BBC Radio 4 facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
BBC Radio 4

Logo used since 2022
London
Broadcast area	United Kingdom and internationally via BBC Sounds
Frequencies	FM: 92.5–96.1 MHz, 103.5–104.9 MHz LW: 198 kHz DAB: 12B Freesat: 704 Freeview: 704 Sky (UK only): 0104 Virgin Media: 904 Virgin Media Ireland: 910
RDS	BBC R4
Programming
Language(s)	English
Format	News, talk, comedy and drama
Ownership
Owner	BBC
Sister stations	BBC Radio 4 Extra
History
First air date	30 September 1967; 57 years ago (1967-09-30)
Former call signs	2LO London BBC National Programme BBC Regional Programme BBC Home Service
Former names	BBC Radio 4 UK (1978–1984)
Former frequencies	603 MW 720 MW 756 MW 774 MW 1449 MW 1485 MW
Technical information
Licensing authority	Ofcom
Links
Website	Radio 4 on BBC Sounds

BBC Radio 4 is a popular radio station in the United Kingdom, run by the BBC. It started on September 30, 1967, taking over from the BBC Home Service. It broadcasts many spoken programs like news, talks, comedy, and drama from Broadcasting House in London. Since 2019, Mohit Bakaya has been in charge of the station.

You can listen to BBC Radio 4 across the UK, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. It's available on FM, LW, and DAB. You can also find it on BBC Sounds online. People in eastern Ireland, northern France, and Northern Europe can sometimes pick up the signal too. It's also on digital TV services like Freeview, Sky, and Virgin Media.

Radio 4 is very popular, reaching over 10 million listeners. This makes it the UK's second most-listened-to radio station, after BBC Radio 2.

The station broadcasts important news shows like Today and The World at One. These shows often start with the famous Greenwich Time Signal "pips" or the chimes of Big Ben. The pips are most accurate on FM and LW radio. On digital radio and online, there's a small delay. Radio 4 also broadcasts the Shipping Forecast, which tells sailors about weather at sea. This forecast has been around for over 150 years!

About BBC Radio 4

BBC Radio 4 is one of the most listened-to radio stations in the United Kingdom. It's known for its wide range of spoken programs. In May 2011, it reached its highest number of listeners, with 11 million people tuning in. The station has won many awards, including "UK Radio Station of the Year" several times. It even won a Peabody Award in 2002 for a program called File on 4: Export Controls.

Radio 4 is available in many ways. You can listen on FM radio in most of Great Britain and parts of Europe. It's also on LW radio, which covers the whole UK and parts of Northern Europe. For digital listeners, it's on DAB and digital TV platforms like Freeview, Freesat, Sky, and Virgin Media. You can also listen online through BBC Sounds.

The longwave signal of Radio 4 is very important. It's part of a special system for the Royal Navy. In case of a major emergency, submarine captains check for the Radio 4 signal on 198 longwave. This helps them confirm if society in Great Britain is still organized.

BBC Radio 4 offers many different types of programs. These include news, drama, comedy, science, and history. You won't hear much pop music or sports on Radio 4, except during news updates. However, for many years, the longwave frequency used to broadcast live Test cricket matches. This meant that on about 70 days a year, listeners had to use FM or DAB for regular Radio 4 shows. The Shipping Forecast always stayed on longwave because it's vital for people at sea.

History of BBC Radio 4

Logo of Radio 4 until 2007

Logo of Radio 4 used from 2007 until 2022

The story of BBC Radio 4 goes way back to the very first BBC radio station. This station was called 2LO and started broadcasting on November 14, 1922, from London. At first, it was a small station.

In 1923, the BBC started using Savoy Hill for its studios. On New Year's Eve 1923, the famous chimes of Big Ben were broadcast for the first time to welcome the new year. In 1927, the company became the British Broadcasting Corporation.

On March 9, 1930, 2LO was replaced by two new stations: the BBC Regional Programme and the BBC National Programme. The BBC continued to use "LO" internally for London operations for many years.

When the BBC first began, it was hard to broadcast across the whole country. Each city had its own local radio station. But over time, technology improved. By 1924, London started providing most of the programs, with local stations adding their own community news.

Early Main Stations

Here are some of the first main BBC radio stations, broadcasting at about 1 kilowatt (kW):

Early Relay Stations

These smaller stations helped spread the signal, broadcasting at about 120 watts (W):

The BBC Home Service was the station that came before Radio 4. It broadcast from 1939 to 1967. On September 30, 1967, the BBC changed its radio stations, and Radio 4 was born. In 1978, Radio 4 moved to longwave radio, which helped it reach almost all of the UK for the first time. For a while, it was even called Radio 4 UK.

In the 1970s, Radio 4 used to have local news updates for different parts of England. These local news bulletins stopped in August 1980.

In 1990, a new station called Radio 5 started. This meant that some educational programs for schools and universities moved off Radio 4's FM frequencies. This allowed the full Radio 4 schedule to be heard on FM. However, some educational programs returned to Radio 4 in 1994.

During the Gulf War in 1991, Radio 4's FM broadcasts were replaced by a continuous news service called Radio 4 News FM. The main Radio 4 service then moved to longwave.

By the early 1990s, Radio 4 was available on FM in most of the UK. This allowed the main Radio 4 service to move from longwave to FM in 1991. However, some special programs like extra shipping forecasts, Daily Service, and Yesterday in Parliament stayed on longwave. Later, Test Match Special also moved to longwave.

In 2023, the BBC announced that Radio 4 would stop broadcasting these special programs on longwave. The last ones aired on March 31, 2024. Daily Service and Yesterday in Parliament moved to BBC Radio 4 Extra. The number of Shipping Forecasts was also reduced. Test Match Special moved to BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra in July 2023. These changes are happening because the BBC plans to stop longwave transmissions by 2025.

On April 15, 2024, BBC Radio 4's medium wave frequencies were switched off. These were used to help people in areas with weak longwave signals. Most of these relays stopped broadcasting at 12:27 PM BST and played a message telling listeners to find other ways to listen.

Programs and Schedule

You can find the full list of programs on Radio 4's online schedule page.

How Programs are Made

Radio 4 broadcasts a mix of live and pre-recorded programs. Live shows include Today, Woman's Hour, and You and Yours. News bulletins, like the hourly summaries and longer news programs, are also live.

The famous Greenwich Time Signal, also known as "the pips," is broadcast every hour before the news. However, it's not played at midnight or 6 PM, when the chimes of Big Ben are heard instead. Also, there are no pips at 3 PM on Saturday or 11 AM and 12 PM on Sunday. Remember, the pips are only perfectly accurate on FM and LW radio. On digital platforms, there's a small delay.

Popular Programs

Radio 4 programs cover many topics. These include news, current events, history, culture, science, religion, arts, drama, and comedy. Many shows are "magazine" style, meaning they have several short segments. Woman's Hour, From Our Own Correspondent, and You and Yours are examples of these.

Many programs on Radio 4 have been running for a very long time, some for over 40 years! You can listen to most programs online for four weeks after they are broadcast on Radio 4's "listen again" page or through BBC Sounds. Many comedy and drama shows from the Radio 4 archives are also available on BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Sometimes, to save space on digital radio, BBC Radio 4's sound quality is reduced in the evenings. This means that after 7 PM, the digital radio broadcast is usually in mono (not stereo). However, you can still hear many programs in stereo on FM, digital TV (Freeview & Freesat Channel 704, Sky, Virgin), and online via BBC Sounds.

Radio Presenters and Newsreaders

The people who present on Radio 4 are called announcers and newsreaders. They work from Broadcasting House.

Announcers do several important jobs:

• They connect programs and introduce what's coming next.
• They read short ads for upcoming shows.
• They reassure listeners if there's a technical problem.
• They read the Shipping Forecast (except for the 5:20 AM broadcast).
• They also read news summaries on BBC Radio 3 at certain times.

Newsreaders read the hourly news summaries and longer news bulletins.

Current Presenters

Freelance Presenters

Feedback and Discussion

Like any big organization, BBC Radio 4 sometimes receives feedback. Some people have discussed whether the station's news programs, especially Today, show a particular point of view. Others have suggested that the station might appeal more to certain groups of listeners.

Historically, when women started becoming continuity announcers and newsreaders in the 1970s, some listeners had strong opinions about it. Also, the program Thought for the Day, which focuses on religious discussion, has sometimes been a topic of debate.

See also

• ABC Radio National
• CBC Radio One - Canadian talk radio station from CBC
• National Public Radio
• Radio New Zealand National
• RTÉ Radio 1 - Irish talk and music radio station from RTÉ
• Sveriges Radio P1