| British Radio |
There are various ways to receive British radio services, through traditonal analogue radio on FM, MW, LW ans SW, on DAB in most areas of the UK, on Freeview which has a limited number of radio stations, Online and via digital satellite through Sky, Freesat or by using any digital satellite receiver.
In contrast to many television channels, the vast majority of radio station broadcast free-to-air (FTA). |
| |
| BBC Radio |
The BBC today runs ten national domestic radio stations, five of which are only available in a digital format: via DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting – i.e. Digital Radio), the Internet or the different forms of Digital Television in the UK.
The BBC also runs regional radio stations throughout the UK, for example BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Devon. These stations focus on regional issues to a greater extent than their national counterparts.
The BBC radio services began in 1922 with the British Broadcasting Company, Ltd., which was licensed under pressure to provide a radio service for the British public. |
|
| It was licensed by the British Government through its General Post Office which had original control of the airwaves because they had been interpreted under law as an extension of the Post Office services. Today radio broadcasting still makes up a large part of the corporation's output and this is still reflected in the title of the BBC's listings magazine called Radio Times. |
| To read more about BBC Radio, click HERE. |
| |
| Commercial Radio |
There are 3 national commercial stations (Classic FM, TalkSPORT and Virgin 1215) and 1 national digital multiplex carrying 8 radio services.
In addition there are over 270 independent local radio (ILR) analogue services and 46 local digital multiplexes carrying over 200 radio services.
There are around 120 Radio Licensable Content Service Licences in issue, and more than 120 long-term restricted services. There are also around 70 Local Digital Sound Programme and 11 National Digital Sound Programme licences in issue; and over 4,600 short-term Restricted Service Licenses (RSLs). For more information go to Ofcom's website.
To read more about Commercial Radio in the U.K., click HERE. |
|
| |
| DAB Radio |
DAB stands for Digital Audio Broadcasting and is a method for the digital transmission of radio signals. DAB is the transmission technology of the future and will replace FM radio in the medium to long term.
The DAB method was developed in Europe within the framework of EUREKA project 147 and is currently being introduced in a large number of countries. The country with the widest availability of DAB is the UK.
National DAB digital radio networks already cover most major towns and hundreds of miles of motorways and major roads.
Digital One's national network of transmitters already already covers more than 90% of the population, and the BBC are expanding coverage of their national network to achieve a similar figure.
On DAB digital radio you can listen to national commercial stations, BBC national stations and to many local stations.
The UK currently has the world's biggest digital radio network, with 103 transmitters, with two national DAB ensembles and forty eight local and regional DAB ensembles broadcasting over 250 commercial and 34 BBC radio stations across the UK.
|
|
| To read more about DAB Radio in the U.K., click HERE. |
| BBC DAB Radio Information on DAB services from the BBC. |
| Digital One The company that operates the largest DAB digital radio network in the world. |
| UK DAB Info Information and advice on DAB in the UK. |
| |
| Freeview Radio |
Freeview offers a wide selection of stations including Smooth FM, Heat, Magic, Mojo, talkSport, Premier Radio and more. In all, there are over 20 radio channels in addition to the 30 or more free TV channels already available.
Among the list of stations include the BBC services - BBC Five Live Sports Extra, BBC 6 Music, 1Xtra, BBC Asian Network, BBC 7 and the BBC World Service. There are also a number of BBC regional variations available. |
| To read more about Freeview Radio, click HERE. |
| |
| Radio on Digital Satellite |
You can receive a vast number of digital radio stations via the Sky Digital satellite platform.
Digital Satellite radio (DSat) is completely different from standard DAB digital radio, however it offers a wider choice in stations.
It includes regional channels that broadcast on digital satellite as well as standard AM/FM radio.
These include BBC Scotland, BBC Wales, BBC Asian Network, BBC Radio Cymru, YouthFM, Cross Rhythm, Heart FM and many more.
Most radio services are broadcast on Astra 2A, Astra 2B and Eurobird 1, making reception in most areas of Europe quite easy, very few broadcast on the Astra 2D satellite, which has a very limited coverage area (footprint).
For Sky Digital Radio listings, click HERE. |
|
| For information about the radio servicves available on Freesat, see the main Freesat page HERE. |
|
|