The UK radio

There are many hundreds of radio stations in the United Kingdom, the most prominent of which are the national stations operated by the BBC.

BBC Radio 1 broadcasts current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock or interviews. It is aimed primarily at the 15–29 age group. The station has recorded many live performances and studio sessions, it station also broadcasts some documentaries and interviews. Short news summaries are provided roughly hourly on the half hour during daytime hours with two 15-minute bulletins at 12:45pm and 5:45pm.

BBC Radio 2 is the UK's most listened to radio station, with a mix of music from the last thirty years. The station now has adult listeners, mainly aged 25 and above, although in recent years it has attracted more of younger listeners. Its daytime playlist features music from the 1960s to various current chart hits, album and indie music. The station's appeal is broad and deep, with accessible daytime programmes and specialist programmes of particular types or eras of music.

BBC Radio 3 is a serious classical station, broadcasting high-quality concerts and performances. At night, it transmits a wide range of jazz and world music. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music,[2] and its New Generation Artists scheme promotes young musicians of all nationalities. There are regular productions of both classic plays and newly commissioned drama.

BBC Radio 4 is a current affairs and speech station, with news, debate and radio drama. Music and sport are the only fields that largely fall outside the station's remit. It broadcasts the daily radio soap The Archers, as well as flagship news programme Today. Radio 4 is the second most popular British domestic radio station, after Radio 2

BBC Radio Five Live broadcasts live news and sports commentary with phone-in debates and studio guests. It is the principal radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcasting virtually all major sports events staged in the UK or involving British competitors.

BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations which transmits predominantly alternative rock, punk, jazz, funk, hip hop with many live sessions.

BBC 1Xtra is a digital radio station in the United Kingdom from the BBC specialising in new black music, sometimes referred to as urban music. Typical music includes largely British and North American hip hop, grime, bassline, garage, dubstep, drum and bass, UK funky, dancehall, soca, reggae, gospel music, bhangra and R&B.

BBC 7 is a British digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and children's programming nationally 24 hours a day. It is the principal broadcasting outlet for the BBC's archive of spoken-word entertainment, and was established primarily to enable the contents of the BBC Sound Archive to be broadcast.

All of these radio stations can be listened to live via the Internet, some of the programmes are available for listening or downloading from the archives, some are also published in the form of podcasts (http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts).

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

Also available nationally are three national commercial channels, namely Absolute Radio, Classic FM (the UK’s first national commercial radio station, broadcasts a wide range of programming) and talkSPORT.

There are also local commercial stations. 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.

Kiss 100 FM – the London dance radio station featuring some of the UK’s finest DJ’s.

Glossary

accolade	tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction
affluent	rich
alarmist (adj)	spreading unnecessary fear or warnings of danger
circulation	dissemination of copies of periodicals (as newspapers or magazines)
covering/ coverage	news as presented by reporters for newspapers or radio or television
dump (v)	throw away as refuse
editorial	article giving opinions or perspectives
junk (v)	dispose of (something useless or old)
lampoon (v)	ridicule with satire
readership	audience reached by written communications (books or magazines or newspapers etc.)
sister (adj)	belonging to a group of similar and related things, such as businesses, usually owned or operated by the same person or organization
sitcom	situation comedy: humorous television program based on situations that could arise in everyday life
sketch show	series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called “sketches”, commonly between one and ten minutes long
staunch	firm and dependable especially in loyalty
stunning	causing or capable of causing bewilderment or shock or insensibility
supplement	textual matter that is added onto a publication; usually at the end
thrive	gain in wealth; grow stronger

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