In a move similar to the ABC in Australia, the BBC have announced Radio 4‘s long wave AM service will shutdown later this year with listeners to get two months notice and daily on-air reminders to switch to FM, DAB or other platforms offering BBC Radio 4 content.
On their website the BBC said the external provider of the long wave transmission system said it is reaching the end of its operational life and that “investing in upgrading the LW equipment is not considered a cost-effective solution for licence fee-funded services.”
A petition to stop the move says:
‘This radio frequency uniquely travels practically unimpeded across the country and provides a vital radio link in areas where reception of other signals and internet coverage is poor. Because only one transmitter is needed, the cost of providing this service is tiny. Not everyone is able to access digital or internet radio and longwave remains the most reliable way of receiving the BBC in any place at any time. It is also much better for the environment, as longwave receivers require far less power than digital radios, computers and mobile phones.’
The BBC also plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs from its 21,500 full time equivalent staff headcount, to tackle “significant financial pressures”.
The moves comes as Britain’s public service broadcaster has revealed it needs to make £500 million worth of savings over the next two years. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Media Show, interim director general Rhodri Talfan Davies told Katie Razzall and Ros Atkins he could not rule out axing entire channels or services. “We need to look at everything, and at a scale of £500m inevitably there are going to be some big and some difficult choices, but we do need to step through this carefully.”
Also, former BBC Radio 1 presenter Andy Kershaw died on Friday, aged 66.
Andy was at BBC Radio 1 from 1985 and a significant part of the coverage of Live Aid that year. He later would feature at BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4 too.
He contributed vastly to world music with his Radio 3 series Music Planet exploring sound recorded in remote corners of far flung countries.
Andy’s sister Liz, who referred to him as her best friend, is one of the longest serving female radio broadcasters in the UK with 38 years and counting on air with the national BBC.
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