# 1996 in British radio

This is a list of events in British radio during 1996.

## Events
### January

* No events.

### February

* 4 February – Trevor Nelson joins BBC Radio 1 to present the UK's first national R&B show Rhythm Nation.
* 5 February – Radio Wyvern becomes the last commercial radio station in England to end simulcasting on FM and AM.

### March

* 15 March – Alan Freeman joins Virgin Radio to present a new Friday night rock show.
* 18 March – Mike Read replaces Nick Bailey as host of Classic FM’s breakfast show.
* 30 March – Steve Wright joins BBC Radio 2.
* 31 March – Michael Parkinson begins presenting Parkinson's Sunday Supplement on Radio 2.
* March
** Jim Moir replaces Frances Line as controller of BBC Radio 2 and begins repositioning the station to attract a wider audience of over 35s, many of whom have moved to commercial radio following the repositioning of BBC Radio 1 three years earlier. He introduces a daytime playlist consisting of AOR/contemporary music with specialist programmes airing during the evening and at the weekend. Nostalgic/easy listening music is restricted to Sundays only.
** BBC Dorset FM closes and is replaced by a rebroadcast of BBC Radio Solent with localised news bulletins.
** Allied Radio plc is taken over by Independent Radio Group plc.

### April

* 1 April – Network News closes.
* 3 April – After 18 years, the name BBC Radio Manchester returns to the airwaves. Since 1988 the station had been called BBC GMR. Shortly after the namechange, the station opens a relay on 104.6 FM to give areas of the Upper Tame Valley, including Saddleworth, Tameside and down to Hyde, improved coverage.
* 5–8 April – Classic FM broadcasts its first Hall of Fame over the Easter weekend.
* 9 April – BBC Radio Oxford and BBC Radio Berkshire are merged to form BBC Thames Valley FM.

### May

* 4 May – BBC Radio 3 commences 24-hour transmission.
* May – Viva 963 is sold to Mohammed Al Fayed, owner of Harrods and chairman of Fulham Football Club, who renames the station as Liberty Radio.

### June

* June – Radio 1 starts live streaming on the internet.
* June – Schools programmes are broadcast during the day for the final time. Schools programmes continued to be broadcast overnight until 2003.

### July

* 1 July – The LBC name returns to London's airwaves following a rebrand of London News Radio's MW station News Talk 1152.
* 9 July – The Radio Authority receives 25 bids for the final FM citywide London licence. In November the Authority announces that XFM has been awarded the licence which will broadcast on 104.9.

### August

* Hallam FM switches off its transmitter covering Rotherham as part of its licence agreement.
* Minster FM extends northwards when it switches on a transmitter covering Thirsk and Northallerton.

### September

* 9 September – Following a change in ownership, Manchester station Fortune 1458 is relaunched as Lite AM.
* 27 September – Paul Gambaccini leaves BBC Radio 3 after less than a year with the station.
* 30 September – Belfast Community Radio closes and is replaced by CityBeat.
* September
** Scottish Radio Holdings purchases Northern Ireland stations Downtown Radio and Cool FM.
** The Radio Authority awards a full-time commercial licence to a student radio station for the first time when it awards the Oxford licence to Oxygen FM.

### October

* 9 October – BBC Radio 1's London studios move from Egton House to Yalding House.
* October – Richard Skinner, who presented the first show on Virgin Radio, leaves.

### November

* 4 November – The Asian Network expands into a full-time station when it increases the number of hours on air from 80 hours a week to 126 hours a week (18 hours a day). The station, which broadcasts on the MW frequencies of BBC Radio Leicester and BBC WM, is renamed BBC Asian Network.
* 14 November – London News relaunches its rolling news service as News Direct 97.3.

### December

* 20 December – Steve Penk leaves Key 103 to move to Capital FM after 18 years at the Manchester station.

### Unknown

* Matthew Bannister becomes Director of BBC Radio.
* Following its purchase of Bedford station Chiltern 96.9, new owners GWR Group rebrand the station as B97 FM.

## Station debuts

* 5 February – Wyvern FM and Wyvern AM
* Spring – Burn FM
* 4 April – 96.4 The Eagle
* 9 April – BBC Thames Valley FM
* 21 April – Spirit FM
* 24 May – FM102 The Bear
* 3 June – Asian Sound Radio
* 15 July – Oban FM
* 29 September – The Beach
* 23 November – Valleys Radio
* Unknown date – Fly Live

## Programme debuts

* 31 March – Parkinson's Sunday Supplement on BBC Radio 2 (1996–2007)
* 17 April – Chambers on BBC Radio 4 (1996–1999)
* 5 July – Goodness Gracious Me on BBC Radio 4 (1996–1998)
* 26 July – Comedy Quiz on BBC Radio 4 (1996–1997)
* 4 August – Independence Day UK on BBC Radio 1 (1996)
* 6 October – The David Jacobs Collection on BBC Radio 2 (1996–2013)

## Continuing radio programmes
### 1940s

* Sunday Half Hour (1940–2018)
* Desert Island Discs (1942–Present)
* Letter from America (1946–2004)
* Woman's Hour (1946–Present)
* A Book at Bedtime (1949–Present)

### 1950s

* The Archers (1950–Present)
* The Today Programme (1957–Present)
* Sing Something Simple (1959–2001)
* Your Hundred Best Tunes (1959–2007)

### 1960s

* Farming Today (1960–Present)
* In Touch (1961–Present)
* The World at One (1965–Present)
* The Official Chart (1967–Present)
* Just a Minute (1967–Present)
* The Living World (1968–Present)
* The Organist Entertains (1969–2018)

### 1970s

* PM (1970–Present)
* Start the Week (1970–Present)
* Week Ending (1970–1998)
* You and Yours (1970–Present)
* I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (1972–Present)
* Good Morning Scotland (1973–Present)
* Kaleidoscope (1973–1998)
* Newsbeat (1973–Present)
* The News Huddlines (1975–2001)
* File on 4 (1977–Present)
* Money Box (1977–Present)
* The News Quiz (1977–Present)
* Breakaway (1979–1998)
* Feedback (1979–Present)
* The Food Programme (1979–Present)
* Science in Action (1979–Present)

### 1980s

* In Business (1983–Present)
* Sounds of the 60s (1983–Present)
* Loose Ends (1986–Present)

### 1990s

* The Moral Maze (1990–Present)
* Essential Selection (1991–Present)
* No Commitments (1992–2007)
* Harry Hill's Fruit Corner (1993–1997)
* The Pepsi Chart (1993–2002)
* Wake Up to Wogan (1993–2009)
* Essential Mix (1993–Present)
* Up All Night (1994–Present)
* Wake Up to Money (1994–Present)
* Collins and Maconie's Hit Parade (1994–1997)
* Julie Enfield Investigates (1994–1999)
* Private Passions (1995–Present)

## Ending this year

* January – Change at Oglethorpe (1995–1996)
* September – The Mark Steel Solution (1992–1996)

## Closing this year

* 9 April –
** BBC Radio Berkshire (1992–1996)
** BBC Radio Oxford (1970–1996)
* 1 September – Supergold (1988–1996)

## Deaths

* 26 March – John Snagge, 91, newsreader
* 6 April – Gordon Clough, 61, radio journalist
* 29 April – David Davis, 87, radio executive and broadcaster
* 11 May – Joan Thirkettle, 48, television journalist and radio personality
* 7 June – Percy Edwards, 88, animal impersonator
* 19 June – Vivian Ellis, 92, theme tune composer (My Word, Paul Temple)
* 11 December – Willie Rushton, 59, comic performer, broadcast personality and cartoonist
* 14 December – Norman Hackforth, 87, musical accompanist and radio "mystery voice"