''London Calling'' (later renamed ''BBC Worldwide'', then ''BBC On Air'') was a monthly magazine that contained programme listings for the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the British Government through the Foreign Secretary's office. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception a ...

shortwave Shortwave radio is radio transmission using shortwave (SW) radio frequencies. There is no official definition of the band, but the range always includes all of the high frequency band (HF), which extends from 3 to 30 MHz (100 to 10 me ...

radio broadcasting service. Originally called the ''Empire Programme Pamphlet'' (for what was then known as the BBC Empire Service) and then ''BBC Empire Broadcasting'', the title was changed to ''London Calling'' in mid-1939 when the magazine expanded from 12 pages to 16. The title alludes to the

station identification Station identification (ident, network ID or channel ID or bumper) is the practice of radio and television stations and networks identifying themselves on-air, typically by means of a call sign or brand name (sometimes known, particularly in th ...

: "This is London calling ...", which was used during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, often in broadcasts to occupied countries.

Background

In November, 1993, the magazine was replaced with a 100-page colour magazine (up until then, the magazine was printed in two colours except for the front and back covers) and started including more and deeper stories, and renamed ''BBC Worldwide''. (From April to November, 1995, there was a North American edition, subtitled ''BBC Worldwide North America'', presumably so the magazine could be sent to North American subscribers and appear on shelves in North American stores without the cost of having to send the issues air mail from the UK each month). However, rising costs, which forced the BBC to reduce the size of the paper it used at one point, caused the magazine to change back to a mainly-listings format, and the title was changed to ''BBC On Air'' (later stylised ''BBC on, air''), although the longer stories would make their way back into the magazine over the years. The last edition of ''BBC On Air'' was that of December 2004. In a letter sent to subscribers the managing director of the magazine cited as reason for the discontinuation "that many of our listeners are getting programme information on line and that it is no longer cost-effective to produce the printed edition of the magazine."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:London Calling 1939 establishments in England 2004 disestablishments in England BBC World Service BBC publications Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Listings magazines Magazines published in London Magazines established in 1939 Magazines disestablished in 2004 Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom