BBC Somerset

**BBC Somerset** is British local public radio station owned by British Broadcasting Corporation. The station broadcasts local news, talk shows and music programmings.

## History

The first BBC service for the county of Somerset was established in 1978, as an emergency measure following storms in the county. The station proper was launched as **BBC Somerset Sound** on 11 April 1988, broadcasting on BBC Radio Bristol's former frequency of 1323AM. It was based in studios above a cafe on Paul St, Taunton, with a smaller satellite studio in Yeovil. The signal on 1323AM was for many years interfered with by a Russian radio station.

In August 2002, **BBC Somerset** moved to new premises in Park Street, Taunton, and acquired a more robust frequency of 1566AM. On 3 December 2007, it was also given BBC Radio Bristol's former FM frequency of 95.5 FM. It currently broadcasts on both of these, to the whole of the historic county of Somerset and beyond. Listeners from as far afield as Finland have reported hearing the station clearly. **BBC Somerset** sometimes uses its AM frequency for cricket commentary while regular programming continues on FM. **BBC Somerset** began broadcasting in DAB in September 2014.

**BBC Somerset** was for many years an 'opt-out' from Radio Bristol, but in May 2012, the BBC established it as a station in its own right. The BBC's Annual Report and Accounts for 2005/2006 stated: **The BBC is committed to extending its network of local radio stations to a limited number of under served areas, and BBC management is carrying out preparatory work for new stations in Somerset, Dorset and Cheshire**.

On 6 October 2011, the BBC announced that it intended to close **BBC Somerset**'s 1566MW frequency as part of its **Delivering Quality First** (DQF) program of cutbacks. No decision on the timing of the medium wave switch-off has yet been made.

In November 2017, **BBC Somerset** moved from the Park Street premises to a new building on the edge of Taunton in Blackbrook.

The current editor of **BBC Somerset** is Nick Bull, with Andrew Enever as news editor.

## Programmings

On normal weekdays, **BBC Somerset** broadcasts three of its own programmes - Claire Carter at Breakfast, Simon Parkin in the morning and Matt Faulkner at drivetime. Simon Parkin also presents a Saturday breakfast show, with Charlie Taylor presenting the Saturday mid-morning slot. There is also a ***Pick of the Week*** compilation and local news bulletins throughout the day. At all other times, the station simulcasts programming from BBC Radio Bristol and during downtime, BBC Radio 5 Live overnight.

As with all BBC Local Radio stations, it also airs the networked weekday evening shows, originating from BBC Radio Leeds and produced independently by Wire Free Productions.

The station also carries off-peak regional programming for the West of England, including early morning and late night shows on weekdays (produced from Bristol and Swindon respectively), Sunday afternoon output from BBC Radio Gloucestershire and joint programming with **BBC South West** stations on Saturday evenings and Sunday nights.

## External links

* Official website

* National stations
* Regional stations
* Local stations

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