BBC Radio 4 (UK radio station)

***BBC Radio 4*** is a radio station owned and operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station is broadcast from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasting House, London.

After Radio 2, it is the second most popular domestic radio station in the UK, broadcast throughout the UK, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands on FM, LW and DAB; and can be received in eastern and south eastern counties of Ireland, the north of France and Northern Europe. It is also available through Freeview, Sky, Virgin Media and on the Internet. Its sister station, BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7), complements the main channel by broadcasting repeats from the Radio 4 archive, extended versions of Radio 4 programmes and supplements to series such as The Archers and Desert Island Discs.

It is notable for its news bulletins and programmes such as Today and The World at One, heralded on air by the Greenwich Time Signal "pips" or the chimes of Big Ben. Radio 4's Shipping Forecast reached 150 years old in 2017.

The BBC Home Service was the predecessor of Radio 4 and broadcast between 1939 and 1967. It had regional variations and was broadcast on medium wave with a network of VHF FM transmitters being added from 1955. Radio 4 replaced it on September 30, 1967, when the BBC renamed many of its domestic radio stations, in response to the challenge of offshore radio. It moved to long wave in November 1978, taking over the 200 kHz frequency previously held by Radio 2, and later moved to 198 kHz as a result of international agreements aimed at avoiding interference.

Radio 4 programmes cover a wide variety of genre including news and current affairs, history, culture, science, religion, arts, drama and light entertainment. A number of the programmes on Radio 4 take the form of a "magazine" show, featuring numerous small contributions over the course of the programme—Woman's Hour, From Our Own Correspondent, You and Yours. The rise of these magazine shows is primarily due to the work of Tony Whitby, controller of Radio 4 from 1970 to 1975.

The station hosts a number of long-running programmes, many of which have been broadcast for over 40 years.

#### Selected 20th Century shows and features on Radio 4

* Shipping Forecast (1925 Daventry 5XX; 1929–39 National Programme; 1945 Light Programme; 1967 Radio 2; 1978–)
* Saturday Night Theatre (1943–96)
* Today in Parliament (1945–)
* Woman's Hour (1946 Light Programme; 1973–)
* Gardeners' Question Time (1947–)
* Any Questions? (1948–)
* Book at Bedtime (1949–57 Light Programme; 1962–)
* The Archers (1950–)
* Listen with Mother (1950 Light Programme; 1973–82)
* Brain of Britain (1953-)
* Any Answers? (1955–)
* From Our Own Correspondent (1955–)
* Test Match Special (1956 Third Network; 1967 Radio 3; 1994–)
* My Word! (1956–90)
* Does the Team Think? (1957–67 Light Programme; 1968, 1970–73 Radio 2; 1970–71, 1974–76 Radio 4; 2007–09 Radio 2)
* Today (1957–)
* Pick of the Week (1959-)
* Farming Today (1960-)
* The Men from the Ministry (1962–77)
* The World at One (1965–)
* All Gas and Gaiters (1966–71)
* Just a Minute (1967–)
* The Afternoon Play/Drama (1967-)
* The Big Business Lark (1969)
* You and Yours (1970–)
* Brothers in Law (1970–2)
* Dr Finlay's Casebook (1970-78)
* I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue (1972–)
* Checkpoint (1973–84) (became Face The Facts)
* Dad's Army (1973–5)
* Kaleidoscope (1973–98)
* In Business (1975–)
* The Burkiss Way (1976-80)
* Money Box (1977–)
* The News Quiz (1977–)
* The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1978, 1980, 2004–5)
* The Food Programme (1979-)
* Radio Active (1980–7)
* Face the Facts (1984–)
* Loose Ends (1985–)
* After Henry (1985–9)
* Counterpoint (1986–)
* Whose Line is it Anyway? (1988)
* As Time Goes By (1997–9)

Find out more at bbc.co.uk/radio4.