Part 2. Radio

on the air – radio

Ninety 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 VHF) 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 over 30 million each week, transmitting innumerable hours of programmes on its five analogue* and five more digital** networks.

Radio usage over the internet is proving to be a popular service too. The BBC's network websites attract millions of visits a month. All of them offer live streaming, webcams, and a catch-up service for people who miss programmes.

* The five national analogue BBC radio networks (also available on DAB) are these famous ones:

• 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.

• 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 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.

** The five national digital BBC radio networks are:

• BBC 1xtra playing the latest in ‘black music’ (forms of music originating in what can be termed black culture – hip hop, RnB, garage, drum & bass and dancehall as well as other styles like house and soca).

• 5 live sports extra set up by the team behind 5 live to bring listeners more sporting action. The station offers additional commentaries from the FA Barclays Premiership, Coca Cola League, Scottish Premier League and cup football – plus cricket, rugby, Formula One, tennis and golf.

• BBC 6 Music playing what they describe as ‘stuff that's credible, influential and has longevity’ or ‘the music that matters from the last 30 years to the present day’ (as they say, you are as likely to hear the Red Hot Chili Peppers as a red hot band discovered by Steve Lamacq yesterday).

• BBC 7 offering a mix of the best of the BBC's archive and contemporary comedy, drama and readings as well as four hours of children's programmes each day.

• BBC Asian Network geared towards playing the best in new British Asian music and covering British Asian issues.