Radio in the United Kingdom

Radio enjoys a large number of listeners in the United Kingdom. There are around 600 licensed radio stations in the country. For a more comprehensive list see List of radio stations in the United Kingdom.

BBC Radio

Main article: BBC Radio

The most prominent stations are the national networks operated by the BBC.

• BBC Radio 1 broadcasts mostly current pop music output on FM and digital radio, with live music throughout the year
• BBC Radio 2 is the United Kingdom's most listened-to radio station, featuring presenters such as Chris Evans and Terry Wogan, and playing popular music from the last five decades as well as special interest programmes in the evening
• BBC Radio 3 is a classical music station, broadcasting high-quality concerts and performances. At night, it transmits a wide range of jazz and world music
• BBC Radio 4 is a current affairs and speech station, with news, debate and radio drama. It broadcasts the daily radio soap The Archers, as well as flagship news programme Today
• BBC Radio 5 Live broadcasts live news and sports commentary with phone-in debates and studio guests

The introduction of digital radio technology led to the launch of several new BBC stations:

• BBC 1Xtra broadcasts rap, RnB and drum'n'bass
• BBC Radio 4 Extra broadcasts comedy, drama and shows which extend or supplement popular programmes on its sister station, Radio 4, including The Archers spin off Ambridge Extra and archived episodes of Desert Island Discs
• BBC 6 Music transmits predominantly alternative rock, with many live sessions
• BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra is a companion to Five Live for additional events coverage
• BBC Asian Network is aimed at the large South Asian community in the United Kingdom (also available on AM in some areas)

The BBC also provide 40 local radio services, mainly broadcasting a mix of local news and music aimed at an older audience.

Commercial radio

Also available nationally are three national commercial channels, namely Absolute Radio, Classic FM and talkSPORT. As with the BBC, digital radio has brought about many changes, including the roll-out of local stations such as Xfm, Kiss 100 and Kerrang Radio to other areas of the United Kingdom.

Commercial radio licences are awarded by Ofcom, a government body which advertises a licence for an area and holds a so-called beauty contest to determine which station will be granted permission to broadcast in that area. Stations submit detailed application documents containing their proposed format and the outcome of research to determine the demand for their particular style of broadcast. Original 106 (Aberdeen) was the last radio station to be granted a licence by Ofcom.

Most local commercial stations in the United Kingdom broadcast to a city or group of towns within a radius of 20–50 miles, with a second tier of regional stations covering larger areas such as North West England. The predominant format is pop music, but many other tastes are also catered for, particularly in London and the larger cities, and on digital radio.

Rather than operating as independent entities, many local radio stations are owned by large radio groups which broadcast a similar format to many areas. The largest operator of radio is Global Radio which bought the former media group, Gcap Media. It owns Classic FM and London's most popular commercial station, 95.8 Capital FM. Other owners are Bauer Radio and UTV Radio, which mainly own stations that broadcast in highly populated city areas.

Many of these stations, including all the BBC stations, are also available via digital television services.

Community radio

Community radio stations broadcast to a small area, normally within a 3-mile (5 km) radius, and are required by the Act to be not-for-profit organisations, owned by local people, on which the broadcasters are mostly volunteers. They are recognised under the Communications Act 2003 as a distinct third tier of radio in the United Kingdom. The community radio movement in the United Kingdom was founded in the mid-1970s, broadcasting through Restricted Service Licences, the internet and cable.

An Access Radio pilot scheme gave fifteen stations, including Resonance FM and ALL FM, five-year licences, and this has blossomed into a lively sector, overseen unofficially by the Community Media Association.

The broadcasters predominantly serve an easily defined racial community such as Asian Star FM in Slough, or a geographically defined community such as Speysound Radio & The Bay Radio. They can also serve religious groups, such as Christian radio station Branch FM in Yorkshire. As well as this, they can also be linked with universities and student unions who run the stations under a community licence, for example Demon FM in Leicester, Scratch Radio in Birmingham and Spark FM in Sunderland.

See also

• Digital radio in the United Kingdom
• Pirate radio in the United Kingdom
• Radio Academy