BBC Radio Merseyside is the BBC's local radio station serving Merseyside. It broadcasts on FM,

DAB DAB, dab, dabs, or dabbing may refer to: Dictionaries * ''Dictionary of American Biography'', published under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies * ''Dictionary of Australian Biography'', published since 1949 Places * Dąb, ...

, digital TV and via

BBC Sounds BBC Sounds is a Closed platform, walled garden streaming media and audio download service from the BBC that includes live radio broadcasts, audio on demand, and podcasts. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile pho ...

, from studios on Hanover Street in Liverpool. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 203,000 listeners and a 6.8% share as of September 2022.

History

BBC Radio Merseyside was the third BBC Local Radio station to start broadcasting, launching on 22 November 1967 and broadcasting from the sixth floor of council-owned offices in Commerce House, Liverpool. In late 1981 Radio Merseyside moved to a new purpose-built studios on Paradise Street, Liverpool. Broadcasts began from the new studios on 7 December 1981. On 15 July 2006, Radio Merseyside moved from its former home to a new purpose-built studio building on the corner of Hanover Street and College Lane in Liverpool. This building has two ground-floor studios next to a public performance space. An open learning centre is on the first floor and the main office is on the second floor. In October 2006, the studio building was nominated and made the Building Design shortlist for the inaugural Carbuncle Cup, which was ultimately awarded to Drake Circus Shopping Centre in Plymouth. Until the late 1980s the station was generally on air from breakfast until teatime, with any programming after 18:00 devoted to specialist music and magazines aimed at specialist interests and at ethnic minority communities. In early 1989, the four BBC stations in north west England launched an evening service called ''Network North West''. It was broadcast each night from 19:30 until midnight. In May 1991, the four north-west stations joined the BBC Night Network, which had previously provided evening programming for the BBC's six north-east and Yorkshire stations. At this point, local broadcasts ended at 19:05 (19:00 at weekends) until midnight, extending to 00:30 in the early 1990s, and to 01:00 by the end of that decade.

Transmitters

BBC Radio Merseyside broadcasts on 95.8 MHz
Allerton Park
and

ffrom the Allerton Park site and DAB signals come from the

Bauer Bauer is a German surname meaning "peasant" or "farmer". For notable people sharing the surname, see Bauer (surname). Bauer may also refer to: Education and literature * Bauer's Lexicon, a dictionary of Biblical Greek * Bauer College of Busin ...

Digital Bauer Liverpool 10C Multiplex from Billinge Hill (between St Helens and Wigan), Hope Mountain (between Buckley and Wrexham) and the Radio City Tower (on top of Radio City's

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

s). In 2018, BBC Radio Merseyside launched on the

app. Local sports commentaries are not broadcast on this service, due to licensing agreements. In March 2020, BBC Radio Merseyside's 1485 AM signal was switched off and its licence was handed back to

Ofcom The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom. Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...

. This was part of a new plan by

BBC Local Radio BBC Local Radio (also referred to as Local BBC Radio) is the BBC's local and regional radio division for England and the Channel Islands, consisting of forty stations. History The popularity of pirate radio was to challenge a change within ...

to stop using AM frequencies across all of its stations. In addition, BBC Radio Merseyside also broadcasts on Freeview TV channel 722 in the BBC North West region.

Programming

Local programming is produced and broadcast from the BBC's Liverpool studios from 6am - 1am on weekdays and from 6am - 10pm at weekends. The late show, airing from 10pm - 1am, is simulcast with BBC Radio Lancashire on Friday nights and originates from BBC Radio Manchester on Saturday and Sunday nights. During the station's downtime, BBC Radio Merseyside simulcasts overnight programming from

BBC Radio 5 Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcast ...

and

BBC Radio London BBC Radio London is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM broadcasting, FM frequency, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, ...

Notable past presenters

* Norman Thomas * Pete Price * Simon O'Brien *

Shelagh Fogarty Shelagh Fogarty (born 13 January 1966) is a radio and television presenter and journalist. She currently presents the afternoon programme on LBC, having previously co-hosted the BBC Radio 5 Live breakfast show with Nicky Campbell. Early life Fo ...

( LBC) * Rob McCaffrey *

Ray Stubbs Raymond J. Stubbs (born 24 May 1956) is an English broadcaster and former footballer. He worked as a presenter for the BBC, ESPN and BT Sport, and now works for Talksport radio. His most recent role is presenting the coverage of the World Seni ...

* Eddie Hemmings * Wayne Clarke * Janice Long ( BBC Radio Wales / Greatest Hits Radio/ deceased) * Brian Jacques * Alan Parry ( Sky Sports) * Rob Palmer *

Gerry Harrison Gerry Harrison (born 1942) is a former leading football commentator on English television in the 1970s and 80s, working for ITV. In the latter part of his career he was a senior television executive with production company TWI, who produce covera ...

* Stephen Parry * Debi Jones * Billy Butler

Controversy

During a breakfast show on 25 June 2007, presenter Simon O'Brien accidentally broadcast an unedited interview in which he said, "''fuck the government, fuck the planners''". O'Brien resigned from the station later in the day. He later went on to present a short-lived Saturday breakfast show on the now defunct talk radio station Radio City Talk in Liverpool. Radio City Talk later used the phrase that led to his resignation as part of their launch marketing for the station.

References

External links

BBC Radio Merseyside

Hope Mountain (Digital)

{{coord, 53.399097, -2.992277, display=title Radio stations established in 1967 Radio stations in Merseyside Merseyside Mass media in Liverpool Radio stations in Liverpool