 | |
| Broadcast area | Bath,Bristol,South Gloucestershire,North andNorth East Somerset |
|---|---|
| Frequencies | FM: 94.9 MHz (Dundry) FM: 103.6 MHz (Hutton) FM: 104.6 MHz (Bath) DAB: 11B Freeview: 711 |
| RDS | BBC BSTL |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Local news, talk and music |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | BBC Local Radio, BBC West |
| History | |
First air date | 4 September 1970 |
Former frequencies | 1548MW |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | Ofcom |
| Links | |
| Website | BBC Radio Bristol |
BBC Radio Bristol is theBBC's local radio station serving the cities ofBristol andBath and theunitary authorities ofBath and North East Somerset,North Somerset andSouth Gloucestershire.
It broadcasts onFM,DAB, digital TV and viaBBC Sounds from studios atBroadcasting House in Bristol.
According toRAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 88,000 listeners as of May 2025. The worst performer of all BBC local stations.[1]
BBC Radio Bristol broadcasts onFM frequencies 94.9 MHz (Dundry), 104.6 MHz (Bath), 103.6 MHz (Weston-super-Mare), and onDAB.
TheMendip transmitter, nearWells, used to broadcast BBC Radio Bristol on 95.5 MHz over a very large area but, from 3 December 2007, this was transferred to the newBBC Somerset service. Since the BBC relaunched BBC Somerset on FM, BBC Radio Bristol has been left free to concentrate editorially onBristol, Bath and the rest of the formerAvon area.
On 11 December 2014, the station launched onFreeview channel 711, on the PSB 1 multiplex from theMendip transmitter and its TV relays.[2] The station also streams online viaBBC Sounds.
TheAM transmitter atMangotsfield on 1548 kHz was closed in February 2016.
Weekday programming is produced and broadcast from the BBC'sBristol studios from 6 am to 2 pm each day. The afternoon programme is shared with BBC Radio Somerset.
Weekday evening programmes are all shared across theBBC West region.
At weekends, all programmes except Saturday sport are either regional or national.
The late show, airing every day from 10 pm to 1 am, is a national programme originating in either Manchester or London.[3]
BBC Radio Bristol simulcasts overnight programming fromBBC Radio 5 Live between 1am and 6am.
Kate Adie andMichael Buerk produced and presented programmes for BBC Radio Bristol as part of the station's launch team in the 1970s. Buerk's voice was the first to be heard on the station.[4]
Kenny Everett was a presenter during the early 1970s. He pre-recorded his shows from his farmhouse inSussex.[5]
ComedianChris Morris worked for the station in the late 1980s, presenting and producing his own weekend show,No Known Cure. He was dismissed from the station after "talking over the news bulletins and making silly noises".
One of the station's longest serving presenters was veteran local journalist Roger Bennett, who joined at launch as a reporter, before going onto present its flagship breakfast programme,Morning West, from 1974 to 2003. He continued to freelance at Radio Bristol until his death in July 2005.[6]
Other past presenters includeSusan Osman, who also co-presentedPoints West for 14 years, and John Turner, who worked on the station between 1978 and 2007.[7]
Jenni Murray, presenter ofBBC Radio 4'sWoman's Hour, started her BBC career at Radio Bristol,[8] as well asSusanna Reid, a presenter onGood Morning Britain.
Doctor and comedianDr Phil Hammond presented a Saturday morning show calledSaturday Surgery for 12 years, but was taken off air in August 2018 after announcing his intention to stand for Parliament.
Former Breakfast Show host James Hanson is now a presenter forLBC and LBC News.
In November 2008, BBC Radio Bristol presenterSam Mason was dismissed following an incident in which it was alleged that she had made racist remarks in an off-air phone conversation during a weekday afternoon show. Whilst phoning a taxi firm in order to send her 14-year-old daughter from Mason's Clifton home to her grandparents' home, she was said to have asked the company not to send an Asian driver.[9]
51°27′40″N2°36′29″W / 51.4611°N 2.6080°W /51.4611; -2.6080
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