BBC Radio Oxford - History

History

  • Early 1970 - Oxford was chosen as a location for BBC local radio and premises in Summertown found at 242-254 Banbury Road. The site is known as Barclay House and was previously a Rolls Royce showroom.
  • Mid 1970: Staff were recruited, a small number with BBC experience but mostly local people, and the studios at Summertown are built.
  • September 1970 - On air staff trained at The Langham Hotel in London
  • Early October 1970 - Three weeks of test transmissions begin.
  • 29 October 1970 - BBC Radio Oxford officially begins transmission at 5pm on 95.0MHz VHF.
  • 31 December 1970 - Radio Times lists BBC Radio Oxford programmes for the first time.
  • 5 October 1972 - Due to high demand by residents who did not have VHF/FM on their radios, BBC Radio Oxford begins broadcasting on 202 metres medium wave (1484kHz). The station would also be available on the local cable network on 'Redefusion Channel A'.
  • 26 June 1973 - BBC Radio Oxford moves its VHF frequency to 95.2MHz to avoid interference with BBC Radio London on 94.9MHz.
  • 22 May 1976 - The station opens its studios to the public for an open weekend.
  • October 1980 - BBC Radio Oxford celebrates 10 years on air by publishing a magazine.
  • April/May 1989 - BBC Radio Oxford moves to purpose built studios at 269 Banbury Road, Summertown.
  • 9 April 1996 - Radio Oxford merges with BBC Radio Berkshire to form the short-lived BBC Thames Valley FM. Local programming is restricted to separate news bulletins for the two counties.
  • 14 February 2000 - Radio Oxford is revived, although most output continues to be shared with Radio Berkshire.
  • 2004 - BBC Radio Oxford relaunches with a new line-up of presenters. By now, the station has regained a full line up of local programming.
  • April 2008 - The station is rebranded as BBC Oxford 95.2FM as part of a relaunch involving the regional TV news programme BBC Oxford News (previously South Today Oxford).
  • October 2010 - The station celebrates its 40th anniversary and reverts back to the Radio Oxford branding.

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