- BBC Radio Norfolk
Infobox Radio Station
name = BBC Radio Norfolk
city =Norwich
area = flagicon|United Kingdom Norfolk
airdate =September 11 1980
frequency = 95.1 MHz FM (East Norfolk)
95.6 MHz FM (North Norfolk)
104.4 MHz FM (West Norfolk)
855 kHz AM (East Norfolk)
873 kHz AM (West Norfolk)
DAB Digital Radio
share = 15.1%
share as of = March 2008
share source = [http://www.rajar.co.uk/listening/quarterly_listening.php]
format = Mainly local news and talk
owner =BBC Local Radio ,BBC East
website = [http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/local_radio BBC Radio Norfolk]BBC Radio Norfolk is the
BBC Local Radio service for the English county ofNorfolk , broadcasting since11 September 1980 . It broadcasts from the studios ofBBC East inThe Forum, Norwich on 95.1FM (Stoke Holy Cross ), 104.4FM (Great Massingham), 95.6FM (West Runton , nearCromer ), 855 kHz AM/MW (Postwick, east Norwich near the A47), 873 kHz AM/MW (West Lynn, near the A47 andRiver Great Ouse ), DAB and through the internet usingReal Player .The station should not be confused with the fictional
Radio Norwich in thetelevision comedy series "I'm Alan Partridge ".Transmitters
The 95.1 FM signal covers the Norwich area, 104.4 FM covers the West and Kings Lynn area, while 95.6 FM (which came on-air on
September 12 2005 ) serves north Norfolk. TheGreat Massingham transmission site also has the commercial radio stationKL.FM 96.7 , although they use separate towers. The Postwick transmission site also broadcasts Five Live on 693 AM/MW,talkSPORT andVirgin Radio . The [http://www.eastspace.net/stoke-holy-cross/home.asp Stoke Holy Cross] transmission site also broadcastsRadio Broadland on 102.4 FM,Kiss 105-108 East on 106.1 FM and99.9 Radio Norwich . The 95.1 FM signal used to come from Tacolneston. The [http://www.westrunton.co.uk West Runton] transmission tower also has a TV relay on it. Since 31st March 2003, DAB signals have come from the NOW Digital [http://www.now-digital.com/norfolk.php Norfolk 11B multiplex] , with transmitters atGreat Yarmouth , Oulton (Lowestoft inSuffolk ), Stoke Holy Cross,Thetford , and West Runton. Broadland FM and The Beach are also on this multiplex. Of all the DAB transmitters, Stoke Holy Cross is the most powerful, at 1.1kW.Important Dates
*
September 11 1980 - BBC Radio Norfolk begins broadcasting at 5:55pm from Norfolk Tower, "Surrey Street", Norwich on 95.1 MHz VHF (FM) & 855 kHz (351m) MW/AM to East Norfolk, plus 1602 kHz (187m) MW/AM to West Norfolk. There were no FM transmissions to West Norfolk.
*September 12 1980 -Terry Wogan presents hisBBC Radio 2 breakfast show live from the new station's studios.
*1982 - MW/AM frequences in West Norfolk changed to 873 kHz (344m) MW/AM
*1984 - FM transmissions begin in West Norfolk on 96.7MHz. These transmissions were broadcast in mono due to an off-air re-broadcast system. This picked up the Tacolneston 95.1FM broadcast and re-transmitted it, but was unable to reproduce a clear stereo signal.
*1986 - West Norfolk FM frequencies changed from 96.7 to 104.4 MHz FM (the mono broadcasts continued).
*1992 - TheKing's Lynn studio moves from Tuesday Marketplace to the North Lynn Business Village.
*2000 - Tacolneston transmissions cease and Stoke Holy Cross transmissions commence. These continue on 95.1MHz FM but at slightly less transmitter power.
*June 27 2003 - Radio Norfolk ceases broadcasting from the original Norfolk Tower studios.
*June 28 2003 - Radio Norfolk starts broadcasting from the new BBC studios on the 1st floor at The Forum, "Millennium Plain", Norwich. "Look East " presenter Stewart White is the first voice on air.
*September 12 2005 - As part of BBC Radio Norfolk's 25th birthday celebrations, the West Runton transmitter launches a new FM frequency (95.6MHz) for North Norfolk.
* October/November2005 - Stereo FM broadcast for West Norfolk begin on 104.4MHz FM.
*April 27 2007 -Chris Moyles presents hisBBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show from the station's studios, and Moyles' newsreaderDominic Byrne co-hosts on BBC Radio Norfolk with Nicky Barnes.Important Facts
* BBC Radio Norfolk was the first BBC local radio station to be launched after a gap of several years in the BBC's local radio development programme. This was due to the Government's review of local radio (both BBC and ILR) in the late 1970s.
* Due to the policy of launching only one local radio service at a time in a particular area, when it came to choosing whether Norfolk or Devon would receive a BBC or commercial station first, there was contention between the BBC and theIBA as to who would get which area. This was settled by the toss of a coin, with the BBC winning and choosing Norfolk. The IBA therefore got Devon. [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/content/articles/2005/09/09/local_radio_25_years_book_feature.shtml BBC - Norfolk - Local Radio - BBC Radio Norfolk's 25th anniversary ] ]
* BBC Radio Norfolk was the first BBC local radio station to broadcast in stereo on VHF/FM.
* It was the first BBC local radio station to cover a county, as opposed to a city or town.
* The launch of East Anglia's first BBC local radio station was broadcast live on "Look East ", the region's local BBC TV news magazine.
* BBC Radio Norfolk's first presenter wasJohn Mountford , who now runs a TV and radio commercial production company ( [http://www.jms-group.com The JMS Group] ) on the outskirts of Norwich.
* The studios and offices were on the ground floor of Norfolk Tower, Surrey Street, Norwich and were a carpet showroom before Radio Norfolk moved in.Former Presenters
*
Rob Bonnet
*Keith Skipper References
External links
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/local_radio BBC Radio Norfolk]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/local_radio/in_pictures BBC Radio Norfolk In Pictures]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/content/articles/2005/09/09/local_radio_25_years_book_feature.shtml BBC Radio Norfolk's 25th Anniversary]
* [http://www.keithskues.co.uk/autobiog.html Keith Skues autobiography.]
* [http://www.geocities.com/thehotw/aircheck_UKNorfolk.htm History of local radio in Norfolk.]
* [http://www.arar93.dsl.pipex.com/mds975/txmaps/norfolk.html MDS975's coverage map]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/norfolk/content/images/2005/08/26/early_wherry_logo_400_250x300.jpgOld logo]
* [http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/great-massingham.php Great Massingham transmitter]
* [http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/postwick.php Postwick transmitter]
* [http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/shx.php Stoke Holy Cross transmitter]
* [http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/thetford-dab.php Thetford (Digital)]
* [http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/west-lynn.php West Lynn transmitter]
* [http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/west-runton.php West Runton transmitter]Audio clips
* [http://intervalsignals.net/files/ukg-bbc_radio_norfolk_131101.m3u Old jingle (2001)]
Video clips
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XrrN-wedAA Dominic Byrne comes home]
* [http://www.youtube.com/user/bbcnorfolk BBC Norfolk's videos]
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