 | |
| Broadcast area | Northamptonshire |
|---|---|
| Frequency | FM: 103.6 MHz (Geddington) FM: 104.2 MHz (Northampton) DAB: 10C (NOW Northampton) Freeview: 716 |
| RDS | BBC NHTN |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Local news, talk and music |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | BBC Local Radio, BBC East, BBC East Midlands, BBC South |
| History | |
First air date | 16 June 1982 |
Former names | BBC Northampton (1990–2000) |
Former frequencies | 96.6 FM 1107MW |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | Ofcom |
| Links | |
| Website | BBC Radio Northampton |
BBC Radio Northampton is theBBC's local radio station serving the county ofNorthamptonshire.
It broadcasts onFM,DAB, digital TV and viaBBC Sounds from studios on Abington Street inNorthampton.
According toRAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 70,000 listeners and a 4.0% share as of December 2023.[1]
The station was launched at 6:45am on 16 June 1982 on 1107AM and 96.6FM, with Jon Beynon's programmeStart the Day, the first piece of music beingJohn Williams'sSuperman theme, followed byWork That Body byDiana Ross.
The firstoutside broadcast followed on 17 June 1982, and the official opening was performed byPrince Richard, Duke of Gloucester.
The station was renamedBBC Northampton in 1990, but then reverted to BBC Radio Northampton on 3 April 2000.
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The station has twoFM transmitters. The 104.2 FM frequency broadcasts from the Boughton Green Road area ofNorthampton and covers the south and west of the county (including Northampton and surrounding area).
The 103.6 FM frequency broadcasts from a mast near the village ofGeddington and covers the north and east of the county (includingKettering andCorby).
The station beganDAB broadcasts on 28 March 2013 from the NOW Northampton Digital multiplex. The DAB transmitters are located at Northampton, Geddington, Towcester Potcote Farm, andDaventry. The transmitter at Daventry onBorough Hill was the BBC's firstlong wave transmitter, which began broadcasting on 27 July 1925. It had not been previously used by the BBC since 1978.
The station also broadcasts onFreeview TV channel 716 in theBBC East,BBC East Midlands andBBC South regions. It also streams online viaBBC Sounds.
The station was originally available on 1107 kHzmedium wave across the county from a transmitter at Kings Heath; this was reallocated to Virgin Radio using 1233 kHz.
Listeners in some southwestern parts of Northamptonshire, includingBrackley, cannot receiveFM signals that broadcast BBC Radio Northampton. However, those areas receive better FM signals from theOxford transmitter which broadcastsBBC Radio Oxford on 95.2 FM.
On 11 October 2007, theDAB licence was awarded toNOW Digital.MuxCo had also bid for the licence.
NOW Digital expected to start broadcasting from the three transmitters atNorthampton,Geddington andDaventry in September 2008, however transmissions eventually began on 28 March 2013 on DAB channel 10C.
From February 2015,Ofcom approved the separation of theNorthamptonshire multiplex from theHertfordshire,Bedfordshire andBuckinghamshire multiplex, resulting in the removal of BBC Radio Northampton from the Herts, Beds and Bucks multiplex.[2]
BBC Radio Northampton airs extensive sports coverage, led by Sports Editor Graham McKechnie. Football commentators include Tim Oglethorpe, Martin Smith and Terry Angus forNorthampton Town, Peter Short for Kettering Town, Chris Barrett at Brackley / Rushden and Chuck Middleton at Corby. McKechnie commentates onNorthampton Saints rugby with Lennie Newman and Ian Hunter. Northants Steelbacks cricket commentators include McKechnie, Andrew Radd, Mal Loye and Phil Rowe.
Matches are covered onFM,DAB or both, with additional coverage on-line.
The station broadcasts four weekly sports shows from 6 pm to 7 pm, these include 'The Saints Show' on Wednesday presented by McKechnie and Newman, focusing on a guest from Northampton Saints and 'The Cobblers Show' presented by Jake Sharpe on Thursday.
Local programming is produced and broadcast from the BBC'sNorthampton studios from 6 am to 2 pm on Mondays to Fridays.
All other programming became regional or national in 2023; much of this is broadcast from the studios ofBBC Three Counties Radio.
During the station's downtime, BBC Radio Northampton simulcasts overnight programming fromBBC Radio 5 Live.
ViLoR (Virtual Local Radio) is the name of a BBC project that usescomputer virtualisation andaudio-over-IP to reduce the amount of equipment at a radio station. In 2014, BBC Radio Northampton became the first station to operate in this way.[3] ViLoR has been implemented at allBBC Local Radio stations (exceptBBC Radio Manchester andBBC Radio London.)[4]
52°14′23″N0°53′24″W / 52.2397°N 0.8901°W /52.2397; -0.8901
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