BBC Regional Radio

Alongside national and local services, the BBC also runs radio stations for the three national regions: Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. These stations focus on local issues to a greater extent than their UK-wide counterparts, organising live phone-in debates about these issues, as well as lighter talk shows with music from different decades of the 20th century. Compared to the majority of the UK's commercially funded radio stations, which generally broadcast little beyond contemporary popular music, the BBC's "national regional" stations offer a more diverse range of programming.

### Wales

BBC Cymru Wales operates two radio stations covering the entire country. BBC Radio Wales is the English language network, broadcasting local programmes for approximately 20 hours a day and simulcasting the BBC World Service during the station's down time. BBC Radio Cymru broadcasts Welsh programmes for approximately the same time covering a wide variety of genres: a specifically branded youth section C2 contributes to this by broadcasting songs from the pop and rock genres. While off air, Radio Cymru simulcasts BBC Radio 5 Live's overnight programme.

#### January 3, 1977: BBC Radio Cymru

***BBC Radio Cymru*** is BBC Cymru Wales' Welsh-language national radio station. Its first programme was an extended news bulletin presented at 6:45 am, which was followed at 7:00 am by the first edition of the breakfast magazine show Helo Bobol! (Hello People!). The first record played on Radio Cymru was "Ffrindiau Bore Oes" ("Long-term Friends") by Hergest (listen to Timothy Evans' version on Deezer).

* www.bbc.co.uk/radiocymru

#### November 13, 1978: BBC Radio Wales

***BBC Radio Wales*** is BBC Cymru Wales's national English language radio station. The station began broadcasting, following the demise of the 'Radio 4 Wales' service (previously the Welsh Home Service) and BBC Radio 4's transformation into a national network, moving from medium wave to long wave.

BBC Radio Wales was preceded in the autumn of 1978 by four experimental local radio stations broadcasting for a week: Radio Wrexham, Radio Deeside, Radio Merthyr and Radio Rhondda. Initially broadcasting for only 20 hours per week, and relaying Radio 4 at other times, the groundwork had been laid for the stations to become important, respected full-time services.

www.bbc.co.uk/radiowales

#### October, 1981: BBC Radio Clwyd

Following BBC Wales' experiments with community radio in 1978, two permanent opt-out services were developed in the North East and the South East. Radio Deeside was reopened in February 1980 in response to the closure of the Shotton steelworks. Its coverage area was expanded to the rest of Clwyd in October 1981 and the station was subsequently renamed BBC Radio Clwyd, broadcasting extended local news bulletins, a mid-morning show and occasional special programming from studios in Mold until its closure in October 1993. After the closure of Radio Clwyd, local bulletins for north-east Wales continued until 2002, staff having moved from Mold to Wrexham in summer 1998.

#### April 18, 1983: BBC Radio Gwent

Based in Cwmbran, Radio Gwent was available on FM, and since its closure in March 1991 it has continued to relay the national Radio Wales service on the same FM frequencies to the Gwent area. Both of these stations operated at peak times only, and carried Radio Wales at other times.

### Scotland

BBC Scotland operates two radio stations covering Scotland: BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio nan Gàidheal. The former broadcasts English programming 24 hours a day. The station has specific programming opt outs for Orkney and Shetland in addition to regional news opt outs for four additional sub regions - North East, Highlands & Islands, South West and Borders. BBC Radio nan Gàidheal, in contrast, is a Gaelic-language station broadcasting for the majority of the day and simulcasting Radio Scotland's MW service at other times.

#### November 23, 1978: BBC Radio Scotland

***BBC Radio Scotland*** is BBC Scotland's national English-language radio network. It broadcasts a wide variety of programmes. It replaced the Scottish BBC Radio 4 opt-out service of the same name.

The first BBC Radio Scotland broadcast was on December 17, 1973, two weeks earlier than planned.

BBC Radio Scotland was founded as a full-time radio network five years later. Previously it was possible only to opt out of BBC Radio 4, and the service was known as Radio 4 Scotland or, formally on air, as "BBC Scotland Radio 4". The establishment of a separate network was made possible when Radio 4 became a fully UK-wide network when it moved from medium wave to long wave and new VHF (FM) transmitters were brought into service so that Radio 4 and Radio Scotland no longer had to share on FM. However it wasn't until the early 1990s that Radio 4 was available on FM across all of Scotland so for its first decade on air, the station only broadcast during the day so that Radio 4 could be heard on Radio Scotland's transmitters in the evening to compensate for poorer AM reception after dark.

* www.bbc.co.uk/radioscotland

Notable past presenters include:

* Dougie Anderson
* Ken Bruce
* Armando Iannucci
* Kirsty Young

#### October 1, 1985: Radio nan Gàidheal

Scottish Gaelic-language programming has been transmitted in Scotland since 1923, and the BBC's Gaelic-language department was established in 1935. BBC Radio Highland produced a range of Gaelic programming – BBC Radio na Gaidhealtachd – and on October 5, 1979 the Scottish Gaelic service BBC Radio nan Eilean was established in Stornoway. On October 1, 1985, these two separate services united to form Radio nan Gàidheal.

* www.bbc.co.uk/radionangaidheal

### Northern Ireland

BBC Northern Ireland operates two radio stations: BBC Radio Ulster, which broadcasts throughout Northern Ireland, and BBC Radio Foyle, which broadcasts to the North West of Northern Ireland

#### January 1, 1975: BBC Radio Ulster

***BBC Radio Ulster*** replaced what had been an opt-out of BBC Radio 4 (previously the BBC Northern Ireland Home Service) and as a result of the BBC's widely regarded under-reporting of the UWC Strike in May 1974.

* www.bbc.co.uk/radioulster

#### September 11, 1979: BBC Radio Foyle

***BBC Radio Foyle*** (Irish: BBC Raidió Feabhail) is a BBC Northern Ireland local radio station, serving County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. It is named after the River Foyle which flows through Derry, the city where the station is based.

* www.bbc.co.uk/radiofoyle