BBC Hereford and Worcester

Infobox Radio Station
name = BBC Hereford and Worcester


city = Hereford, Worcester
area = Herefordshire and Worcestershire
branding =
slogan =
airdate = February 14, 1989
frequency = 104 MHz, 104.4 MHz, 104.6 MHz, 94.7 MHz, 738 kHz, 1584 kHz
share = 13.6%
share as of = March 2008
share source = [http://www.rajar.co.uk/listening/quarterly_listening.php]
format = Local news, talk and music
power =
erp =
class =
callsign_meaning =
owner = BBC Local Radio,
BBC Midlands
website = [http://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/local_radio/ BBC Hereford and Worcester]

BBC Hereford and Worcester is the BBC Local Radio service for the English counties of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. It broadcasts from its studios in Worcester on 104 (Worcester), 104.4 (Redditch) 104.6 (Kidderminster) and 94.7 (Hereford) FM; as well as 738 (Worcester) and 1584 (North Herefordshire) MW on AM. It began broadcasting on 14 February 1989.

It serves the rural communities across Herefordshire as well as the urban sprawls of Worcestershire with a range of programmes from Jazz, Classic Hits and Top Tens to local news, discussion and outside broadcasts everyday. When the station started, on February 14 1989, Jane Garvey (of Radio Five Live) was one of the team of journalists. A few months later, she took over the Breakfast Show and went on to win a Sony Award with it.

The original team of presenters included Graham Day (mid-morning), Gill Capewell (afternoons) and Allan Lee (drive). Other staff included Robert Piggott (Now BBC Religious Affairs correspondent), TV newsreader Liz MacKean and former LBC presenter Jeremy Dry. Today's presenters include people such as Howard Bentham, Katie Johnson, Tony Fisher, Keith Gooden, Malcolm Boyden & Mike George still remains with the station.

The first record played was Two Hearts by Phil Collins, to mark the unusual, two-centre set-up for the radio station.

Transmitters

Unusually for a BBC local station, BBC Hereford and Worcester still transmits on both AM and FM. The original, and two strongest FM transmitters are on 104 FM (Great Malvern, serving Worcestershire) and 94.7 FM (Ridge Hill, between Ross On Wye and Ledbury near Much Marcle, serving Herefordshire), These signals are not particularly powerful, and have limited coverage outside the two counties, unlike stations such as BBC WM. An additional FM transmitter on 104.6 has recently improved coverage in the Kidderminster area & in February 2006, a new transmitter was turned on for Redditch (Headless Cross) on 104.4FM, as reception in the town was sporadic beforehand.

The main AM transmitter on 738 kHz is on the western edge of Worcester and covers most of the two counties. There is a small AM transmitter on 1584 kHz at Woofferton, just south of Ludlow on the A49. Although they have weaker FM signals compared to other BBC local radio transmitters, the 94.7FM signal can be heard clearly in the north of Bristol and even Weston-super-Mare, as well as along the M4 from the Severn Bridge to Cardiff. The 738MW signal can also be heard in the north of Bristol. The station is one of the few BBC local radio stations that does not broadcast on DAB. Ridge Hill is the main transmitter for BBC DAB National and Digital One in the area. The television transmitter in Bromsgrove has BBC DAB National, Digital One and the MXR West Midlands 12A multiplex.

Programming

aturdays

*0500-0600 Radio 5 Live: "Morning Reports"
*0600-0900 "Katie Johnson's Saturday Breakfast"
*0900-1100 "The Saturday Gardening Show"
*1100-1400 "Targett's Top Tens" with Ellie Targett
*1400-1800 "Sport on Saturday" (during the football season)
*1800-2000 "Youth Club Classics" with Mary Fox (networked with Radio Shropshire, Radio Stoke)
*2000-2200 "John Hellings's Big Bands" (networked with Radio Shropshire and Radio Stoke)
*2200-0100 "The Late Show" with Keith Middleton (networked with Radio Shropshire and Radio Stoke)

undays

*0500-0600 Radio 5 Live: "Morning Reports"
*0600-0900 Phil Simpson
*0900-1200 Malcolm Boyden
*1200-1500 "Sunday is Funday" with Andrew Easton
*1500-1800 Mike George (networked with Radio Shropshire and Radio Stoke)
*1800-2000 "Sunday Night Rock" with Jim Hawkins (networked with Radio Shropshire and Radio Stoke)
*2000-2200 "Sunday Folk" with Genevieve Tudor (networked with Radio Shropshire and Radio Stoke)
*2200-0100 "The Late Show" with Keith Middleton (networked with Radio Shropshire and Radio Stoke)
*0100-0500 Radio 5 Live: "Up All Night"

Weekdays

*0500-0600 Toni McDonald
*0600-0900 "Howard Bentham at Breakfast"
*0900-1200 Tony Fisher
*1200-1600 Katie Johnson
*1600-1900 Keith Gooden
*1900-2100 "It's All About the Music" with Andrew Easton (Monday - Thursday) / "The Friday Session Introducing..." with Andrew Marston (Friday)
*2100-0000 Rob Underwood - "The Late Show" (networked with BBC Local Radio stations in the West and East Midlands, except BBC WM
*0000-0100 Radio 5 Live: Richard Bacon (Monday - Thursday) / Stephen Nolan (Friday)
*0100-0500 Radio 5 Live: "Up All Night"

Networked and simulcast programming

The station carries networked programming with counterpart BBC local radio stations in the Midlands during late evenings and at weekends. Most networked programming is simulcast with Radio Shropshire and Radio Stoke. "The Late Show" on weekdays is also carried on stations in the East Midlands, and presented from Nottingham by Rob Underwood. Although BBC H & W is part of the West Midlands area, the Birmingham and Warwickshire stations have a separate programme at those times. At the weekend, the late show is presented by Keith Middleton from BBC Radio Shropshire's studios in Shrewsbury.

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/herefordandworcester/local_radio BBC Hereford and Worcester]
* [http://www.geocities.com/thehotw/aircheck_UKHerefordshire.htm History of local radio in Herefordshire.]
* [http://www.geocities.com/thehotw/aircheck_UKWorcs.htm History of local radio in Worcestershire.]
* [http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/malvern.php Great Malvern transmitter.]
* [http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/kidderminster.php Kidderminster transmitter.]
* [http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/ridgehill/index.php Ridge Hill transmitter.]
* [http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/woofferton.php Woofferton Transmitting Station.]
* [http://www.arar93.dsl.pipex.com/mds975/txmaps/hereford.html MDS975's Transmitter Map.]