BBC Thames Valley FM

Last updated

BBC Thames Valley FM was the BBC Local Radio station covering the English counties of Oxfordshire and Berkshire, broadcasting between 1996 and 2000.

History

BBC Thames Valley FM began on 9 April 1996 following the merger of BBC Radio Oxford and BBC Radio Berkshire. [1] At launch the new station broadcast its own output from 5 am to 1 am seven days a week, although this was later cut back with the introduction of regional programming in the evenings. The initial presenter line-up included Andrew Peach and Phil Kennedy, Bob Harris on Sunday afternoons and Martin Kelner on Friday nights. There were separate news bulletins for the two counties.

In September 1998, a new jingle package composed by David Arnold was introduced and the 'FM' suffix was dropped from the station name. Shortly afterwards separate breakfast and drivetime programmes for Oxfordshire and Berkshire were introduced.

The merged station was not popular with listeners, and in August 1999, as part of the BBC South East Review, [2] it was announced that BBC Radio Oxford and BBC Radio Berkshire would regain their own identities. The two stations relaunched on 14 February 2000, although their programme schedules remained unchanged, most output continuing to be shared. However, by 2004 the two stations' schedules had become fully separated.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC London</span> BBC services in London

BBC London is the BBC English Region producing local radio, television, teletext and online services in London and parts of the surrounding area. Its output includes the daily BBC London news bulletin and weekly Sunday Politics on television, the BBC Radio London radio station and local coverage of the London area on BBC Online and BBC Red Button. The region's headquarters are situated in the new eastern extension of the BBC's Broadcasting House.

<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 Local Radio is the BBC's local and regional radio division for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of forty stations.

BBC Southern Counties Radio was the BBC Local Radio service for the English counties of Surrey and Sussex. The station also covered a large part of north-east Hampshire. It was the first BBC local radio station to introduce an all-speech format. It broadcast from studios in Brighton and Guildford on FM and AM, and on DAB on the NOW Sussex Coast multiplex.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC Radio Solent</span> BBC Local Radio service for Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight, England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heart Berkshire</span> Radio station in Reading

Heart Berkshire was an Independent Local Radio station, serving Berkshire and North Hampshire from studios in Reading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heart Kent</span> Radio station in Whitstable

Heart Kent was an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to Kent from studios at John Wilson Business Park in Whitstable.

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

Heart Oxfordshire was an Independent Local Radio station broadcasting to Oxfordshire on 102.6 MHz FM from the Oxford transmitting station and 97.4 MHz FM from a relay station at Farthinghoe, near Banbury.

The Oxford transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility, situated on land 129.5 metres (425 ft) above Ordnance Datum to the north east of the city of Oxford, in Oxfordshire, England. It has a guyed steel lattice mast which is 154.4 metres (507 ft) in height to the top of the main steel structure. The UHF television antenna, which consist of a vertical array of transmitting panels, is mounted above the steel structure. The total height of the mast to the top of this UHF antenna is 165.7 metres (544 ft). It is owned and operated by Arqiva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC North West</span> Region of the British Broadcasting Corporation

BBC North West is the BBC English Region serving Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Cumbria and the Isle of Man.

<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 Surrey</span> BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Surrey

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

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.

This is a list of events in British radio during 2000.

This is a list of events in British radio during 1996.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heart Thames Valley</span> Radio station in Reading

Heart Thames Valley was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Heart network. It broadcast to Berkshire, Oxfordshire, north Hampshire and parts of west Buckinghamshire from studios in Reading, southern England.

This is a timeline of BBC Local Radio.

<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. ↑ "The BBC Radio Oxford 40 year timeline". BBC News. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  2. ↑ "BBC News - BBC hopes for capital gains". 31 August 1999. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
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.