UK Radio Information

This site contains pages of information on radio in the UK, including DAB digital radio - please follow the links on the right to access the radio sections of our site, including our FAQ section.

Radio in the UK started back in the early 1920's with just one tiny BBC radio station. Radio's moved on in leaps and bounds in the last 30 years, and we now have several hundred radio stations, with a huge variety of formats and audiences.

The types of station operating in the UK, are:

National Radio	Serving the whole of the UK, national stations include BBC Radios 1-5, Virgin, Classic FM and TalkSport.
Regional stations	There are currently 17 of these in the UK, covering multi-county areas, such as Galaxy (North East and West Midlands), and Vibe (East Anglia)
Local radio	As of 2005, there are 40 BBC local radio stations, and 280 commercial stations (known as ILR - Independent Local Radio stations). This number includes town-sized stations (once known as Incremental stations).
Community radio	A growing number of "Not for profit" radio stations (around 20 in 2005), that started following the Government's Access radio pilot scheme. For more, see Community Media Association.
RSL	Short-term restricted service licences (for temporary low-powered radio services). These typically run for no longer than 28 days continuous broadcasting.
DAB Digital Radio	Digital Audio Broadcasting, is the new type of radio service available in the UK. DAB offers a range of extra channels not available on FM. You'll need a special DAB radio to receive Digital Radio - there are a range of DAB radios now available, including kitchen radios, hi-fi tuners, in-car radios and battery-powered portable devices. For more on DAB radio, see our DAB page.
Internet radio	There are a number of Internet radio stations out there, and a high number of UK stations broadcast on the Internet... the Internet has worldwide coverage. You can also run your own. There's also the new phenomenon... Podcasting. For more on Internet radio and online broadcasting, see our Internet Radio page
Satellite radio	Stations broadcasting on satellite, including Sky. See Radio Now's Satellite station page
Cable radio	Radio stations supplied through cable operator services.
Hospital radio	Nearly 300 of these up-and-running in hospitals around the UK. See www.hospitalradio.co.uk
Student radio	Stations serving a number of colleges and universities. See the Student Radio Organisation
Pirate radio	The UK radio industry owes an awful lot to the pirate radio pioneers of the 60's sitting in rusty ships and forts off the coast of the UK, especially Radio Caroline and Wonderful Radio London - They changed the face of broadcasting. There are still a number of pirate stations out there - but don't expect us to talk about them here.

DAB Latest - March 2008: It's been a busy time for DAB. We recorded a special audio show covering recent DAB developments. Download or listen online to Show 24 of our show for the full story.

Links

• For a useful list of UK radio stations, go to Radio Now
• For more on BBC radio, see BBC Radio
• For more on commercial radio, see OfCom (Formerly The Radio Authority)
• See our Radio Links for more radio hotspots
• What's on UK radio? See our Radio Guides information
• Latest radio news from Radiotoday.co.uk
  

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