| City of license | Luton, Milton Keynes |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire |
| Slogan |
Getting Beds, Herts and Bucks Talking On 630 and 1161 Getting Milton Keynes Talking On 104.5FM Getting Hertford and Bedford Talking On 95.5FM Getting Luton, Aylesbury and Hemel Hempstead Talking On 103.8FM The BBC In Beds, Herts and Bucks |
| Frequency | 90.4FM, 92.1FM, 94.7FM, 95.5FM, 98.0FM, 103.8FM, 104.5FM, 630MW, 1161MW - RDS = BBC 3CR |
| First air date | 24 June 1985 |
| Format | Local news, talk and music |
| Language | English |
| Audience share | 4.6% (March 2011, [1]) |
| Owner | BBC Local Radio, BBC East, BBC London |
| Website | BBC Three Counties Radio |
BBC Three Counties Radio is the BBC Local Radio service for the English counties of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire (referred to as Beds, Herts and Bucks). Its main studios are on Hastings Street in Luton; the studios at Willen in Milton Keynes produce a separate breakfast show from 6am to 9am.
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The station launched as "Radio Bedfordshire" on 24 June 1985, serving the whole of Bedfordshire plus (despite the name) North Bucks and the northern parts of Hertfordshire. Therefore, as well as Luton and Bedford (and the rest of Beds), Milton Keynes, Hemel Hempstead, Harpenden, Aylesbury, St Albans, Welwyn Garden City, Letchworth, Stevenage and Hitchin were served by the new station. In 1992 the station became known as "BBC Radio Bedfordshire with Herts and Bucks'.
The station changed to its present name on 5 April 1993. The new name was intended to reflect the wider reach across the three counties and to give equal service to all. The editorial area was not, at that point, expanded but enhanced studio facilities and staff were devoted to Bucks & Herts.
New transmitters at Epping Green and Bedmond extended the coverage to Welwyn Garden City, Hatfield and west Hertfordshire in late 2005. The whole of Buckinghamshire is also now covered, including High Wycombe, Aylesbury and Denham.
BBC Three Counties Radio have studios at Willen in Milton Keynes and have produced separate breakfast shows since October 2001. With the opening of new transmitters in Buckinghamshire, the Milton Keynes opt-outs were extended across the whole county, with a separate drivetime show from November 2004 until October 2005, before producing the separate lunchtime programme which ended in February 2007 with a revamp of the schedule. The Buckinghamshire opt-out was scaled back to a breakfast show for Milton Keynes only, 'Morning MK with Helen Legh'. The studio at Willen was also host to Phil Lack's early breakfast until late 2009. The majority of BBC Three Counties Radio programmes come from the main studio in Luton.
In 1995, BBC Three Counties Radio followed BBC Southern Counties Radio by becoming an all-talk station. For many years it remained the only BBC Local Radio station to be all-speech during its daytime output until music was reintroduced in March 2009.
As of yet, 3CR is not carried on DAB radio; but the BBC have stated previously that they have plans to add the station pending review.
Since a change schedule in early 2011, the station has been using the BBC Local Radio generic jingle created by Mcasso Music Production
BBC Three Counties Radio broadcasts on 90.4FM (Epping Green, near Hertford), 92.1FM (Bedmond, near Hemel Hempstead), 94.7FM (Quainton Hill, near Aylesbury), 95.5FM (Sandy Heath), 98.0FM (High Wycombe), 103.8FM (Zouches Farm, near Luton), 104.5FM (Bow Brickhill, near Milton Keynes), 630kHz MW (Lewsey Farm, near Luton), 1161kHz (Kempston, near Bedford), and streaming from the BBC 3CR website. BBC 3CR is not broadcast on digital radio; instead BBC London 94.9 is carried by the London 2 (Switch London) multiplex which is transmitted from Zouches Farm and Bedmond.
None of the transmissions is very powerful, but the Milton Keynes 104.5 FM signal from Bow Brickhill is the strongest and can be received the furthest; it can be heard in Swindon and as far north as Rugby (where it begins to interfere with Radio Derby). The 103.8 FM frequency can interfere with the BBC Radio Nottingham signal on the same frequency. The 95.5 FM frequency can be heard into Suffolk and fades in the Red Lodge area near Newmarket. The 630kHz signal from Lewsey Farm can be heard clearly as far north as Lincolnshire and depending on the weather during daytime hours on the East Norfolk coast around Great Yarmouth, and it can interfere with the Voice of Russia, which is on the same frequency.
N.B. Regional programmes are broadcast on all BBC Local Radio stations across the BBC East region. Saturday night programmes are also simulcast on BBC Radio Kent while Keith Skues' Sunday evening show also airs on BBC Radio Lincolnshire.
Past presenters
External links
References
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