BBC local and regional radio in 1992
The Radio Authority advertised many new local radio licences during the 1990's filling most of the remaining gaps in coverage.
Relax - It's Classic FM
Classic FM which launched on September 7th 1992 under the stewardship of Michael Bukht (TV Chef Michael Barry) who had previously brought great success to Capital Radio. Classic FM enjoyed immediate success, providing listeners with a quality programme of 'accessible' classical and orchestral music and a comprehensive news service
The Richard Branson / TVam collaboration - Independent Music Radio commenced programmes on 30th April 1993 on the old BBC Radio Three frequency with a service of Rock orientated music with the on air name Virgin 1215.
Former Radio One DJ Richard Skinner was Director of Music and music expert Tommy Vance was also heavily involved.
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The programming was popular amongst rock fans, but the niche marketing and the shackles of a music station being tied to AM only, ensured that the organisation was not the financial success a national music station could have been. The music policy was gradually fine tuned to become more mainstream, and the station has since changed hands; first to DJ Chris Evans and then to Scottish Media Group plc. With an FM stereo transmitter for London and new digital broadcasting technologies Virgin Radio began to find its place in the crowded radio market.
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TALK RADIO UK started programmes on 14th February 1995. Talk Radio UK had a bad launch, employing 'shock jocks' such as Caesar The Geezer, which prompted many complaints. Adjustments to the schedule were soon made and as the programming settled down the station produced many good talk programmes which could be both informative and amusing. The format was dominated by 'phone-ins' with presenters including Simon Bates, Sean Bolger, Anna Reaburn, Mike Allen, Paul Ross, Nick Abott (& Carol McGiffin), James Whale and Mike Dickin.
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Although enjoyable, TALK RADIO, as it became known, could never match the substantial output of BBC Radio Five and could never make the necessary profits and was eventually taken over, in 1999, by The Wireless Group, with backing from Rupert Murdoch's News International and re-launched as TalkSPORT with former newspaper editor Kelvin Mackenzie at the helm.
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For further expansion of the radio market to take place a new broadcasting band and a new technology would have to be introduced. The BBC had been working on digital radio. The DAB radio technology could squeeze in, perhaps, up to a block of ten radio stations into a space on the band that one single analogue FM station might have previously occupied.
The Broadcasting Act of 1996 provided for the expansion of digital broadcasting allowing for the introduction of both DAB (digital radio) and Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) which would allow the BBC and Independent Television to transmit a multitude of digital television channels. The first commercial contractor ON-DIGITAL/ITV DIGITAL offered a pay-to-view service which failed, being unable to compete with the well established SKY-TV that could offer many more pay channels via satellite. The ITC was quick to find a replacement for ITV Digital and in 2002 licensed FREEVIEW, a consortium of BBC, SKY and Crown Castle, to provide a range of free channels, including many radio stations such as the new BBC digital only stations including BBC THREE, BBC FOUR, CBBC, BBC NEWS 24 etc. ITV2, ITV3 and perfect reception of the fifth terrestrial TV channel - FIVE TV.
DAB - Digital Audio Broadcasting
As for digital radio (DAB) , the BBC was allocated one nationwide multiplex to allow coverage of all the existing and some new national radio stations across the UK. The BBC was initially committed to providing 60% coverage of the UK with DAB by 1998.
DAB was a classic chicken and egg situation, why should the BBC provide this enormous investment in a new network of transmitters if there was nobody listening, but without the network why would any manufacturer produce a DAB radio or, indeed, any listener buy it? From some years there was virtually no-one listening as the DAB receivers that initially became available were prohibitively expensive, costing around £2000. New DAB radios have been arriving from various manufacturers since 2002 and sales have been steadily rising during 2003.
DAB is not perfect, because the stations have to be digitally compressed (squashed) into the multiplexes, therefore in general the sound quality isn't actually anywhere near as good as a decent FM station: The more stations that are shoe-horned into a multiplex, the more the sound quality is degraded.
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The BBC launched the first new music station for over 30 years in March 2002 with specialist music station 6music, available via DAB and Freeview together with Digital satellite. The other new BBC radio station launched is 2002 was BBC7, a mix of the best drama and comedy shows, the BBC Asian Network is also available nationally via DAB as is Five Live Sports Xtra and 1Xtra.
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MORE ABOUT THE MASTS and FREQUENCIES
In June 2004 the UK business interests of Crown Castle, which transmits analogue and digital television and radio, were sold for £1.1 billion to the energy group National Grid Transco. Gridcom was keen to be involved with the further development of the 'Freeview' digital TV and Radio platform, which was a joint venture between Crown Castle, The BBC, and Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB Television. The company also took control of the 750 television masts and towers, together with 3500 mobile 'phone masts adding to it's own portfolio of 1400 sites.
2006 - The BBC's Charter Renewal
The BBC's current ten year charter was renewed in 2006 despite politicians of all colours seeming to be determined to trim down the size of the corporation. There were arguments for reducing revenue from the licence fee and even scrapping the licence fee altogether. Revenues were just over £2bn per annum and there seemed to be a political will to reduce annual revenues by at least £500 million and maybe by as much as £1000 million.
In the end the BBC was forced to rationalise and reduce certain activities, such as reducing the scope and content of its online website to save money and reduce the competition with commercially funded websites. Additionally £130 million per annum was witheld from the BBC in order the assist the funding of the forthcoming Digital Switch Over program, whereby all analogue television transmitters (BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel Five) would have to be switched off by 2012 and replaced with a new network of Digital Terrestrial Transmitters.
2005 and beyond brought further consolidation of the big radio groups into enormous radio groups. The Capital Radio Group and GWR had already merged and this brought more bad news for local output. The BBC had plans to expand some of its Local Radio services, with new stations for the North West, Somerset and Warwickshire, however lack of funds curtailed this excercise, with only the new (reinstated) service for Coventry and Warwickshire coming to fruition.
The UK, and indeed the world, is now beginning to see the shape of things to come as far as radio and the media in general is concerned.
2011
Capital FM's new computer driven London studios - December 2010
http://www.capitalfm.com
2012
GMG Radio (Guardian Media) announce a 33% cutback of its 39 strong news staff at its Smooth Radio and Real Radio stations.
In June 2012 Smooth Radio is sold, along with its sister station Real Radio.
90 YEARS OF BBC RADIO BROADCASTING 1922 to 2012 - "Radio Reunited"
On November 14th 2012, in celebration of 90 years of broadcasting, BBC radio transmitted a 'simulcast' across every radio network: BBC Radios One, Two, Three, Four, Five Live, Six Music, 1Xtra, Four Extra, Cymru, Wales, Scotland, Nan Gaidheal, Ulster, Foyle, World Service and all BBC local stations from Berkshire to York all joined together for four minutes. The item chosen for this unique and historic undertaking event was a specially commissioned composition by the very likeable Damon Albarn, front man of the group Blur, entitled Radio Reunited.
I awaited this special feature with enthusiastic anticipation. It was introduced by Simon Mayo of BBC Radio Two from the Science Museum in London, standing next to the original transmitter of 2LO.
While the three minute composition included a few references to the BBC's ninety years such as the original London radio station 2LO, the Greenwich Time Signal and some specially collected recordings.
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