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 radio
and this figure is steadily growing.

Practically every UK home has a radio, and widespread ownership of portable sets (including
personal 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 of
programmes 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 and
Short 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 each
week, 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 live
performances, and broadcasts music documentaries and news programmes. In the period
April-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 radio
station in the UK, reaching 11.7 million listeners a week who, on average, stay with Radio 2 for
13 hours a week. In addition to a staple diet of folk, country, gospel and rhythm & blues, the
network 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 that offers an esoteric range
of music not traditionally associated with the network. More than half of the network's musical
output 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 service
listened 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 larger
audiences - and now attracts a total of 9.2 million listeners a week. Nevertheless, it has
retained its commitment to news and current affairs, complemented by drama, comedy,
science, the arts, religion, natural history, medicine, finance and gardening. In 2001, Radio 4
devoted 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 cricket
coverage 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 League
football and Formula One motor racing as well as hard-hitting journalism on serious topical
issues 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 service
for people who miss programmes.
BBC Regional and Local Radio

There are 39 BBC Local Radio services serving England and the Channel Islands, and national
regional radio services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, including Welsh and Gaelic language
stations.

The national regions provide radio services on Radio Wales, Radio Cymru (the Welsh language
service), Radio Scotland and Radio Ulster. Radio Nan Caidheal is a Gaelic language service in
Scotland. English local radio transmitted 200,000-250,000 hours of programmes in 2000-01, with a
weekly audience of about 8 million.

BBC Local Radio - predominantly speech rather than music-based - supplies a comprehensive service
of 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 programmes
specifically for Afro-Caribbean or Asian listeners.

In November 1996, the BBC launched the Asian Network: the first full-time BBC domestic service
specifically 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 and
the internet. The service offers news, features, music, entertainment, religious and cultural
programming for people of Asian background. The BBC is proposing to develop it as a nationwide
digital radio service.

BBC World Service

The BBC World Service broadcasts by radio in 43 languages (including English) worldwide. It
has a global weekly audience of over 150 million listeners - bigger than any other international
radio broadcaster - and this excludes an estimate for listeners in countries where it is difficult to
survey audiences. In addition, the BBC's investment in the internet means that the World Service
website now gets over 100 million page impressions a month.

The World Service's core programming of news, current affairs, business and sport is complemented
by a range of cultural programmes, including drama, literature and music. The relationship between
the BBC and the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) is governed by a Broadcasting Agreement
and Financial Memorandum, which requires a regular cycle of business meetings. These encompass
discussions about languages, audiences and priorities. The BBC has sole editorial control.