BBC Radio Berkshire

This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (June 2020) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

Radio station in Reading

BBC Radio Berkshire

* Reading

Broadcast area| Berkshire
Frequency| FM: 94.6 MHz (Henley and Marlow)
FM: 95.4 MHz (Slough, Maidenhead, Windsor and East Berkshire)
FM: 104.1 MHz (Basingstoke, Andover, and West Berkshire)
FM: 104.4 MHz (Reading)
DAB: 12D
Freeview: 711
RDS| BBCBERKS
Programming
Language| English
Format| Local news, talk and music
Ownership
Owner| BBC Local Radio,
BBC South,
BBC London
History

First air date

| 21 January 1992

Former names

| BBC Thames Valley FM (1996–2000)
Technical information

Licensing authority

| Ofcom
Links
Website| www.bbc.co.uk/radioberkshire/

BBC Radio Berkshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Berkshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds.

According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 48,00 listeners as of May 2025.[1]

It has studios at Thames Valley Park near Reading.

## History

[edit]

BBC Radio Berkshire was launched on 21 January 1992 as a part-time station, broadcasting for part of the weekday and weekend mornings with BBC Radio Oxford carried at all other times. Due to financial cutbacks, BBC Director-General John Birt announced that the station was to fully merge with BBC Radio Oxford on 9 April 1996 to become BBC Thames Valley FM. On 14 February 2000, the two stations became separate once again.

In November 2018, BBC Radio Berkshire moved from Caversham Park House – which the station shared with BBC Monitoring – to new purpose-built studios at Thames Valley Park on the outskirts of Reading.

## Awards

[edit]

BBC Radio Berkshire was named Station of the Year in the 2012 Frank Gillard Awards, also winning in the Sports Coverage category for its coverage of Olympic rowing at Eton Dorney. Andrew Peach won silver in both the Programme Presenter and The Ultimate Hot Seat categories.[2]

In the 2013 Sony Radio Academy Awards, the Andrew Peach programme won bronze in the category Breakfast Show of the Year (under 10 million).[3]

The Andrew Peach Show was named Best Local Radio Show in the UK at the 2021 Radio Academy ARIA Awards.

## Technical

[edit]

This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (October 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

The Hannington transmitter for BBC Radio Berkshire's 104.1 FM frequency is located on Cottington Hill (close to Watership Down). The 104.1 FM signal can be heard over most of Hampshire, certainly more than BBC Radio Solent. The 104.4 FM signal comes from the Fountain House transmitter in Reading. The 94.6 FM signal comes from the Henley-on-Thames transmitter. The 95.4 FM signal comes from the Windsor transmitter.

Since 31 July 2004, DAB broadcasts have come from the NOW Digital Berkshire & North Hampshire 12D multiplex from Coppid Beech (at the junction of the B3408 and A329(M) in west Bracknell), Hannington and Hemdean (just north of Caversham). The Basingstoke DAB transmitter (between Cliddesden and Winslade near the A339 in Hampshire) was added on 3 October 2005.

Since June 2016, the station has been available on Freeview TV channel 711 in the BBC South and BBC London regions.[4] It also streams online via BBC Sounds.

## Programming

[edit]

Local programming is produced and broadcast from the BBC's Reading studios from 6 am to 10 pm on Sundays to Fridays and from 6 am to 6 pm and 8 pm to 10 pm on Saturdays.

Some off-peak programming originates from BBC Radio Solent in Southampton. The station usually broadcasts the whole of the Late Night programme, a programme carried by all BBC local radio stations (except in the case of sports coverage), which is broadcast between 10pm and 1am.

During the station's downtime, BBC Radio Berkshire simulcasts overnight programming from BBC Radio 5 Live

## Presenters

[edit]

* Kirsten O'Brien

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "RAJAR". RAJAR. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
2. ^ "Berkshire wins Gillard Station of the Year". Radio Today. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
3. ^ "Sony Radio Academy Awards > The Winners 2013 > Breakfast Show of the Year (under 10 million)". The Radio Academy. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
4. ^ "BBC Local Radio services". Digital UK. Retrieved 1 July 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

51°28′50.52″N 0°57′26.98″W﻿ / ﻿51.4807000°N 0.9574944°W﻿ / 51.4807000; -0.9574944

* v
* t
* e

BBC Radio

BBC

UK stations|

| Nationwide|

* Radio 1
* Radio 2
* Radio 3
* Radio 4
* Radio 5 Live

|

Digital-only|

* Radio 1Xtra
* Radio 4 Extra
* Radio 5 Sports Extra
* Radio 6 Music
* Asian Network

Online-only (BBC Sounds)|

* CBeebies Radio
* Radio 1 Dance
* Radio 1 Anthems
* Radio 3 Unwind

Nations|

| Scotland|

* Scotland
* Orkney
* Shetland
* Nan Gàidheal

Wales|

* Wales
* Cymru
* Cymru 2

Northern Ireland|

* Ulster
* Foyle

BBC Local Radio|

| East|

* Cambridgeshire
* Essex
* Norfolk
* Northampton
* Suffolk
* Three Counties

East Midlands|

* Derby
* Leicester
* Nottingham

London|

* London

North East and Cumbria|

* Cumbria
* Newcastle
* Tees

North West|

* Lancashire
* Manchester
* Merseyside

South|

* Berkshire
* Oxford
* Solent

South East|

* Kent
* Surrey
* Sussex

South West|

* Cornwall
* Devon
* Guernsey
* Jersey
* Somerset

West|

* Bristol
* Gloucestershire
* Wiltshire

West Midlands|

* CWR
* Hereford and Worcester
* Shropshire
* Stoke
* WM

Yorkshire|

* Leeds
* Sheffield
* York

Yorkshire and Lincolnshire|

* Humberside
* Lincolnshire

International stations|

* World Service
* Albanian (Dissolved)
* Arabic
* Bangla
* Nepali
* Brasil
* Hausa
* Mundo
* Persian
* Russian
* Ukrainian (Dissolved)
* Urdu

Defunct stations
and services

| Local services|

* 2LO London
* 5IT Birmingham
* 2ZY Manchester
* 5NO Newcastle
* 5WA Cardiff
* 5SC Glasgow
* 2BD Aberdeen
* 6BM Bournemouth
* 2FL Sheffield
* 5PY Plymouth
* 5GB Daventry
* 2BE Belfast

|

Relays|

* 2EH Edinburgh
* 6LV Liverpool
* 2LS Leeds and Bradford
* 6KH Hull
* 5NG Nottingham
* 2DE Dundee
* 6ST Stoke
* 5SX Swansea

National services|

* Allied Expeditionary Forces Programme
* Forces Programme
* General Forces Programme
* Home Service
* Light Programme
* National Programme
* Radio 1 Relax (BBC Sounds)
* Radio 4 News FM
* Radio 5
* Radio 7 (rebranded)
* Regional Programme
* Third Programme

Related topics|

* Awards
* Logos
* BBC Music
* National DAB multiplex
* Programmes
* Radio Explorer
* Radio Orchestra
* School Radio
* BBC Sounds
* Wartime Broadcasting Service

* Category

* v
* t
* e

BBC Local Radio

East|

* Cambridgeshire
* Essex
* Norfolk
* Northampton
* Suffolk
* Three Counties

East Midlands|

* Derby
* Leicester
* Nottingham

London|

* London

North East and Cumbria|

* Cumbria
* Newcastle
* Tees

North West|

* Lancashire
* Manchester
* Merseyside

South|

* Berkshire
* Oxford
* Solent

South East|

* Kent
* Surrey
* Sussex

South West|

* Cornwall
* Devon
* Guernsey
* Jersey
* Somerset

West|

* Bristol
* Gloucestershire
* Wiltshire

West Midlands|

* CWR
* Hereford & Worcester
* Shropshire
* Stoke
* WM

Yorkshire|

* Leeds
* Sheffield
* York

Yorkshire and Lincolnshire|

* Humberside
* Lincolnshire

Former stations|

* Dorset FM
* Radio Durham
* Night Network
* Southern Counties Radio
* Thames Valley FM

Related articles|

* Timeline of BBC Local Radio
* Timeline of BBC Radio London

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template