Marconi Radio Broadcasting in the UK began in 1920 with Marconi's experimental station 2MT located in Writtle, Essex. Guglielmo Marconi brought together his own research together with the work of scientists, being particularly inspired by the work of Heinrich
Hertz, but bringing together the work of others such as Augusto Righi, Michael Faraday,
James Clerk Maxwell, Nikola Tesla, David Hughes, Sir Oliver Lodge and Alexanda Popov to produce commercially viable wireless communication systems.
Michael Faraday worked on many electromagnetic theories from around
1831 to 1857. James Clerk Maxwell had mathematically predicted that radio waves existed in 1864 and it was Heinrich Hertz who produced the first manmade radio waves using a 'Spark-Gap' transmitter between 1885 and 1889.
Nikola Tesla developed many complex electromagnetic principles while it was
David Hughes who invented the microphone in 1880. In 1894 Sir Oliver Lodge perfected a radio wave detector called a Coherer.
Marconi was born on April 25th 1874 and was brought up in England and Italy. He attended scientific lectures given by Augusto Righi and did much work on the development of radio. By 1895
Marconi had made experimental transmissions using 'Hertzian Waves'.
After much development work Marconi made the first radio transmission across the Atlantic from
Poldhu, Cornwall to Signal Hill, St Johns,
Newfoundland, Canada in December 1901.
Marconi is often credited with the invention of
Marconi pictured in 1896 with an early Spark Gap transmitter and receiver that could send and receive Morse radio, but perhaps he should be credited with the bringing together of many other scientists work to evolve a workable wireless communication
Code. (GEC Marconi) system.
However even this statement can be challenged, since it is probable that the Russian scientist
Alexander Stepanovitch Popov actually stole the lead over Marconi's work.

Marconi set up an experimental transmitting station at Poldhu
Point, Cornwall. Here he built very large aerial systems that would be required to send his signal as far as possible - the aim was to send his radio signals across the Atlantic - the great "Atlantic Leap".
The 12th December 1901 marked Marconi's very first trans-
Atlantic transmission, the letter S in Morse Code was sent from his station on the cliff at Poldhu. This radio signal was received by
Marconi at Signal Hill in Newfoundland, using a large antenna about 600 feet long suspended from a kite. Marconi's work was a tremendous achievement and over the next few years Marconi's wireless telegraphy sets, which used Morse Code, were fitted to many to ocean going ships so that they could communicate with wireless telegraphy stations on the mainland.
Machrihanish Radio Station and Reginald Aubrey Fessenden: In
December 1905 and unrelated to Marconi's experiments, the
Machrihanish Radio Station was built on the Kintyre peninsula,
Scotland. Funded by the National Electric Signalling Company of
Washington and along with another station at Brant Rock,
Massachusetts, USA (shown right) was used for experimental trans-Atlantic radio transmissions conducted by the Canadian inventor, Reginald Aubrey Fessenden.
Since 1900, Fessenden had also been experimenting with voice transmissions, rather than CW and Morse Code radio telegraphy.
Although not corroborated, it is reported that Fessenden managed to transmit the first sound (voice) broadcast from the station at Brant Rock on December 24th 1906. The transmission being received by a number of ships on the Atlantic Ocean a few hundred miles away which had been equipped with Fessenden's experimental radio demodulator.
The Sinking Of The Titanic: Returning to continuous wave spark gap transmitters;
Marconi's wireless telegraphy system saved the lives of over 700 passengers aboard the Titanic which sank in April
1912. The distress calls were sent out to near-by shipping using the Marconi apparatus and were received by the
Carpathia which was to effect a rescue. Marconi's work was widely credited for saving the lives of hundreds of people. The military also found a use for

the wireless equipment which was used during the First World War.
2MT Writtle (Near Chelmsford, Essex)
It was the invention of the Thermionic
Valve, by Flemming and De Forest, in 1906 that allowed Marconi to eventually produce a reliable 'Carrier Wave' that could be
'modulated' so that voice and music could be transmitted, rather than the spark-gap transmitters that had been used to produce the dots and dashes used by the Morse
Code signals. This new method of modulating the carrier wave enabled
Marconi to transmit speech and music from his experimental station 2MT in 1920. The station was initially allowed to transmit its test transmissions for only half an hour a week. A very early Marconi transmitter at the 2MT station in Writtle, Essex .
Dame Nellie Melba made one of the first broadcasts from 2MT at 7.10 pm on 15th June 1920. Consisting of a concert of opera music to entertain the listeners, the broadcast opened with a recital of Home Sweet
Home and finishing with the national anthem. Those early wireless listeners heard the broadcasts from
Chelmsford to Paris, Madrid and Berlin.
Two years later, on 14th February 1922, 2MT in Writtle would commence broadcast daily half hour programmes of news and entertainment which lasted for a period of nearly three years. Listeners could tune in using crystal sets , the simplest form of radio receiver that required no external power or batteries. All that powers the headphones of a crystal set is the energy collected from its aerial which is derived from the radio waves sent by the transmitter of the radio station to which the set is tuned.
Captain Peter Eckersley was the first engineer at 2MT in Essex and also became an on-air announcer. Eckersley found that he had a flair for radio broadcast entertainment and put on many performances, along with his small team of colleagues, from the studio in the old army hut. The programmes would consist of records, spoofs, plays and other music.
Peter Eckersley on 2MT
By May 1922, seeing the commercial potential of radio broadcasting, Marconi's company was in talks with wireless set manufactures and other interested organizations to set up more broadcasting stations around the country under an umbrella organization called the British Broadcasting Company (BBC).
The main companies involved in the creation of the British Broadcasting Company and guaranteeing its finances for an initial period of two years were The Marconi Co; The General Electric Co; The Radio
Communications Co; Metropolitan Vickers Co; Western Electric Co and The British Thompson-Houston
Company. Their joint mission was, of course, to make money from the sale of radio sets - and people would only want to buy into this exciting new technology if there were wireless programmes to listen to.

Until now the government had done its best to thwart Marconi's efforts to establish public radio broadcasting for the masses, but would eventually capitulate and grant the BBC a licence to operate a public radio service. Marconi's company would aim to provide quality programmes consisting of variety entertainment, concerts and plays and fund the transmission of these wireless programmes by a tax collected from the sale of wireless sets and from a licence fee administered by the Post Office. Along with 2MT in Essex, two further experimental stations, 2LO in London and 2ZY in
Manchester had been established on May 11th and 16th respectively.
Marconi Crystal Set
In October 18th 1922 the British Broadcasting Company was formed - with the government granting the BBC a licence to operate - and November 14th 1922 saw the official opening of the BBC London station 2LO, managed by Arthur Burrows, at Marconi
House on The Strand. John Reith was appointed General Manager of the BBC on 14th
December 1922, with Captain Peter Eckersley, the first engineer at 2MT, appointed as the BBC's first Chief Engineer. The BBC was formally registered as a limited company on
15th December 1922.
On 15th November 1922 the BBC was registered and the BBC's Manchester station, 2ZY, was officially opened transmitting from the Metropolitan Vickers Electricity works in Old
Trafford. On November 16th BBC Birmingham opened with 5IT transmitting from the
General Electric Company works at Witton. BBC Newcastle, 5NO, was the last station to open in 1922 from a transmitter at Eldon Square.
2LO in The
Strand, London
On December 23rd 1922 the BBC broadcast the first orchestral concert, the first programme of dance music, the first radio talks programme and commenced the first regular bulletin of general news from
London, provided from the Reuters news source. On Christmas Day 1922 the BBC broadcast "The Truth About Father
Christmas" - the first play for radio - and transmitted the first religious programme.
Unlike today's listeners radio listeners in the 1920's often had to use crystal sets which had no power of amplification and were very insensitive to weak signals, therefore the area over which a 1.5 kilowatt station would have been quite limited. Modern radios are extremely sensitive and can receive even low powered radio stations over a very wide area.
On January 17th 1923 the original station 2MT in Essex was closed, but more BBC stations were to be established around the country at Cardiff, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Bournemouth.

1924
1924 saw more expansion with the opening stations at Plymouth, Edinburgh, Belfast, Hull, Nottingham,
Dundee, Stoke on Trent, Swansea and on December 28th the BBC's Chelmsford transmitting station began to transmit an alternative programme. During 1923 the number of radio receiving licenses, which cost 10 shillings, had grown to 500,000 driven by the high quality programmes transmitted. BBC London, 2LO, moved from Marconi House to new studios at Savoy Hill, while BBC Birmingham, 5IT, moved to new studios at The Picture House on New Street.
On November 14th 1923 John Reith became Managing Director of the BBC and declared that the BBC must bring the best broadcasting to the widest possible number of homes. John Reith was a Scottish engineer who envisaged that the BBC's mission must be to "inform, educate and entertain".
On 31st December 1923 Big Ben chimed in the new year for the first time by radio, while just a matter of weeks later, in February 1924, the Greenwich Time signal ("The Pips") was broadcast for the first time on
BBC radio. By the mid 1920's programmes from the BBC could be received my most of the population, including programmes of talks, variety entertainment and classical music concerts from its London studios at Savoy Hill.
On 15th November1922 on its first day of transmission as BBC Manchester the station broadcast Kiddies
Corner, its first children's programme and also, along with London, the results of the general election. On the 11th November 1925 the BBC broadcast its first radio play, 'The White Chateau' by Reginald Berkley
Development of the home Radio
Left: 1924 advertisement for the Pye Two Valve radio.
W.G. Pye and Co began manufacturing radio sets as early as 1920.
THE CRYSTAL SET or "Cat's Whisker" and Other Home
Made Radio Sets
Many early radio listeners opted for crystal sets, which required no electricity or batteries and were very much cheaper than valved radios which could cost around £7 for a simple one valve model. Crystal sets only provide headphone reception and need relatively strong signals.
These radio waves need to be collected as efficiently as possible to provide enough signal for the crystal set to work. Therefore a large long-wire aerial usually had to be erected - often in the back garden or across the rooftop.
.
Left: A Czechoslovakian Crystal Set with galena detector.

Marconi's very high power transmitting station at Waunfawr, Caernarfon (c. 1914) (GEC Marconi)
LONG WAVE
Until 1924 the BBC had been providing local programmes on medium wave. In June 5XX, a new experimental transmitting station at Marconi's Chelmsford site, was opened using the long waves enabling the BBC to be heard over most of the country and also overseas with the alternative National Programme. This enabled people in Britain, who were beyond reach of a local medium wave transmitter, to hear the BBC.
The experiment was deemed a great success and a permanent site at Daventry, Nothamptonshire, a more centralized location improved coverage across a greater area of the UK. By this time there were over 1½ million radio receivers in use, many were still crystal sets , but valved radios which could amplify the signals enough to enable loudspeaker operation, though more expensive, gradually gained popularity.
With the new 5XX Daventry station in operation the BBC experimented with stereophonic broadcasts for the first time with a concert from
Manchester being broadcast from all transmitters.
Left: The 5XX Long Wave Transmitting Aerials
THE ROYAL CHARTER - Company becomes Corporation
The BBC's licence expired 31st December 1926 and a government committee recommended that the British
Broadcasting Company should be replaced with a public authority. The first Royal Charter was agreed upon and the company was to be nationalized and therefore to become the British Broadcasting Corporation with the granting of the first 10 year Royal Charter.
While the BBC was no longer an independent commercial company, the aim of the charter was that it would remain independent of central government interference as the corporation would, from there on, be

overseen by an appointed Board of Governors, John Reith being the first Director General (DG) who was also knighted in 1927. In 1929, the rather puritanical, John Reith felt that he had to sack Peter Eckersley, the original engineer at 2MT, for having an extra-marital affair and for subsequently getting divorced.
Under Reith's leadership the BBC continued its mission to "inform, educate and entertain" and contained broadcasts of talks, variety and concerts. However, due to pressure from the newspaper industry the BBC was not allowed to transmit its news bulletins, assembled by the news agencies, until after 7pm - after the newspapers had been printed, distributed and sold! This was a measure taken so that newspaper sales would not be lost to a BBC radio news service. Popular entertainment programmes broadcast by the BBC in the 1930's included "ITMA" - It's That Man Again and "Band Wagon".
By the early 1930's the premises at Marconi House at Savoy Hill were becoming inadequate for the BBC's needs and it relocated in 1932 to purpose built studios at Portland Place in London - the famous and now iconic Broadcasting House.
THE REGIONAL SCHEME
In 21st August 1927 the BBC opened the new 5GB station at the Daventry transmitting site using medium waves, this brought a new Regional Programme as an alternative to the long wave National Programme to the Midland Region. The original low power local stations closed and were replaced by the two BBC radio services; National and Regional.
With the successful establishment of 5GB at Daventry there followed the establishment of seven regional services across the
UK, each broadcasting programmes from its own local studio - The regions covered were Midlands, West, North, South East, Scottish,
Welsh and N Ireland.
This new Regional Scheme required the BBC to build new, more powerful, transmitting stations that could carry both the National
Programme and the Regional Programme services to the whole country. The first was Brookmans Park in Hertfordshire opening in
1929. The BBC ensured that the new transmission arrangements would provide robust reception for listeners with both valved radios and humble crystal sets which were still being used.
SHORT WAVE
John Reith had been keen to provide an overseas radio service since 1924 and eventually after technical and financial delays, a licence to broadcast on short wave was obtained from the Post Office in 1926. This led to the establishment of a permanent Empire Station at Daventry and the first programmes from the
BBC Empire Service being broadcast on 19th December 1932. King George V made the first Round-the-
Empire broadcast and the Christmas Day broadcast on December 25th 1932.
NORMANDIE CALLING
While the BBC was expanding its transmission facilities it continued providing quality programming of great broadcasting worth. However some listeners began to find this type of programming a little dull and when Radio Normandie commenced programmes in English from
France in 1931 many British listeners tuned in to the commercial station established in 1929 and based at Villa Vincelli la Grandier in Fécamp.

The English programmes were broadcast after the
French programmes had gone off the air and were supplied to the station by the International
Broadcasting Company (IBC), an organization that had been setup by Philco radio salesman Captain Leonard F
Plugge in 1930. On Sundays, when the BBC was concentrating on religious output, Radio Normandie was said to command 80% of the British radio audience.
The programmes were comparatively lively and fun, and financed by advertising, Philco being an early sponsor. Henleys, a car sales company, successfully launched the SS1 motor car on the station. This proved to skeptics that radio advertising really worked. Henley's went on to become a chain of car showrooms and repair garages from which later Jaguars, Rovers, Land-Rovers, etc, were sold, while SS
Cars (aka Swallow Sidecars) went on to become Jaguar Cars! Radio Normandie could be heard across
Southern England and beyond and proved to be such a success with the audience that programmes were expanded in 1932 and ran from 6pm to 3am.
Meanwhile the BBC having moved to new headquarters at
Broadcasting House in Portland Place in May 1932, commenced experiments with the Baird 30 line mechanical television system.
As 1933 arrived so did Radio Luxembourg. English programmes started in June running from 5pm to midnight. Like Radio Normandie the programmes were of a less formal nature than those provided by the BBC and also funded by advertising and sponsorship. Again the programmes proved to be a hit with the British listening public and by December 3rd 1933 Radio Luxembourg had Pye model MM 6 valve radio of 1932 with the expanded English programmes to run from 3.30 pm to trademark Rising Sun loudspeaker grille. midnight.
AUDIO: "THE SET MAKERS" a feature broadcast on RADIO NETHERLANDS.
Click the tape to listen to "THE SET MAKERS" [32 kbs]
Television and More
In 1934 the BBC was still experimenting with television. The Selsdon Committee (Jan '35) recommended that the BBC trial the Baird 240 line system alongside the Marconi-EMI 405 line electronic method. In June the BBC installed a mast, studio and television transmitter at Alexandra Palace and a regular television service started from Alexandra Palace in November the competing systems being trialled one at a time on alternate weeks.
After two years of regular experimental television transmissions the Television Advisory Committee recommended that the BBC adopt the 405 line Marconi-EMI system in January 1937. Sir John Reith, who incidentally was quite unimpressed by the new medium, retired from the BBC in June 1938. He did not want to leave his post, but had effectively been pushed by a government that no longer wanted such an independent minded man at the helm of the national broadcaster at a time of impending war. At 10pm he

asked to be driven from Broadcasting House to Droitwich, where he closed down the transmitters for the last time as Director General.
On the 11th November 1936 the BBC broadcast King Edward
VIII's abdication. On 1st January 1937 the BBC's Royal Charter renewed for a further ten years, while in September 1938 the
BBC started the European service with programmes in
German, Italian and French. From February 1938 listeners across Eire and parts of Western Britain were able to hear a new service transmitted from Eire, southern Ireland.
I.T.M.A.
The very popular comedy series It's That Man Again (ITMA), starring Tommy Handley, began in the summer of 1939. ITMA was to become a classic radio series that ran for ten years until Tommy Handley's death in
1949. It was set on board a commercial pirate radio ship and gained its unusual title from a popular phrase at the time: Newspapers reporting another Adolf Hitler story would often write "It's that man again" as the headline. It was not long after the ITMA programme made its first appearance on radio that the crisis with
Hitler caused war to break out. Germany invaded Poland on 1st September, annexing Danzig, Britain and
France responded by declaring war on Germany on 3rd September 1939.
RADIO DURING THE WAR YEARS
War broke out in 1939 and the nature of programmes provided by the BBC was quickly changed to adapt to the situation. On September 1st the BBC quickly closed its television service from Alexandra Palace for fear of the German air force being able to use the television signals for direction finding. The Regional and
National radio programmes were also closed and replaced by a single Home Service
Radio Luxembourg closed the English service on September 21st 1939, followed later the same year by
Radio Normandie. Meanwhile, on 10th November 1939 the BBC Home Service began Garrison Theater with
Jack Warner.
The new BBC Home Service used two frequencies formerly used by the North Regional and Scottish
Regional Programmes. Two groups of transmitters were established - each group synchronized together to impede enemy direction finding capabilities.
Group H: The synchronization of the Home Service transmitters on to just two frequencies caused many interference problems for domestic listeners. To overcome this problem the BBC initially installed a network of 61 low power relay stations which filled in the coverage gaps.
On the 19th November 1940 a BBC transmitter at Adderley Park in Birmingham was completely destroyed in a bombing, with some loss of life. At midnight on July 20th 1941 the BBC commenced its "V for Victory" campaign. The "V for Victory" broadcasts started with a message from Prime Minister Winston Churchill directed towards the European countries then occupied by the Nazis. "The V sign is the symbol of the unconquerable will of the people of the occupied territories and a portent of the fate awaiting the Nazi tyranny." From then on the BBC's broadcasts employed a call-sign that used the opening bars of
Beethoven's 5th Symphony, which has the same rhythm as the Morse code for the letter V (dot dot dot dash).
Together with domestic radio, the BBC broadcast radio programmes to other countries. On July 4th 1943 the American Forces Network (AFN) was established providing an uplifting service of record programmes that was popular with the American forces based around Europe using facilities provided by the BBC. AFN

also proved popular with British audiences who could hear records and music, including jazz and country styles, not normally heard on the BBC.
It was the popularity of AFN and the increasing numbers of American forces based in Britain that encouraged the BBC to 'fine tune' their own Forces Programme, renaming it The General Forces
Programme, and lightening up the output giving it a wider appeal with material that would be popular with the American troops. The station adopted a more American style and played more American material. This new sound was a big hit and certainly helped the listeners endure those troubled times.
During the war years the BBC's programming necessarily changed. "ITMA" continued alongside other light entertainment and morale boosting programmes such as Vera Lynn's "Sincerely Yours" and "Hi Gang".
Meanwhile the BBC also established a war reporting unit to bring accurate news to a worried population.
The BBC also designed and produced a portable sound recording machine that its radio news reporters, including Frank Gillard, Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, Godfrey Talbot and Richard Dimbleby could use in the field. Half of the British people tuning into the regular evening news broadcasts.
ABSIE and SHAEF - The American Broadcasting Station In Europe
American Broadcasting Station in Europe (ABSIE) began five weeks before DDay, established by USA's Office of War Information (OWI) with the help of CBS and was operated by the OWI and Supreme Headquarters
Allied Expeditionary Force's (SHAEF) Psychological Warfare Division. The aim of American Broadcasting
Station in Europe was to provide "...the truth of this war to our friends in Europe — and to our enemies".
Like the BBC, ABSIE provided news, talks, music and propaganda and also broadcast information for the underground movement. Broadcasts were made in various languages.
World War Two from 1939 to 1945 brought about many more alterations as special transmission arrangements were brought into force.
Lord Haw Haw
Real name William Joyce, a British citizen hanged for treason after defecting to Germany and broadcasting
Nazi propaganda to Britain and unoccupied Europe from German transmitters and the captured radio transmitting stations in France and Luxembourg. http://www.archive.org/details/LordHawHaw-WilliamJoyce-GermanyCalling1-7of23 http://www.archive.org/details/WWII_News_1940
Once the war was over the BBC was able to re-organise broadcasting schedules. The General Forces
Programme had proved to be very popular with audiences and when the service was closed in July
1945 the BBC decided to replace it with a similarly entertaining service, naming it The Light Programme on July 29th 1945. The BBC television service resumed in June 1946 while Radio Luxembourg returned with English programmes in July that same year. At this point the number of radio receiving licenses had reached over 10 ½ million at a cost of £1 per licence. The combined television and radio receiving licence was £2 at this time.

The Third Programme
In September 1946 the BBC launched a cultural radio service named the Third Programme. The Third, as it was usually called, aired concerts of classical music together with serious talks and discussions. Although the audience for such programmes was quite small, and some even argued that it a waste of BBC resources, the Third Programme proved enduringly popular with the audiences at which it was aimed.
The broadcasting white paper of 1946, produced by the Labour government, ensured that the BBC should remain editorially independent of government. It stated that: "The Government intend that the
Corporation should remain independent in the preparation of programmes for overseas audiences, although it should obtain from the government departments concerned such information about conditions in those countries and the policy of His Majesty’s government towards them as will permit it to plan its programmes in the national interest." On January 1st 1947 the BBC's Royal Charter was renewed for a period of five years and the BBC started the General Overseas Service.
In 1948 the new 'Copenhagen Plan' for the allocation of radio frequencies across Europe was formulated to allocate scarce frequencies to the ever increasing number of radio stations more efficiently. This came into effect on 15 March 1950 and had the effect of moving the frequencies of all BBC stations.
A Little More About Television And The New BBC VHF Radio Service
In 1949 the BBC expanded the fledgling television service to the Midlands with the opening of the Sutton
Coldfield transmitter on December 17th. October 1951 brought television to the North, to Scotland in
March 1952, to South Wales and the West in August 1952 and finally 1955 to Northern Scotland and The
Channel Islands. In 1951 the cost of the combined television and radio receiving licence was increased to
£3 while the radio only licence fee remained at only £1.
The BBCs monopoly which had, until now, only been challenged from the overseas services of Radio
Luxembourg, and before the war by Radio Normandie, anticipated the introduction of commercial television as the Television Bill passed through parliament in 1954. This paved the way for the creation of
The Independent Television Authortity (ITA) in August. The ITA advertised for contractors to run various regional 'ITV' television companies across the UK.
ITV On Air
In September 1955 the first Independent Television
(ITV) programme companies came on air serving
London and the South East.
In 1956 more ITV contractors come on air: Granada and ABC, Yorkshire Independent Television from ITA
Emley Moor. ABC and ATV in the Midlands also came on air in 1956.
In 1956 the BBC moved its television transmitter from Alexandra Palace to a tower near Croydon at
Crystal Palace.
A now famous landmark - IBA Emley
Moor in Yorkshire built in 1970 for ITV &
BBC UHF TV

BBC Launches Network Three and Stereo VHF/FM
In 1957 the BBC launched a new radio service called
The PAM 710 Radio Network Three, which shared frequencies with the Third circa 1956 Programme and provided an alternative service of educational programmes and concerts of music. The BBC
Radiophonic workshop was established a year later in
1958. In 1959 the BBC television service was to have still more competition as Tyne Tees, Ulster and Anglia
Independent Television opened.
In August 1962 the BBC commenced stereo radio test broadcasts of the Third Programme on the vhf / fm band. Eventually stereo radio broadcasting would be very gradually rolled out across the BBC's other radio stations from the late 1960's until the 1980's. The reason the national stereo roll-out took so long was the problem of getting a decent analogue signal.
"Luxembourg Leads The Way"
Radio Luxembourg was still proving popular with British audiences and was known as "The Station Of The
Stars". The stars that would host the daily sponsored record programmes during the 1950's and 1960's included Jack Jackson, Alan Dell, Jimmy Young, Pete Murray, Simon Dee, Dave Cash, Alan Freeman, Tony
Brandon and Simon Dee, some of whom would later appear on offshore radio. The transmitter was loud and extremely powerful at 1.2 million Watts, but listeners had to endure some deep fading and distortion as the signal came and went.
RADIO BY WIRES
While we have mainly been concerned with broadcasting via radio waves, it is worth noting in the 1930's,
1940's and 1950's many areas had homes that were wired to a system that allowed residents to listen to the BBC Radio services without the need for a wireless set. These services, such as 'British Relay' and
'Rediffusion', relayed the Home Light and Third programmes of the BBC via their wired systems.
Listeners who lived in areas that were served by these wired services simply had a loudspeaker that could be switched on and off and a dial that could select one of the three BBC radio programme services. The loudspeaker required no battery or mains power, and in many households it would often be left on all day long.
Later, as the BBC began to introduce television services, before World War 2 in 1939 and then from the mid
1940's, British Relay and Rediffusion were also in a good position to offer wired television services to subscribers. These were especially useful where off-air reception via an aerial proved difficult. By the late
1960's three television services, BBC1, BBC2 and ITV along with the BBC's four radio stations, Radios 1 to 4 were also available at the flick of a switch. A television set was rented to the subscribers in order to watch and listen to the programmes. Such systems continued throughout the 1970's but gradually faded into obscurity during the 1980's becoming extinct by the late 1980's / very early 1990's as viewers and listeners became wealthier and could afford better and more advanced entertainment installations an as more modern technology overtook the old and now outdated wired systems. Names associated with television

rentals and wired distribution were Radio Rentals, DER, Vision Hire and Granada. All have now disappeared.
BBC2 Television
On April 20th 1964 the BBC started the BBC2 television service initially in black and white. The first programme was Play School, broadcast in the morning, unfortunately there was a power black-out in the afternoon when the station was due to launch officially, so the official launch actually took place the following day! In 1965 the BBC started the World Service, a short-wave radio service that took the place of the BBC Empire overseas programme.
The Pirate Radio Ships
It was around this time (1964) that a brand new sound came to our radio dials, that of offshore pirate radio . 1960's Britain was "burning with the white heat of technology" to use Prime Minister Harold Wilson's words, and young Britons in their the teens and twenties were shaking off the dour image of the post war¹ ways days and a new swingin' and groovy image was evolving, together with revolutionary new styles in pop and rock music. At the forefront of this swinging' musical revolution were bands such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and young consumers simply could not get enough of this new music but BBC radio, which had remained almost unchanged since the war¹, played very little from the current Hit Parade and had only one programme per week dedicated to such material. The only real outlet for listeners to hear all the new records was Radio Luxembourg, but that was only available in the evenings and the signal would often fade or become distorted.
Radio Luxembourg also operated a system whereby only artists who paid a fee to the station would get their records heavily promoted. A young pop group manager, who could not get his bands' records played on Radio Luxembourg or the BBC Light Programme had the idea to set up his own radio station. Ronan
O'Rahilly bought a ship called the Frederica and refitted it as a complete floating radio station, he renamed the ship MV Caroline, sailed from Ireland to the North sea and on Easter Saturday, March 28th, 1964 launched Radio Caroline on 199 meters (1520 kHz) with presenters including Keith Skues, Andy Archer, Don
Allen, Bob Stewart and Johnnie Walker. Unlike the BBC the station played non-stop popular music, tending to play one record from the hit parade followed by a popular oldie or album track. Caroline was a big hit with the listening public.
Radio Caroline did not need a UK broadcasting licence as the ship was anchored just outside the British territorial limit off the coast of Felixstowe. The station was joined by many other offshore stations between
1964 and 1967 including the most successful radio ship Radio London on December 12th 1964. Many millions of British listeners, who were bored with the BBC's formal style of broadcasting, were entertained around the clock by these swinging new offshore stations with the type of fun record programmes presented by 'zany' disc jockies (DJ's) such as Tony Blackburn and Kenny Everett, that were unavailable on the BBC.
The government was quite unimpressed by these 'pirate' radio stations and closed the loophole in the law which had allowed them to operate by passing The Marine & Broadcasting Offenses Act in 1967. The stations were all required to close down by 15th August 1967, and all but one did. The two Radio Caroline stations soldiered on until 1968 when they effectively ran out of money and were closed down. Despite the fact that the offshore pirate stations had only been broadcasting for around four years they changed the face of British broadcasting forever.
BBC Radio 247

Since 1966 the BBC had been planning a new station, "Radio
247", as an answer to the popular offshore stations and unlike the other BBC national radio stations. When Radio
247 project was finally launched on September 30th 1967 the on-air name was to be 'Radio One'. The other BBC network programmes were also re-organized, The Light
1967: The Happy Sound Of Wonderful Radio
Programme became Radio Two, The Third Programme
One on 247 meters medium wave became Radio Three, The Home Service became Radio Four broadcasting "Just a Minute" for the first time on 22nd
December 1967.
Radio One was for many years a part time station, initially only broadcasting for 5½ hours per day partially due to 'needle-time' restrictions imposed by record companies that limited the number of records that could be played. The station circumvented this restriction somewhat by recording popular bands in their own studios and playing these tapes on air. The remaining air time was filled by relaying the output of Radio
Two at various times of the day. The Radio One programmes were gradually expanded in the early 1970's, only to be cut back again a few years later during the economic troubles caused by the energy crisis of
1974/5, and again in 1978. The station did not become truly full time until the 1980's.
As the BBC re-organized its network in response to audience demands for a radio service akin to the offshore stations, Radio Luxembourg altered its schedules away from individually sponsored programmes to a format of personality DJ's , which sounded more like the old Radio London station.
But The Public wanted More, They Wanted....Local Radio
The introduction of Radio One satisfied the needs of some of the offshore radio audience, but the public wanted more. There was still a great pressure for the introduction of local radio and the BBC, with encouragement from the Labour government, launched eight experimental local radio stations starting with BBC Radio Leicester on 8th November 1967, quickly followed by Radios Leeds, Merseyside, Stoke,
Sheffield, Nottingham, Durham and Brighton.
To the local station managers the world seemed against them. There was a huge lobby for the introduction of commercial local radio in the UK, the Conservative opposition supported this and seemed set against the
BBC local radio experiment while the national press also derided the idea. Even the BBC did not seem too keen, although all the best technical facilities were provided for their local stations, the management at
BBC HQ were initially rather luke warm about the 'back-yard' community programming.
The experiment was also somewhat handicapped by the fact that all the local stations were only to be allowed to broadcast on VHF (FM) frequencies, while this allowed high quality output, the radio set manufacturers produced few VHF equipped sets, consequently very few listeners actually owned a radio set capable of receiving the new stations, or if they did it was probably poorly designed or had no aerial connected to it. Coupled with the fact the listeners were only used to medium and longwaves and many did not know how to use VHF effectively.

Radio Leeds radio-car
Despite these problems the BBC local radio experiment reinvented radio and was a great achievement for community broadcasting. Stations became involved in all aspects of the areas that they served, often using a radio car to cover sporting and other outdoor events to comprehensive local news gathering, charitable work and audience participation including a new phenomenon to British radio - The Phone-
In! Some listeners borrowed VHF sets, while others visited friends and neighbours to hear the programmes in which they were directly involved.
The BBC local radio experiment was to last two years until 1969, the year that PAL colour television was launched with the start of BBC1 and ITV colour services. BBC2 was also converted to colour. March 1969 is when the tallest transmitting mast in Britain, IBA Emley Moor, collapsed. The mast was constructed as a steel cylinder, rather than a lattice mast or tower, and the structure failed due to the weight of ice and high winds. A new concrete tower was built in 1970 and a full UHF television service restored from it in January
1971. The famous London pirate station Radio Jackie also started life in 1969. On November 10th 1971 the
BBC Pebble Mill studios, the BBC's new broadcasting centre in Birmingham was opened by Princess Anne.
When the two year BBC local radio experiment came to an end it was seen as so sucessfult that it continued and was expanded. A new development in British VHF broadcasting improved reception for listeners using portable sets with telescopic aerials. Also the BBC local stations were later to be allowed to broadcast on medium wave in addition to VHF to improve the potential numbers of listeners that could tune in.
UK Radio: A Brief History - Part 3 - Commercial Expansion
Although the BBC local radio stations had proved to be a success for community radio, there was still a demand from listeners for a form of commercial radio independent from the BBC, represented most strongly by the commercial radio lobby. A change of government occurred in 1970 which saw the passing of Harold Wilson's Labour administration to Edward Heath's Conservative government in 1970, this
Conservative government looked upon the introduction of commercial radio much more favourably. In
March 1971 a white paper, 'An Alternative Service Of Radio Broadcasting' was published.
The Sound Broadcasting Act in 1972 transformed the ITA into the IBA (Independent Broadcasting
Authority) giving it the additional responsibility for sound broadcasting in the UK. The radio only licence was abolished in February 1971, from then on it was necessary to have only a television licence, which would fund both BBC television and radio.
The commercial radio lobby, and possibly the potential listeners, would be disappointed with the government's plans for commercial radio. The potential operators had hoped for a national pop station that would be cheap to run, generate large audiences and therefore make large sums of money from advertising. What they got was as far removed a system in which they would almost drown in oceans of government and IBA bureaucracy! The new stations would be required to provide a public service radio funded by advertising, rather than the non-stop pop and 'DJs' that the offshore stations had provided eight years earlier. The stations would have a remit to appeal to all sections of the potential audience.
BBC local radio initially started life serving small, or tightly defined areas but gradually evolved into more regional or county-wide stations serving larger areas with bigger transmitters. Independent Local Radio

was to start life as BBC local radio had done, as a number of small services serving a main city and its surrounding area.
London Broadcasting
An early LBC logo
The first contractor on air was the London Broadcasting Company (LBC), which had been awarded the 'London News and Information' franchise. Launched on
October 8th 1973, the first voices heard on air were David Jessell, who opened the station, with the experienced Australian journalist, Ken Guy, reading the news. The station was based at Gough Square, near the heart of journalism in
Fleet Street, and would also provide a news service to the Independent Local
Radio stations that would follow.
The IRN news service would be funded by the other ILR stations paying subscriptions based on their audience size, turnover and profits, and played an important role in radio journalism and certainly forced
BBC radio to rethink methods of radio news gathering, technology and presentation styles.
A week after LBC came on air Capital Radio , the brainchild of Richard (Lord)
Attenborough, launched on 16th October 1973 . Capital Radio had won the
London General Entertainment franchise and provided a mix of music led programmes fronted by famous DJ's such as Dave Cash and Kenny Everett, who presented some marvelously fun programmes on the station.
The station had a remit to appeal to the widest possible audience, of course, and included specialist music programmes, radio plays and soap operas, classical music, community features and news documentaries. In the early days the music playlist was very 'middle of the road'.
Birmingham, Glasgow and Other Areas Get Their Own ILR Stations
Labour Government Halts Commercial Radio Development
Once the initial nineteen stations, sanctioned by the Conservative government, had come on air the development of ILR came to a halt in 1976 with the last of the 19 stations, Beacon Radio arriving on April
12th 1976. Labour had been returned to power in 1974 under Harold Wilson and in 1976 James Callaghan succeeded Wilson as Labour Leader and Prime Minister. The Labour government was not keen on commercial organisations running radio stations and so needed a period of reflection before sanctioning any further development of the Independent Local Radio system.
In the mean time the BBC had opened a new television centre at Pebble Mill, Birmingham, in 1971, and was also experimenting with teletext in 1972, launching the BBC CEEFAX service in 1973. In 1978 the government discussed the possibility of an Open Broadcasting Authority and the possibility of a fourth terrestrial television channel which had already been allocated space during the 1960's. The idea of the
BBC running satellite television services was also proposed. The fourth television channel was eventually administered by the IBA which franchised the Channel Four Television corporation to operate in England from 1982 but the BBC never got to run satellite television.
The Geneva Plan

1978 brought about a wholesale reorganisation of medium and long wave frequencies, after international agreement at Geneva in 1975. These changes were designed to make more efficient use of these frequencies to minimise congestion and interference.
All medium wave stations were realigned and the big changes in the UK were for BBC national radio.
The BBC issued a shiny little card measuring 75mm wide by 117mm tall to help confused listeners find their favourite BBC national radio stations:
MORE LOCALS
The colour of the government would change back to blue in 1979. The Conservatives were keen to resume expansion of the ILR stations and therefore the IBA was granted a mandate to further develop the ILR network. The first of seven new stations authorised by the Home Secretary was Cardiff which came on air on 11th April 1980 quickly followed by Mercia Sound .

An IBA map of the ILR
Areas. Solid black arrows represent stations on air by 1984, the outline arrows represent stations due to be on the air from
1985.

BRMB Radio in Birmingham issued a tuning guide to help listeners tune to 1152 kHz medium wave and 94.8 MHz VHF stereo. The little red triangles are stickers that listeners could stick to their
radio dials to locate the position of BRMB on their radio.
THE BRMB GUIDE TO GETTING THE BEST RECEPTION
Always listen to BRMB on 94.8 MHz FM if you possibly can. With a good quality receiver, you'll get better fidelity, improved dynamic range of sound and far less interference. If you listen on 261
Metres (1152 kHz) Medium Wave, you may be able to improve your reception by placing your radio near a window or by turning the set for minimum interference. A good aerial and earth system can also help. And for first class stereo VHF reception, a good aerial is virtually essential. In any event, tune your receiver carefully and learn how to set the controls. The quality of modern radio
reception is well worth the little extra trouble.... especially on BRMB!
ILR developed quickly, and despite of (or it could be argued because of) the stringent regulation of the
IBA, was regarded to be both a programming success which was popular with the audience, although many of the smaller stations were never going to be licences to print money.

In programming terms ILR still had to be all things to all people and most stations met this challenge and gained large and loyal audiences. The 1970's and 1980's, and perhaps the first year or two of the 1990's, was the period when your local ILR station provided the fun at breakfast and was with you on the 'school run', it was the housewife's choice during the day, provided the news, travel, music and the 'chemist rota' in the afternoon and was the specialist music lover's friend in the early evening with programmes of classical, folk, jazz, big band, rock or new-wave being aired. One of the most popular formats on many
ILR stations in the '70's and '80's was the night time "phone-in" when controversial presenters had some interesting and often heated discussions with listeners. Names such as James Whale on Radio Aire in
Leeds, Andy Lloyd on Mercia Sound in Coventry, Nick Meanwell on BRMB, Simon Potter on Hereward
Radio in Cambridgeshire and Alan Beswick on Red Rose Radio in Lancashire immediately spring to mind. ILR was extremely entertaining, and there were many other examples too!
Mercia Sound in Coventry, Warwickshire and South West Leicestershire was an enormous success in the
1980's. The station provided high quality and varied programmes with a first rate news output provided by an excellent team of journalists. The audiences were very high and Mercia Sound made a profit of
£250,000 in its first year on air, and became a model for the perfect way to launch a new ILR station. Great radio professionals at Mercia included the late John Warwick, Gordon Astley, Andy Lloyd,
Jim Lee (now with Radio Four), Stuart Linnell, Tony Gillham (now with BBC Devon), Mark Keen , Dave
Jamieson and Annie Othen (now with BBC Coventry and Warwickshire).
Some stations did not follow the Mercia Sound launch model, so there were a few failures too; Centre Radio in
Leicester launched an ambitious community style station in 1981 that subsequently proved not to be financially viable. The combination of a poor business plan and the huge competition from BBC Radio Leicester, the very first
BBC local station which commanded a substantial audience, proved to be the station's downfall.
WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN BBC RADIO?
In the 1980's Radio One had thrown off the shackles of 1970's BBC cutbacks and had become a solid full time station that could stand on its own two feet without sharing programmes with Radio Two. Anne

Nightingale and Paul Gambaccini in stereo!
Other Media Developments
The 1980's also saw the launch Channel Four in November 1982 and BBC Breakfast Time and TVam in
January 1983. Rupert Murdoch bought Satellite TV in 1983 and re-launched it as SKY-TV in 1984. In 1985
BSB was awarded a licence to provide five D-MAC satellite channels, while the DTI took the popular South
West London pirate station Radio Jackie off the air after 16 years of broadcasting community programmes. CNN International launched and the BBC expanded into daytime television. MTV Europe arrived in 1987, and in 1988 ITV went 24 hour. In 1989 SKY-TV launched as four channel package on the
ASTRA satellite in PAL.
By 1989 it was government policy to make better use of the radio spectrum and all existing stations had to make arrangements to provide different services on AM (medium wave) and FM (v.h.f.), this gave rise to a wave of new 'GOLD' ILR stations playing oldies and classic hits.
In 1989 and 1990 more new ILR stations were licenced. These were the last ILR stations to be awarded licences by the IBA.
In 1989 the IBA devised a new radio scheme, and advertised for contractors to run 'Incremental' radio stations, additional radio services would be introduced into areas already served by an ILR station to offer output not already available on ILR, such as specialist music or unique programmes for a specific section of the community.
Many of the new Incrementals went on air in 1990 and some endured mixed fortunes. However
Spectrum Radio, Sunrise Radio and Choice FM in London, Isle Of Wight Radio and Centre Sound in Stirling are notable for their success, and are still on the air, a tribute to their unique and thoughtful programmes, though some have now been absorbed into larger radio groups.
As 1990 arrived BSB launched its 5 channel D-MAC satellite package for which users were required to purchase a special "Squarial" to receive the superior pictures. The company, following so far behind SKY's launch, soon failed and was merged with Rupert Murdoch's
SKY TV later that same year.
FAB FM - It's Stereo
Radio One began a long awaited transfer from AM to VHF/FM stereo broadcasting in late 1987 with the launch of the first temporary transmitter in London on 104.8 MHz from Crystal Palace. During 1988 a number of additional transmitters, using temporary frequencies, were launched from main stations at Oxford, Sutton Coldfield,
Holme Moss, Wenvoe and Black Hill. The BBC had to wait until the band had been completely cleared of the emergency services between 98 and 100 MHz before full power and permanent frequencies could be implemented. The transmitter network for Radio One FM was eventually complete by 1994.
Listen to a short extract of a Radio One FM test transmission featuring Adrian Juste

In February 1990 the Greenwich Time Signal was broadcast from Greenwich for the last time. From then on the BBC generated "The Pips" from Broadcasting House.
Radio Five's original logo in 1990
In August 1990 the BBC launched RADIO FIVE, the first brand new national radio station since Radio One launched 23 years earlier. BBC radio Five broadcast programmes of educational and children's material that would have previously been carried between the other networks. Radio Five also produced the sports coverage that had previously been carried as 'Sport On Two'.
Radio Five was initially not a great ratings success due to its very uneven programme mix. After the audience success of continuous news coverage during the Gulf War of 1991 on Radio Four the BBC re-organised Radio Five as an all news and sports network and re-named the network "Radio Five Live". Five Live launched in March 1994 and was an immediate success with news and sports junkies.
The Broadcasting Act of 1990 de-regulated broadcasting, dissolving the IBA and the Cable Authority, giving responsibility for all television regulation to the Independent Television Commission (ITC) which advertised the ITV franchises and some well known TV licencees, such as Thames, TSW and TVS, lost out to new names including Carlton Westcountry and Meridian. The IBA network of radio and television transmitters was sold to NTL (National Transcommunications) while The Radio Authority was also created to oversee further development of Independent Radio.
The de-regulated 'lighter touch' of the Radio Authority removed many of the technical, programming and local ownership requirements from ILR. ILR station owners soon responded by dropping many
'public-service elements from their output, such as specialist music and speech features, and the station mergers and company take-overs gathered pace.

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.