BBC Radio Wales

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BBC Radio Wales
Image:BBC Radio Wales.gif
Broadcast area Flag of Wales Wales
Frequency FM: various
MW: 882 and 657 kHz
DAB
Digital Satellite: 0117
Freeview: 719 (Wales only)
Virgin Media: 931
Online
First air date 1978
Format News, Music, Sport
Audience share 9.6% (March 2008, [1])
Owner BBC
Website www.bbc.co.uk/radiowales
This article does not cite any references or sources. (February 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

BBC Radio Wales is the BBC's national radio station broadcasting to Wales in the English language. Operated by BBC Wales, it began broadcasting on 12 November 1978 following the demise of the old "Radio 4 Wales" (previously the Welsh Home Service) when BBC Radio 4 became a national network and moved from medium wave to long wave.

Contents

[edit] History

BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio Wales were created as distinct stations on the old Radio Four Scottish and Radio Four Welsh medium wave opt-out frequencies of 810 and 882 kHz. They would be part time initially, broadcasting for only 20 hours per week, still relaying Radio Four at other times, however the groundwork had been laid for the stations to become important, respected full-time services.

BBC Radio Wales was preceded in the autumn of 1978 by a number of local 1 week experimental radio stations that included BBC Radio Wrexham and Radio Rhondda. The first editor of BBC Radio Wales was Teleri Bevan, a former BBC Radio 4 Wales producer. Anita Morgan presented a breakfast show, AM, but this soon gave way to a more modern show for the period presented by Chris Stuart. The main daily presenters for the first decade were Chris Stuart, Mike Flynn, Vincent Kane, Noreen Bray and Alun Williams. By the mid 80's Roy Noble was also a regular daily voice. Old Radio 4 type continuity studios were modified to become 'self operated' by the early 1980s. Outside broadcasts from different towns in Wales were also introduced with Mike Flynn and Alun Williams hosting a weekly 3 hour Friday morning live programme. BBC Radio Wales also started to embrace publicity similar to that used by UK commercial radio. Part of this included sponsorship of a light aircraft (G-ARRP) flown by Mike Flynn. Other early presenters included Wyn Calvin, Maureen Staffer, Sylvia Horn, GV Wynne Jones (Geevers), Claire Vincent, Piet Brinton, Jackie Emlyn and HRH Princess Anne's biographer Brian Hoey.

[edit] Transmission

For many years Radio Wales was broadcast only on medium wave using a 750,000 watt transmitter broadcasting on 882khz from Washford in Somerset; as the BBC considered that because the Welsh language network BBC Radio Cymru was the only network using that language, it merited a higher quality of transmission. However since 1999 Radio Wales has been acquiring its own FM network, starting in areas like Newport and Wrexham where the Welsh language has the fewest speakers. Because of the power of the medium wave transmitter, BBC Radio Wales can also be heard outside the intended transmission area and is audible across Somerset and the Bristol area, most parts of Devon and northern Cornwall, as well as in areas of south-western Ireland.

BBC Radio Wales is also broadcast on DAB Digital Radio and Freeview across Wales, as well as across the UK and Europe on satellite.

[edit] Programmes

Current programmes include Good Morning Wales, "Jamie and Louise" with Jamie Owen and Louise Elliot, "Richard Evans Phone-in", Roy Noble's afternoon show, Good Evening Wales, The Evening Show (a show covering current rock/pop music and entertainment), Adam Walton's new music show (covering new Welsh music on Sunday nights), 'Celtic Heartbeat', presented by Frank Hennessy, and Chris Needs' Friendly Garden which goes out every weeknight evening from 10pm.

[edit] Sport

Radio Wales's sports output includes Sportstime, presented by Steve James and broadcast on Saturdays between 14.03 and 18.30. The programme is also transmitted every Tuesday night from 19.03 to 21.00 and is again hosted by Steve James, who took over the presenting role from Rob Phillips in early 2007. Both programmes feature local FM commentary of Cardiff City in the south-east of Wales, Swansea City in the south west and Wrexham in the north of Wales with the presenters going through a running commentary on everything that is happening in the day's play on MW. The station's commentators are Ian Gwyn Hughes (also BBC Wales Football Editor), John Hardy, Rob Phillips and Simon Davies. The summarisers are former Wales captain Kevin Ratcliffe, former Wales and Norwich striker Iwan Roberts, ex Wales and Crystal Palace striker Ian Walsh, Malcolm Allen, the ex Wales and Newcastle centre forward, former Atletico Madrid manager Colin Addison and Jason Perry, a former Cardiff City defender. Sportstime is also aired on other days if there is other sport happening throughout the week, usually on MW only.

[edit] Radio Gwent and Radio Clwyd opt-outs

After a number of experiments with temporary special-event stations in various parts of Wales prior to the launch in November 1978, two long-standing opt-out stations were established: Radio Gwent, based in Cwmbran, on the air between April 1983 and March 1991, and Mold-based Radio Clwyd which was broadcast between October 1981 and October 1993. Both of these stations operated at peak times only, and carried Radio Wales at other times. But the growth of commercial local radio dedicated to a local audience meant these stations found it hard to compete. Radio Clwyd offered just a few hours a day against its competitor Marcher Sound which was broadcasting 24 hours a day with local accents. Following the closure of Radio Clwyd, local bulletins for north-east Wales continued until 2002, staff having moved from Mold to Wrexham in the summer of 1998.

A tribute site is now online with a new edition (2006) of the magazine programme "Roundabout", looking back at the history of Radio Clwyd. [2]

[edit] North East Wales

North of the valleys, Wrexham and the north-east Wales coastal strip, has the largest population in Wales. However distance is a major obstacle in uniting the country and BBC Radio Wales has never really catered for area north of the major centres of South Wales.The loss of Radio Clwyd and the subsequent local bulletins was resented by some listeners in north-east Wales, who felt that the main Radio Wales programming concentrated too much on Cardiff and the South Wales valleys. On 21 January 2003 their complaint was raised in the House of Commons [3] [4]. On 4th Feb 2008 the Wrexham Evening Leader ran a debate on the Welsh north-south divide In headlines they claimed "Calls have today been made for the Assembly in Cardiff to stop ‘ignoring’ the residents of North East Wales.The Evening Leader has held a special investigation into the Welsh north-south divide and the growing feeling that our region is not getting the attention it deserves. Despite technical problems that existed in November 1978, and given the major technical developements that have taken place since,politics suggest it is highly unlikely production of daily programmes will take place from Wrexham in the next decade.

[edit] External links

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