City Bath and Bristol Language(s) English | First air date September 1970 | |
Broadcast area Bath and Bristol, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and North East Somerset Frequency FM 94.9 MHz (Dundry), 103.6 MHz (Hutton), 104.6 MHz (Bath)
DAB
Freeview channel 719 Format Local news, talk and music | ||
BBC Radio Bristol is the BBC Local Radio service for the English cities of Bath and Bristol and the surrounding area, which includes South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and North East Somerset. Launched in September 1970, it broadcasts from Broadcasting House in Bristol on FM frequencies 94.9 MHz (Dundry), 104.6 MHz (Bath), 103.6 MHz (Weston-super-Mare), and on DAB. The AM transmitter at Mangotsfield on 1548 kHz was closed in February 2016.
Contents
The Mendip transmitter, near Wells, used to broadcast BBC Radio Bristol on 95.5 MHz over a very large area, but from 3 December 2007, this was transferred to the new BBC Somerset service. BBC Somerset and BBC Radio Bristol share many programmes, mainly during off-peak hours. Since the BBC relaunched BBC Somerset on FM, BBC Radio Bristol has been left free to concentrate editorially on Bristol, Bath and the rest of the former Avon area. On 11 December 2014, BBC Radio Bristol launched on Freeview channel 719, on the PSB 1 multiplex from the Mendip transmitter and its TV relays.
Radio Bristol's main competitors in the Bristol area are Heart West Country on 96.3 MHz, Sam FM and The Breeze on 107.2 MHz. In Bath, Radio Bristol faces competition from Heart West Country on 103 MHz and The Breeze on 107.9 MHz. In Weston-super-Mare (which is editorially covered by both Radio Bristol and BBC Somerset), competition comes from The Breeze North Somerset.
Programming
The majority of the station's programming is produced and broadcast from Bristol, including some regional programming for the BBC West and BBC South West regions. As with all BBC Local Radio stations, it also airs the networked weekday evening shows, originating from BBC Radio Leeds and produced independently by Wire Free Productions. During the station's downtime, BBC Radio Bristol simulcasts BBC Radio 5 Live overnight. It also airs 24-hour local programming from 5am on Friday until 1am on Monday.
Notable presenters
Notable past presenters
Kate Adie produced and presented programmes for BBC Radio Bristol in the 1970s alongside Michael Buerk. Theirs were the first two voices to be heard on the station. Chris Morris was also part of the team, presenting and producing the weekend show No Known Cure. Other past presenters include Susan Osman who also co-presented Points West for 14 years, and Fiona Lamdin. Another notable presenter during the early 70s was Kenny Everett, who pre-recorded his shows from his farmhouse in Sussex.
Controversy
In November 2008, BBC Radio Bristol presenter Sam Mason was dismissed following an incident in which she made alleged racist remarks made in an off-air phone conversation during a weekday afternoon show. Whilst phoning a taxi firm in order to send her 14-year-old daughter from Mason's Clifton home to her grandparents' home, she was said to have asked the company not to send an Asian driver.