1996 in British radio
This is a list of events in British radio during 1996.
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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 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.
- March – BBC Dorset FM closes and is replaced by a rebroadcast of BBC Radio Solent with localised news bulletins.
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.[1]
May
- 4 May – BBC Radio 3 commences 24-hour transmission.[2]
June
- June – Radio 1 starts live streaming on the internet.[3]
- 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.
- September – Scottish Radio Holdings purchases Northern Ireland stations Downtown Radio and Cool FM.
- September – 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.
- 27 September – Paul Gambaccini leaves BBC Radio 3 after less than a year with the station.
October
- 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.
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
Closing this year
- 9 April –
- BBC Radio Berkshire (1992–1996)
- BBC Radio Oxford (1970–1996)
- 1 September – Supergold (1988–1996)
Programme debuts
- 17 April – Chambers on BBC Radio 4 (1996–1999)
- July – Comedy Quiz on BBC Radio 4 (1996–1997)
- 6 October – The David Jacobs Collection on BBC Radio 2 (1996–2013)
- Unknown – Parkinson's Sunday Supplement (1996–2007)
Continuing 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)
- 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)
Deaths
- 26 March – John Snagge, 91, newsreader
- 29 April – David Davis, 87, radio executive and broadcaster
- 11 May – Joan Thirkettle, 48, television journalist and radio personality[4]
- 11 December – Willie Rushton, 59, comic performer, broadcast personality and cartoonist
- 14 December – Norman Hackforth, 87, musical accompanist and radio "mystery voice"
See also
References
- "The BBC Radio Oxford 40 year timeline". BBC News. 12 October 2010. Retrieved 2011-11-13.
- BBC Genome Project BBC Radio 3 listings 4 May 1996
- "BBC Internet Services – History". BBC. Retrieved 26 January 2009.
- "Joan Thirkettle dies aged 48". The Independent. London. 14 May 1996. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
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