1996 in British radio

This is a list of events in British radio during 1996.

Events

January

• No events

February

• 5 February – Radio Wyvern becomes the last commercial radio station in England to end simulcasting on FM and AM.

March

• 18 March – Mike Read replaces Nick Bailey as host of Classic FM’s breakfast show.
• 30 March – Steve Wright joins Radio 2.
• 31 March – Michael Parkinson begins presenting Parkinson's Sunday Supplement on Radio 2.
• March – Jim Moir replaces Frances Line as controller of Radio 2.

April

• 1 April – Network News closes.
• 3 April – After 18 years, the name BBC Radio Manchester returns to the airwaves. Since 1988 the station had been called BBC GMR.
• 5–8 April – Classic FM broadcasts its first Hall of Fame over the Easter weekend.
• 9 April – BBC Radio Oxford and BBC Radio Berkshire are merged to form BBC Thames Valley FM.^[1]

May

• 4 May – BBC Radio 3 commences 24-hour transmission.^[2]

June

• June – Radio 1 starts live streaming on the internet.^[3]
• June – Schools programmes are broadcast during the day for the final time. Schools programmes continued to be broadcast overnight until 2003.

July

• 1 July – The LBC name returns to London's airwaves following a rebrand of London News Radio's MW station News Talk 1152.
• July – The Radio Authority receives 25 bids for the final FM city-wide London licence. XFM is chosen as the winner, to broadcast on 104.9.

August

• No events

September

• 9 September – Following a change in ownership, Manchester station Fortune 1458 is renamed Lite AM.
• September – The Radio Authority awards a full time commercial licence to a student radio station for the first time when it awards the Oxford licence to Oxygen FM.

October

• No events

November

• 4 November – The Asian Network expands into a full time station when it increases the number of hours on air from 80 hours a week to 126 hours a week (18 hours a day). The station, which broadcasts on the MW frequencies of BBC Radio Leicester and BBC WM, is renamed BBC Asian Network.

December

• 20 December – Steve Penk leaves Key 103 to move to Capital FM after 18 years at the Manchester station.^[4]

Unknown

• Hallam FM switches off its transmitter covering Rotherham as part of its licence agreement.
• Matthew Bannister becomes Director of BBC Radio.

Station debuts

• 5 February – Wyvern FM and Wyvern AM
• Spring – Burn FM
• 4 April – 96.4 The Eagle
• 9 April – BBC Thames Valley FM
• 21 April – Spirit FM
• 24 May – FM102 The Bear
• 3 June – Asian Sound Radio
• 15 July – Oban FM
• 29 September – The Beach
• 23 November – Valleys Radio

Closing this year

• 9 April –
  • BBC Radio Berkshire
  • BBC Radio Oxford

Deaths

• 29 April – David Davis, 87, Radio executive and broadcaster
• 11 May – Joan Thirkettle, 48, Television journalist and radio personality^[5]

See also

• 1996 in British music
• 1996 in British television
• 1996 in the United Kingdom
• List of British films of 1996

References