Surrey and Wiltshire. The service is produced and broadcast from the BBC South's Broadcasting House on Havelock Road in Southampton with district newsrooms based in Brighton, Dorchester, Guildford, Oxford, Reading, and Swindon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rowridge transmitting station</span> Telecommunications transmission site on the Isle of Wight, England

The Rowridge transmitting station is a facility for FM radio and television transmission at Rowridge on the Isle of Wight in southern England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC South</span>

BBC South is the BBC English Region serving Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset, West Sussex, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and parts of Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Surrey, and Wiltshire, with geographic coverage varying between digital, television and radio services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Sussex</span> BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Sussex

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Surrey</span> BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Surrey

BBC Radio Surrey is the BBC's local radio station serving Surrey and north-east Hampshire.

BBC Dorset FM was a BBC Local Radio station based in Dorchester, covering the county of Dorset in England which broadcast from 1993 to 1996. It was the last BBC Local Radio station to launch which covered a previously unserved area. It operated as an opt-out station from BBC Radio Devon for around 23 hours a week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heart Dorset & New Forest</span> Former British radio station

Heart Dorset was a British Independent Local Radio station, broadcast from studios at a former branch of MFI on Southcote Road in Bournemouth. Its original name was derived from the fact that its broadcast area included parts of the counties of Dorset and Hampshire. The station was merged with Heart Hampshire in July 2010 to form the regional station Heart South Coast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole</span> Unitary authority area in Dorset, England

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. The district was created on 1 April 2019 by the merger of the areas that were previously administered by the unitary authorities of Bournemouth and Poole, and the non-metropolitan district of Christchurch. The authority covers much of the area of the South Dorset conurbation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heart South</span> British radio station

Heart South is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to the south and south east of England from studios in Fareham, Hampshire.

References

  1. ↑ "RAJAR". RAJAR. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  2. ↑ "Now Digital South Hampshire DAB Multiplex". radiodns.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  3. ↑ "Now Digital Bournemouth DAB Multiplex". radiodns.uk. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  4. 1 2 "BBC Radio Solent Station Information". BBC Dorset. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  5. ↑ "BBC Radio to close more medium wave transmitters". 14 January 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  6. ↑ "BBC Radio Berkshire - BBC Radio Berkshire, Baby beavers welcomed to Basingstoke estate". BBC. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  7. ↑ "Operating licence for the BBC's UK Public Services" (PDF). Ofcom. 13 October 2017. p. 31. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  8. ↑ "Operating licence for the BBC's UK Public Services" (PDF). Ofcom. 13 October 2017. p. 32. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  9. ↑ "BBC Sounds - Radio Solent - Schedules". BBC. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  10. ↑ "Radio Solent Schedule". BBC Sounds. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  11. ↑ "New BBC Introducing show for Solent's musical talent". Southern Daily Echo. Newsquest Media Group. 25 July 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  12. ↑ "Sound Of 2022: Meet the Introducing Artists on the Longlist". BBC Music Introducing. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  13. ↑ "Natives – Interview at BBC Introducing: Solent". British Broadcasting Corporation. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  14. ↑ Yandell, Chris (20 August 2012), "Listener petition to save the Roger Day show on BBC Radio Solent", Southern Daily Echo. Retrieved 27 January 2018

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.