BBC Radio 5 (former)
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| Frequencies | 693 kHz, 909 kHz (990 kHz in West Wales) |
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| Programming | |
| Format | Sports, children's and educational programmes |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | BBC |
| History | |
First air date | 27 August 1990 |
Last air date | 27 March 1994 |
BBC Radio 5 was a national radio station that broadcast sports, children's and educational programmes. It ran from 1990 to 1994 and was transmitted via analogue radio on 693 and 909 kHz AM.
On 28 March 1994, three years and seven months after the station started, it was replaced by BBC Radio 5 Live, following the success of rolling news coverage of the Gulf War on BBC Radio 4 News FM.[1]
Launch
A new fifth national radio station was first announced by the BBC on 9 October 1988.[2] In line with the Conservative government's broadcasting policy at the time, the BBC ended its longstanding practice of simulcasting its services on both AM and FM, freeing the medium wave frequencies which BBC Radio 2 had been using since 23 November 1978 for another use.[3]
On 15 August 1990, Radio 2 began to draw to a close its medium wave transmissions by broadcasting a daytime information service providing advice about how to listen on FM as well as advertisements for the new station. This continued until 2.00 pm on the day before Radio 5's launch, and Radio 2 ended its medium wave transmissions at midnight on Sunday 26 August. Nine hours later, at 9.00 am on Monday 27 August, Radio 5 launched with five-year-old boy Andrew Kelly uttering the words:
Hello, good morning and welcome to Radio 5.
Prior to this, the new station's frequencies broadcast a long sequence of programming trails linked by Jon Briggs (one of the station's launch presenting team) and pre-recorded sketches from comedians Trevor Neal and Simon Hickson (consisting of the two larking about in the studio amid the strains of "Sailing By", and Trevor suddenly being cut off while he was reading his so-called "Ode to Radio 5").[4] The official first programme was Take Five, a pre-recorded programme by Bruno Brookes.
Structure
Many believed that BBC Radio 5 was a service the four other main BBC stations did not want, reflected in a speech by Jenny Abramsky, News International Visiting professor of Broadcast Media 2002 at Exeter College, Oxford University. Abramsky described the service,[5]
The sports output from Radio 2 Medium Wave, all the Schools and Continuing Education programmes from Radio 4 FM, the Open University programmes from Radios 3 and 4 FM, and programmes for children and young people from Radio 4 and some World Service output. This was a network with no audience focus, born out of expediency.
In 1991, Operation Desert Storm was launched, as part of the multinational response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. From 16 January, Radio 4's FM frequencies were used to provide an all-news network for the coverage of the war, dubbed 'Radio 4 News FM' (or more popularly in the media as Scud FM),[6] but despite protests mainly received praise for the quality of this service and the speed with which it was established. Following the end of the conflict, Radio 4 resumed its normal schedule but the positive response to commencing review into the possibility of providing a full-time news station, leading to the broadcast of a similar service on longwave during the 1992 general election campaign. Due to the resistance to any use of Radio 4 FM (or LW) frequencies, it was decided that Radio 5, criticised by John Birt as "improvised and disjointed", would relaunch as a combined news and sports channel.
Demise
The "old" Radio 5 signed off at midnight on Sunday 27 March 1994 with a pre-recorded Nigel and Earl sketch at the end of one of the network's Irish music magazine programme Across the Line. Ten minutes later, the frequencies closed down for the night following a BBC Radio News and Sport bulletin and the new BBC Radio 5 Live began its 24-hour service at 5:00 am on Monday 28 March.
