City of license | Bristol |
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Broadcast area | Bristol and the surrounding former Avon area |
Frequency | FM 94.9 MHz (Dundry), 103.6 MHz (Hutton), 104.6 MHz (Bath) AM 1548 kHz (Mangotsfield) DAB |
First air date | September 1970 |
Format | Local news, talk and music |
Language | English |
Audience share | 8.1% (March 2011, [1]) |
Owner | BBC Local Radio, BBC West |
Website | BBC Radio Bristol |
BBC Radio Bristol is the BBC Local Radio service for the English city of Bristol and the surrounding former Avon area. 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), on AM 1548 kHz (Mangotsfield) and on DAB.
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.
Radio Bristol's main competitors in the Bristol area are Heart Bristol on 96.3 MHz, 106 Jack FM (Bristol) and The Breeze on 107.2 MHz. In Bath, Radio Bristol faces competition from Heart Bath 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 Star Radio (Weston).
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. Other past presenters include the late Roger Bennett who presented the flagship breakfast programme Morning West for 30 years and Susan Osman who also co-presented Points West for 14 years. Current editor Tim Pemberton took over from Jenny Lacey in spring 2006.
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Weekdays
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Wednesday variations
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Saturday
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Sunday
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From 7pm - 1am each weekday, all BBC local radio stations in the BBC West region simulcast Keith Warmington - Access All Areas and Trevor Fry's late show. At weekends, evening programming is produced in Plymouth by BBC South West. Sunday afternoon output originates in Gloucester.
Radio Bristol broadcasts local programmes overnight on Fridays and Saturdays. From Sunday to Thursday, the station simulcasts Radio 5 Live's Up All Night after closedown.
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.[1][2]
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