BBC Radio 5 Live

British national radio station

  • Salford
Broadcast areaUnited Kingdom and internationally via BBC SoundsFrequenciesMW: 693 kHz, 909 kHz, 990 kHz and on selected BBC Local Radio stations' frequencies overnight.
DAB: 12B
Freeview: 705
Freesat: 705
Sky (UK only): 0105
Virgin Media: 905
Virgin Media Ireland: 911
Astra 2E (28.2°E) satellite
Intelsat 901 (18°W) satelliteProgrammingLanguage(s)EnglishFormatNews and sportOwnershipOwnerBBCOperatorBBC North
Sister stations
BBC Radio 5 Sports ExtraHistory
First air date
28 March 1994; 30 years ago (1994-03-28)
Former call signs
BBC Radio 5Technical information
Licensing authority
OfcomLinksWebcastBBC SoundsWebsiteBBC Radio 5 Live on BBC Sounds
BBC Radio
Nationwide
Digital-only
  • v
  • t
  • e

BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcasting virtually all major sports events staged in the UK or involving British competitors.

Radio 5 Live was launched in March 1994 as a repositioning of the original Radio 5, which was launched on 27 August 1990.[1] It is transmitted via analogue radio in AM on medium wave 693 and 909 kHz and digitally via digital radio, television and on the BBC Sounds service. Due to rights restrictions, coverage of some events, particularly live sport, is not available online or is restricted to UK addresses.

The station broadcasts from MediaCityUK in Salford in Greater Manchester[2] and is a department of the BBC North division.

According to RAJAR, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 5.2 million with a listening share of 3.1% as of December 2023.[3]

History

First logo used from launch until 1997, from the 5 Live website

The success of Radio 4 News FM during the first Gulf War (1991) led the BBC to propose the launch of a rolling-news service. Initially the plan was to broadcast a rolling news service on BBC Radio 4's long wave frequency; but this met with considerable opposition, both internally and externally,[4] so the BBC decided to close BBC Radio 5 and replace the old service's educational and children's programmes with a new news service, whilst retaining the sports programmes. BBC Radio 5 Live began its 24-hour service at 5 am on Monday 28 March 1994. The first voice on air, Jane Garvey, later went on to co-present the breakfast and drive-time shows with Peter Allen. The Times described the launch as "slipp[ing] smoothly and confidently into a routine of informative banter"[5] and The Scotsman as "professionalism at its slickest".[6]

The news of the first day was dominated by the fatal stabbing at Hall Garth School near Middlesbrough, the first of many major incidents which the network covered live as they unfolded.

The tone of the channel, engaging and more relaxed than contemporary BBC output, was the key to the channel's success and set the model for other BBC News services later in the decade. The first audiences were some 4 million, with a record audience of 6.25 million. Among the key editorial staff involved in the design of programme formats and recruitment of staff for the new station were Sara Nathan, later editor of Channel 4 News, and Tim Luckhurst, later editor of The Scotsman newspaper and professor of Journalism at the University of Kent.[7]

2000–2007 Five live logo

In 2000, the station was rebranded with a new logo which would remain with the station for another seven years. In addition, on 2 February 2002 a companion station, BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, was launched as a digital-only service to complement the range of sport and to avoid clashes; previously BBC Local Radio stations and the long-wave frequency of BBC Radio 4 were used.[8] Throughout this period, Five Live gained several awards including five Sony Awards in 2005; the single gold award was for its coverage of the 2004 Asian tsunami in the News Story Award category alongside another four silver awards and six nominations. The station also began to further its boundaries with the publication of the Radio Five Live Sporting Yearbook.[9] In August 2007, BBC Radio 5 Live was given a new logo in line with the rest of the BBC Radio network,[10] and a new background design featuring diagonal parallel lines.

The BBC Radio 5 Live logo used from 2007 until 2022.

In 2008, the BBC announced that the station would move to MediaCityUK in Salford.[11]

In 2017/18, it was noted the station not only remained as having the fourth highest cost-per-user of all the BBC radio output, but whose costs also increased – rising from 2.3p per hour the previous year to 2.5p per hour, therefore equal to 1Xtra. The audience Appreciation Index figure did not increase, remaining at 79.9; and the average length of time spent on the channel fell from 06:41 to 06:34 – the fourth lowest fall of all of the BBC's radio stations.[12]

Broadcast

BBC Radio 5 Live broadcasts in AM on the medium wave frequencies 693 and 909 kHz nationally, with the frequency 990 kHz used in Cardigan Bay in west Wales; these frequencies had been utilised by the old BBC Radio 5, which in turn had taken over the frequencies from BBC Radio 2. Uniquely to the BBC Radio network, it is the only station that is neither purely digital (such as 1Xtra, Radio 4 Extra and 6 Music) nor broadcast in analogue on FM. It is however broadcast in stereo on FM and DAB on BBC Local Radio frequencies overnight, usually from 1 am until BBC Local Radio commences morning broadcasts, usually from 5 am. BBC Radio 5 Live is also broadcast on BBC Radio Cymru in stereo from midnight until 5:30 am, on BBC Radio Scotland from 1 am until 6 am and on BBC Radio Ulster from midnight until 6:30 am. In addition to the AM output, the station also broadcasts digitally in mono on DAB Digital Radio, and on television through satellite services such as Sky, cable services such as Virgin Media, DTT services such as Freeview, Freesat and through IPTV. The station also broadcasts programmes live through BBC Sounds, which allows replaying programmes up to a month after the original broadcast. The service is also available on the Radioplayer internet site partially run by the BBC.

For many years, the station operated from four floors within the News Centre at BBC Television Centre,[13] because of the close connections between the station and BBC News, and the co-location of BBC Sport. However, as part of the corporation's plan to sell off Television Centre, the decision was made in 2008 to move BBC Radio 5 Live to the new broadcast hub at MediaCityUK.[11] The move itself began in September 2011 and took two months.[14] The new studios occupy a single floor in Quay House, with two studios large enough for several guests and a separate studio for large groups. The station continues to have a studio presence in London, with Studio 51A at BBC Broadcasting House in London used for programmes and interviews made in London for the station such as "Kermode and Mayo's Film Review".[15]

List of programmes broadcast on 5 Live

Programming

News

BBC Radio 5 Live at MediaCityUK

BBC Radio 5 Live's remit includes broadcasting rolling news and transmitting news as it breaks. It offers news bulletins every half an hour, apart from during live sports commentaries. The BBC's policy for major breaking news events revolves around a priority list. With UK news, the correspondent first records a "generic minute" summary (for use by all stations and channels); the subsequent priority is to report on Radio 5 Live, then the BBC News Channel, and then any other programmes that are on air. For foreign news, first a "generic minute" is recorded, then reports are to BBC World Service radio, then the reporter talks to any other programmes that are on air.[16][needs update]

Due to COVID-19, the hourly news bulletins were shared with BBC Radio 2 from April 2020. Three minute bulletins are broadcast on the hour, with extended five minute bulletins at 06:00, 07:00, 08:00, 13:00 and 17:00 on weekdays, at 07:00 and 08:00 on Saturdays and at 06:00, 07:00, 08:00 and 09:00 on Sundays.

Half-hour news headlines are mostly read by presenters and sports journalists, although newsreaders are used during weekday daytime programming between 10:30 and 15:30 and during 5 Live Sport evening and weekend programming.

Sport

BBC Radio 5 Live Sport playing

BBC Radio 5 Live broadcasts an extremely wide range of sports and covers all the major sporting events, mostly under its flagship sports banner 5 Live Sport. In the event that the broadcast rights to a particular event are also on BBC Television and a technical fault were to ensue, the commentary of 5 Live is simulcast on the affected BBC channel until the problem is rectified. One such occurrence was during Euro 2008 where thunderstorms caused satellite disruptions, but BBC One simulcast the 5 Live commentary. [17]

Whilst football commentaries form the majority of live commentaries during the football season, the range of events covered by the station include:

Controllers

Years served Controller
1997–1999 Roger Mosey
2000–2007 Bob Shennan
2008–2012 Adrian Van Klaveren
2013 – September 2019 Jonathan Wall
2019–present Heidi Dawson[18]

5 Sports Extra

As 5 Live cannot accommodate all of the sports which they have rights to broadcast, some are covered on sister station Sports Extra, including:

Sports Extra typically emphasises full broadcasts of Premier League and Home Nations football, if games overlap each other. 5 Live carries the first-choice match in such cases.

Also, should 5 Live be needed to broadcast news coverage when scheduled sports programmes were to be aired, the sports coverage is shifted to 5 Sports Extra.

The station had originally launched in 2002 as Radio 5 Live Sports Extra but had its name changed in 2022 as part of a rebranding of the BBC.[19]

Awards

In January 2013, BBC Radio Five Live was nominated for the Responsible Media of the Year award at the British Muslim Awards.[20]

See also

  • BBC portal
  • Radio portal

References

  1. ^ "Radio launches 2". Radiomusications. Transdiffusion. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
  2. ^ Radio 5 Live move to Salford delayed guardian.co.uk, 19 March 2010
  3. ^ "RAJAR".
  4. ^ "Jenny Abramsky Oxford lecture two" (Press release). BBC. 3 April 2007.
  5. ^ Frean, Alexandra (29 March 1994). "Radio's new voice greets the dawn". The Times. London.
  6. ^ McAlpine, Joan (29 March 1994). "Alive and kicking". The Scotsman. Edinburgh.
  7. ^ "Our Staff" Archived 2009-03-10 at the Wayback Machine. University of Kent.
  8. ^ The Many Lives of BBC Radio Sport Archived 13 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine Transdiffusion
  9. ^ Radio Five Live sporting yearbook 2005 Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine Barnsley Libraries, ISBN 0-00-721598-3
  10. ^ "New logos for BBC Radio – cool or balls?". The Guardian. London. 8 August 2007.
  11. ^ a b "BBC appoints Head of External Affairs to world-class media project" (Press release). BBC. 21 July 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  12. ^ "BBC Annual Report 2017/18" (PDF).
  13. ^ Smith, Nigel. "A peek inside 5 live's new HQ". BBC Radio 5 Live Blog. BBC. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  14. ^ Van-Klaveren, Adrian. "The Salford move and the latest RAJARs". BBC Radio 5 Live Blog. BBC. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  15. ^ Cooper, Will. "Tony Livesey's guide to the 5 live studios". BBC Radio 5 Live Blog. BBC. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  16. ^ "Editorial Processes – How BBC News Works". 22 January 2007. Retrieved 19 June 2007.
  17. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgDlZPhpZiY BBC One simulcasting 5 Live coverage of Euro 2008 during fault
  18. ^ "Heidi Dawson appointed as BBC Radio 5 live Controller".
  19. ^ "BBC Annual Plan 2022/23" (PDF). BBC. 23 March 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  20. ^ "Winners honoured at British Muslim Awards". Asian Image. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2015.

External links

  • Media related to BBC Radio 5 Live at Wikimedia Commons
  • BBC Radio 5 Live at BBC Online
  • v
  • t
  • e
UK stations
Nationwide
Digital-only
Online-only (BBC Sounds)
Nations
Scotland
Wales
Northern Ireland
BBC Local Radio
East
East Midlands
London
North East and Cumbria
North West
South
South East
South West
West
West Midlands
Yorkshire
Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
International stations
Defunct stations
and services
Local services
  • 2LO London
  • 5IT Birmingham
  • 2ZY Manchester
  • 5NO Newcastle
  • 5WA Cardiff
  • 5SC Glasgow
  • 2BD Aberdeen
  • 6BM Bournemouth
  • 2FL Sheffield
  • 5PY Plymouth
  • 5GB Daventry
  • 2BE Belfast
Relays
  • 2EH Edinburgh
  • 6LV Liverpool
  • 2LS Leeds and Bradford
  • 6KH Hull
  • 5NG Nottingham
  • 2DE Dundee
  • 6ST Stoke
  • 5SX Swansea
National services
Related topics
  • Category
  • Commons
  • BBC Portal
  • v
  • t
  • e
UK national newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals
Newspapers
(History, Circulation)
Broadsheet
Compact
Middle-market
Tabloid
Magazines and
other periodicals
National
stations
BBC
Independent
/ commercial
Regional
and local
stations
BBC
Independent
/ commercial
Other
stations
Other
Principal
channels
(List)
BBC
ITV
ITV1/STV/UTV
ITV2
ITV3
ITV4
ITVBe
Channel 4/S4C
Paramount
Channel 5
5Star
5USA
5Select
5Action
Comedy Central
Comedy Central Extra
MTV
MTV Music
MTV Hits
MTV 80s
MTV 90s
Nickelodeon
Nicktoons
Nick Jr.
Nick Jr. Too
Sky UK
UKTV
Alibi
Dave
Drama
Eden
Gold
W
Yesterday
Warner Bros. Discovery
Animal Planet
Boomerang
Cartoon Network
Cartoonito
CNN International
Discovery Channel
Discovery History
Discovery Science
Discovery Turbo
DMAX
Eurosport 1
Eurosport 2
Food Network
HGTV
Investigation Discovery
Quest
Quest Red
Really
TLC
TNT Sports
Narrative Entertainment UK Limited
Services
and
platforms
Current
Defunct
Studios
Current
Defunct
Other
Companies and organisations
Major
companies
Resources
Government and
regulatory bodies
Industry and
trades bodies
Other
Regional and student media
Regional media
Student media
  • Category
  • v
  • t
  • e
Freeview
TV channels
Radio stations
Local channels
Streamed channels
TV platforms
Miscellaneous
  • v
  • t
  • e
Radio stations in Greater London, England
AM stations
LW
  • BBC Radio 4 198
MW
  • Panjab Radio 558
  • BBC Radio 4 720
  • BBC Radio 5 Live 909
  • Sunrise Radio 963, 972
  • Lyca Gold 1035
  • Talksport 1089
  • LBC News 1152
  • Premier Christian Radio 1305, 1413
  • Lyca Radio 1458
  • Desi Radio 1602
FM stations
DAB
CE London
Switch London
DRG London
U.DAB
Internet stations
  • v
  • t
  • e
Radio stations in Greater Manchester, England
AM stations
LW
  • BBC Radio 4 198
MW
FM stations
DAB
CE Manchester (12C)
Manchester small-scale trial (10B)
  • Asian Star Radio
  • Care Radio
  • Cheesy FM
  • Cosoro Radio
  • Eirewave
  • Gaydio
  • Happy Radio
  • Heritage Radio
  • Hope FM
  • LGR
  • Love 80s Manchester
  • Mom's Spaghetti
  • Panacea Soul
  • Pie Radio
  • Podcast Radio
  • R360 Radio
  • Radio Africana
  • Radio Diamond
  • Sami Swoi Radio
  • Skylab Radio
  • Strawberry Radio
  • Sunrise Radio
  • Tomorrowland One World Radio
  • Ultimate Beats Radio
  • Unity Radio
  • Voice of Islam
  • XS Manchester
Former
See also
Radio Regen
List of radio stations in the United Kingdom

Notes
The FM BBC Radio stations are broadcast from two transmitters, Holme Moss and Saddleworth.
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
International
  • VIAF
Other
  • MusicBrainz label