BBC Radio Shropshire
BBC Radio Shropshire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Shropshire. Launched on 23 April 1985, it was the 30th BBC local station.[1] It originally broadcast on both FM and AM (on 756 kHz and 1584 kHz), but changed to FM only in 1991. The 756 kHz AM frequency was later allocated to Radio Maldwyn, based in Newtown, Powys, ready for their launch of 'The Magic 756' in 1993.
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City | Shrewsbury |
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Broadcast area | Shropshire |
Frequency | RDS: BBC Shrp, 96 MHz, 90 MHz, 95 MHz, 104.1 MHz, DAB |
RDS | BBC Shrp |
Slogan | The sound of where we live, and all the music you love
(Top of the hour news) ‘On the BBC Sounds app, on your smart speaker “play BBC Radio Shropshire” and on your radio, The sound of where we live is BBC Radio Shropshire’ |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Format | Local news, talk and music |
Ownership | |
Owner | BBC Local Radio, BBC Midlands |
History | |
First air date | 23 April 1985 |
Links | |
Website | BBC Radio Shropshire |
The station now broadcasts from its studios in Shrewsbury on 96 MHz (for central and north Shropshire), 90 MHz (Church Stretton), 95 MHz (in Ludlow), 104.1 MHz (in Clun) FM and DAB (digital radio).
According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 109,000 listeners and a 12.4% share as of December 2018.[2]
Transmitters
The 96 MHz FM signal from The Wrekin is the strongest, and can be heard from outside the county, especially along the M5 and M6 near Birmingham, as well as into western Staffordshire, southern Cheshire and Wrexham.
The other transmitters (on Black Hill near Clun, on Hazler Hill near Church Stretton, and in Mortimer Forest near Ludlow) have a much weaker signal only heard up to about 6 miles (10 km) away. These three transmitters are for broadcasting to the south of the county, which has a hilly terrain that reduces the effectiveness of FM transmissions.
The Wrekin transmitter also broadcasts the commercial station Free Radio on 103.1 MHz FM, Digital One, the MXR West Midlands 12A multiplex and BBC National DAB. The transmitters also have television, and Ludlow has national radio frequencies. DAB signals started on 31 January 2001 from the NOW Digital Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury and Telford 11B multiplex. This also has BBC WM and originates from the Wrekin and Turners Hill (near Rowley Regis).
Programming
The majority of the station's programming is produced and broadcast from Shrewsbury. During off-peak hours, BBC Radio Shropshire also produces some regional programming for the Midlands and simulcasts other output from BBC WM. During the station's downtime, BBC Radio Shropshire simulcasts BBC Radio 5 Live overnight.
The station's local presenters include Jim Hawkins.[3]
External links
- BBC Radio Shropshire
- Media UK - BBC Radio Shropshire
- History of local radio in Shropshire
- MDS975's Transmitter Coverage
- Clun transmitter
- Hazler Hill transmitter
- Ludlow transmitter
- Turners Hill (Digital)
- Wrekin transmitter
References
- https://audioboom.com/posts/769158-bbc-radio-shropshire-launch#t=2m3s
- "RAJAR". RAJAR. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
- "Mid-morning on Radio Shropshire". BBC. 7 August 2020. Archived from the original on 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.