 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | United Kingdom |
| Frequency |
|
| Programming | |
| Format | Rolling news |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Global |
| LBC | |
| History | |
First air date | 5 October 1994 |
Former names | LBC News 1152 (2002–2015) LBC London News (2015–2019) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Global Player |
| Website | www |
LBC News is a rolling news radio station based in the United Kingdom. It broadcasts in Greater London on AM and UK wide on DAB and online.
The 1152 AM frequency in London has a complicated history of format and ownership. Continuous news radio in London dates from the early 1990s. In September 1993, London News Radio was awarded the AM and FM licences previously held by LBC. They proposed a continuous news service on FM and a news/talk format on AM.
By the time the licence was due to start in October 1994, London News Radio had been through several upheavals, first acquiring LBC and then itself being bought up by Reuters. At launch on 5 October 1994, the company was known as London Radio Services and it operated London News 97.3FM and London News Talk 1152AM. London News initially operated on a 20-minute wheel. The first presenters on air were Michael Wilson and Clare Catford. The morning sequence was presented by LBC veteran Jonathan Staples with Nicky Broyd the afternoon presenter. Drivetime was in the hands of Christopher Terry and Brenda Ellison. John Terrett was the evening host.
By spring 1995, the rolling news format gave way to a more traditional schedule of news sequences and magazine programmes. The station name was shortened to News 97.3 in the summer. In 1996, Reuters sold London Radio Services to the newly formed London News Radio (unrelated to the previous LNR company), in which ITN, DMGT, Reuters and GWR Group held equal shares. In summer 1996, the station reverted to a rolling news format, initially with no name (the station was branded as 97.3FM). In the autumn, following a move to ITN's headquarters, the station was relaunched as News Direct 97.3FM and Chris Mann was appointed editor.
In 2000 the station was renamed ITN News Direct 97.3FM. In late 2002, following the sale of the station to Chrysalis Radio, the station dropped the ITN prefix and returned to its previous name until the rebrand as LBC News 1152. During Christmas and New Year 2002/03 an LBC News-branded rolling news service was carried on both 97.3FM and 1152AM prior to the full launches of LBC 97.3 and LBC News 1152, swapping the frequencies of the news and talk stations.
In Spring 2007, it was announced that the station would be replaced by Sky News Radio. [1] This move came alongside Channel 4's 4 Digital Group second DAB multiplex bid. On 18 October 2007, the station's new owners Global Radio announced that they and Sky had scrapped a joint venture to turn LBC News 1152 into a 24-hour Sky News branded station. [2]
In Summer 2008, the 1152 service was substantially cut back. The overnight automated service was abandoned and replaced with a simulcast of LBC 97.3. The daytime service became semi-automated, with much greater reliance on recorded audio from LBC's FM talk station and Sky News. LBC's five-and-a-half-year relationship with business news provider Bloomberg was also abandoned in favour of business updates from CNBC. On 15 November 2010, LBC News 1152 was added to the Sky and Virgin Media EPGs, with the station using channel slots formerly occupied by Galaxy Yorkshire. [3] This came six weeks ahead of Galaxy's rebranding to Capital FM.
In January and February 2012, the station reverted to live presentation throughout the day with a format of headlines every 15 minutes. For the previous four years parts of the daytime schedule had been automated.
In January 2015, LBC News 1152 changed its name to LBC London News and moved to a 20-minute wheel of news, with headlines at :00, :20 and :40 minutes past each hour, and key presenters including Jim Diamond on breakfast and Chris Golds on drivetime.[ citation needed ]
On 28 October 2019, LBC London News changed name to LBC News. As well as remaining on 1152AM in the London area it is also available on DAB+ via the D1 multiplex nationwide using the space vacated by Radio X switching to DAB+. It has reverted to a 24-hour station dropping its simulcast of LBC but otherwise keeping the same format of 20 minute bulletins but with a UK wide focus.
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From 28 October 2019, LBC News has broadcast 24 hours a day having previously simulcasted LBC during the evening and overnight – however programming is automated between 11pm and 6am.
90-second news bulletins are updated hourly through the night from "Global's Newsroom" which provides news to all Global stations.
Following the decision by BBC Radio 5 Live to drop the reading of the classified football results from the start of the 2022-23 season, the station broadcasts the IRN network classified results read by Colin Besley live every Saturday afternoon at 17:10.
The station's suppliers include Sky News Radio and INRIX Media.
In Q3 2019, LBC London News had a record reach of 612,000 listeners every week, who listen for around 5.3 hours a week. Since Q1 2006, the station has shown consistent growth in terms of people listening, and roughly static total hours. [4]
As of December 2023, LBC News and LBC London News broadcast to a combined weekly audience of 1.2 million, according to RAJAR. [5]
Capital London is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. Its brief was to entertain, while its opposite number, London Broadcasting (LBC), was licensed to provide news and information. In search of a larger audience in 1974, Capital Radio rapidly moved from a general and entertainment station with drama, features, documentaries and light music to a more successful pop music-based format.
LBC is a British phone-in and talk radio station owned and operated by Global and based in its headquarters in London. It was the UK's first licensed commercial radio station, and began to broadcast on Monday 8 October 1973, a week ahead of Capital Radio.
Heart West Midlands is a regional radio station owned and operated by Global as part of the Heart network. It broadcasts to the West Midlands from studios in Birmingham.
Capital XTRA is a Global-owned radio station that broadcasts on 96.9 FM and 107.1 FM in Greater London. Nationally, it is heard on DAB Digital Radio, Freesat, Sky, Virgin Media and Global Player. It specialises in hip hop, grime and R&B music, and is a commercial competitor to BBC Radio 1Xtra.
MFR is an Independent Local Radio station based in Inverness, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to Moray and the Inverness area. Previously, it broadcast to the Scottish Highlands and South West Aberdeenshire, but this ceased on 11th December 2023 when the 1107 kHZ AM transmitter at Tarbet Ness was switched off.
Greatest Hits Radio Manchester & The North West is an Independent Local Radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Greatest Hits Radio Network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester and North West England.
Radio X is a British national commercial radio station focused on alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global. The station launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station named Q102, before being renamed Xfm in 1992. The station became a legally licensed London-wide station in 1997, and in 2015 began national broadcasting under the name Radio X.
Smooth Chill is a British digital radio station dedicated to chill out, ambient and trip hop music. On 3 September 2019, Chill was rebranded as Smooth Chill to align it with the Smooth Radio brand. It is owned and operated by Global.
Easy Radio is an Independent Local Radio station that broadcasts to the Swansea Bay area. It is owned and operated by Nation Broadcasting and broadcasts on 102.1 FM and DAB from studios near the St Hilary transmitter in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Galaxy Digital was a radio station broadcasting through the digital platform across the United Kingdom and was owned by Global Radio. It primarily broadcast in areas where Galaxy was not represented on FM, such as London, Leicester, Nottingham, and Derbyshire. It also formerly broadcast in Central Scotland, until the relaunch of Xfm Scotland as Galaxy Scotland, at which point Galaxy Digital on DAB was replaced with a relay of Xfm London.
Global Media & Entertainment Limited, trading as Global, is a British media company formed in 2007. It is the owner of the largest commercial radio company in Europe having expanded through a number of historical acquisitions, including Chrysalis Radio, GCap Media and GMG Radio. Global owns and operates seven core radio brands, all employing a national network strategy, including Capital, Heart, Gold, Classic FM, Smooth and LBC.
Original 106 is an Independent Local Radio station owned by DC Thomson and broadcasting to Aberdeenshire and the cities of Aberdeen, Dundee and Perth in Scotland.
Hits Radio Manchester is an Independent Local Radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Greater Manchester.
Capital Scotland is a regional radio station owned by Communicorp UK and operated by Global. It broadcasts to Scotland's Central Belt, an area surrounding the two cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Capital Yorkshire is a regional radio station owned by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcasts to South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire from studios in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.
Galaxy was a radio network owned by Global Radio and broadcast across the British Isles on FM in regional areas of England and Scotland, through the digital platform with Sky and DAB and online respectively. Stations included stations: Galaxy Birmingham, Galaxy Manchester, Galaxy North East, Galaxy Scotland, Galaxy South Coast and Galaxy Yorkshire. Programming was networked throughout the stations from Leeds – excluding weekday breakfast/drivetime and weekend mornings. On Monday 28 April 2008, Galaxy was rebranded as a mainstream station by Creative Spark, with a brand new layout including a fresh logo and a completely new show schedule.
This is a list of events in British radio during 2003.
Capital is a network of twelve independent contemporary hit radio stations in the United Kingdom, broadcasting a mix of local and networked programming. Ten of the stations are owned and operated by Global Media & Entertainment, while the other two are owned and operated under separate franchise agreements.
This is a timeline of the development of radio in London.
