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Media in the United Kingdom - On the air -radio
UK people are tuning into the radio; 90 per cent of the
population regularly listen to the radioand this figure is steadily
growing.
Practically every UK home has a radio, and widespread ownership
of portable sets (includingpersonal stereos) and car radios means
people can listen all day - and right through the night.
In recent years, there has been a proliferation of local and
national radio stations, with a wide choice ofprogrammes on offer.
UK domestic radio services are broadcast principally across two
wavebands -FM (or VHP) and Medium Wave (often referred to as AM,
although that term also includes Long andShort Waves). With the
expansion in the number of services set to continue as a result of
digital and
internet-based platforms, radio is now the most competitive area
of the broadcasting marketplace.
BBC Network Radio
BBC Network Radio, broadcasting to the whole of the UK, serves
an audience of 31 million eachweek, transmitting 43,000 hours of
programmes each year on its five networks:
BBC Radio 1 is a leading contemporary music station (24 hours a
day), reaching over 50 per
cent of 15- to 24-year-olds. It plays top-selling, new and
specialist music, covers liveperformances, and broadcasts music
documentaries and news programmes. In the periodApril-June 2001,
the network attracted 11.25 million listeners a week over the age
of 15;
BBC Radio 2 is a round-the-clock music and speech station that
has broadened its output in
recent years to attract younger audiences. As a result, it is
now the most listened to radiostation in the UK, reaching 11.7
million listeners a week who, on average, stay with Radio 2 for13
hours a week. In addition to a staple diet of folk, country, gospel
and rhythm & blues, thenetwork now airs pop, reggae and punk
music;
BBC Radio 3 offers a wide repertoire of classical music and
jazz. Like Radio 2, it has
broadened its appeal, adding a programme called Late Junction
thatoffers an esoteric rangeof music not traditionally associated
with the network. More than half of the network's musicaloutput is
performed live or is specially recorded. This is complemented by
drama,documentaries, discussion and children's programmes to make
up a 24 hours a day servicelistened to by 2 million people each
week;
BBC Radio 4's schedule (broadcast with some differences on FM
and Long Wave) has
undergone the most radical changes of all the BBC's national
networks in the pursuit of largeraudiences - and now attracts a
total of 9.2 million listeners a week. Nevertheless, it hasretained
its commitment to news and current affairs, complemented by drama,
comedy,science, the arts, religion, natural history, medicine,
finance and gardening. In 2001, Radio 4devoted an entire day to the
reading of JK Rowling's Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone- a
scheduling decision that attracted 3.4 million listeners, of which
1.5 million were children.Radio 4 also carries a range of
programming, including its popular Test Match cricketcoverage on
the LW frequency;
Radio 5 Live has been in existence since 1994. It has news and
sports coverage 24 hours a
day, and reaches 5.4 million listeners a week. It broadcasts
live English Premier Leaguefootball and Formula One motor racing as
well as hard-hitting journalism on serious topicalissues such as
homelessness and race.
Radio usage over the internet is proving to be a popular
service. The BBC's five network websites
attract over 24 million visits a month. All of them offer live
streaming, webcams, and a catch-up servicefor people who miss
programmes.
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BBC Regional and Local Radio
There are 39 BBC Local Radio services serving England and the
Channel Islands, and nationalregional radio services in Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland, including Welsh and Gaelic
languagestations.
The national regions provide radio services on Radio Wales,
Radio Cymru (the Welsh languageservice), Radio Scotland and Radio
Ulster. Radio Nan Caidheal is a Gaelic language service inScotland.
English local radio transmitted 200,000-250,000 hours of programmes
in 2000-01, with aweekly audience of about 8 million.
BBC Local Radio - predominantly speech rather than music-based -
supplies a comprehensive serviceof local news and information
(including frequent traffic reports and details of local events),
sport,documentaries and phone-ins. Some local stations, like BBC
GLR in London, transmit programmesspecifically for Afro-Caribbean
or Asian listeners.
In November 1996, the BBC launched the Asian Network: the first
full-time BBC domestic servicespecifically dedicated to minority
ethnic listeners. The Asian Network started life as a Midlands
service
in 1996, but is now offered in Yorkshire, Lancashire and
Derbyshire as well as via digital satellite andthe internet. The
service offers news, features, music, entertainment, religious and
culturalprogramming for people of Asian background. The BBC is
proposing to develop it as a nationwidedigital radio service.
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service broadcasts by radio in 43 languages
(including English) worldwide. Ithas a global weekly audience of
over 150 million listeners - bigger than any other
internationalradio broadcaster- and this excludes an estimate for
listeners in countries where it is difficult tosurvey audiences. In
addition, the BBC's investment in the internet means that the World
Servicewebsite now gets over 100 million page impressions a
month.
The World Service's core programming of news, current affairs,
business and sport is complementedby a range of cultural
programmes, including drama, literature and music. The relationship
betweenthe BBC and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) is
governed by a Broadcasting Agreementand Financial Memorandum, which
requires a regular cycle of business meetings. These
encompassdiscussions about languages, audiences and priorities. The
BBC has sole editorial control.
