BBC radio stations

National radio stations operated by the BBC are available throughout the United Kingdom. Most programmes are produced and broadcast from Broadcasting House in Central London, but all do feature programmes from other areas of the country. As with BBC television, BBC radio gets its revenue from the TV license system and carries no advertising. All BBC national stations along with the BBC World Service are also broadcast across Europe.

BBC Radio 1, a pop music based station, was hugely successful, commanding weekly audiences of up to 24 million listeners. The most famous “Radio 1 Roadshows” toured British holiday resorts throughout the summer and were broadcast live on-air.

Unfortunately, following the loss of popular format, Radio 1 is no longer “Britain’s Favourite Radio”. Since May 2001, BBC Radio 2 has been the first, with a target audience of 45 million and more.

Besides Radio 1 and Radio 2, BBC three national stations are also called by numbers. BBC Radio 3 is a very high-brow classical music, arts and culture station and has a rather small but excessively loyal audience who lobby the BBC intensively if any changes are made to the schedule. BBC Radio 4 is a speech-based channel, probably unique in the world of radio. It features a number of news and feature programmes, scheduled more like a TV station than a modern radio network. Many programmes have been running for 50 years and more, starting on the former BBC Home Service.

BBC Radio 5 is another speech-based channel, recently introduced and very popular. Radio 5 Live is a rolling news and live sport channel. Accurate, informed and available 24 hours a day, it covers live all major sport and news stories along with discussion shows and phone-ins. With its faster pace, Radio 5 has a much younger audience profile than traditional Radio 4.

Exercise 21. Study the text carefully and find the answers to the following questions.

1. How many national radio stations are operated by the BBC? What are they?

2. Which of the stations was once hugely successful and enjoyed enormous popularity among listeners of all age groups?

3. What is now the most popular radio station throughout Britain?

4. Explain in brief what each of the rest BBC radio stations specializes in.

5. Suppose you lived in Britain, which of the BBC national radio stations would you choose (would never listen to)? Give your reasons.

Exercise 22. Now try to match the following parts without looking back into the text.

RADIO 1	a speech-based channel with a rather unusual schedule; features a number of news and many-year-running programmes.
RADIO 2	the most popular pop-music station some ten years ago; now specializes in rock music and has a rather reduced audience.
RADIO 3	a speech-based channel, recently introduced and very popular; available 24 hours a day; offers live sport and news stories, discussion shows and phone-ins; its fast pace attracts young audience mostly.
RADIO 4	has a format similar to the former Radio 1 and now is the best-loved station in the United Kingdom.
RADIO 5	specializes in classical music, arts and cultural programmes and has small but very loyal audience.

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