BBC Radio Leeds

BBC Radio Leeds

Leeds
Broadcast area	West Yorkshire
Frequency	FM:92.4 MHz (Bradford,Huddersfield&West Yorkshire) FM: 95.3 MHz (Halifax) FM: 102.7 MHz (Keighley) FM: 103.9 MHz (Leeds) DAB:12D Freeview:719
RDS	BBCLeeds
Programming
Language(s)	English
Format	Local news, talk and music
Ownership
Owner	BBC Local Radio, BBC Yorkshire
History
First air date	24 June 1968
Former frequencies	94.6 FM 774MW
Technical information
Licensing authority	Ofcom
Links
Website	BBC Radio Leeds

BBC Radio Leedsis theBBC's local radio stationserving the county ofWest Yorkshire.

It broadcasts onFM,DAB,digital TV and viaBBC Soundsfrom studios at St Peter's Square inLeeds.

According toRAJAR,the station has a weekly audience of 178,000 listeners and a 2.8% share as of December 2023.

History

BBC RadioinLeedsblue plaque

The station began broadcasting at theMerrion Centreat 5.30 pm on 24 June 1968, becoming the seventhBBC local radiostation to go on air. Initially a two-year experiment and co-funded byLeeds City Council,the station was only available inLeedson a low powered 50 watt VHF transmitter inMeanwoodPark, on 94.6 MHz.Listening figures were very low as at that time, the majority of listeners still listened to radio viaAM.In 1970, the station was made permanent and began broadcasting to all ofWest Yorkshirefrom theHolme Moss transmitting stationand in 1972 the station started broadcasting onmedium waveand branded itself as "the voice of West Yorkshire".

In 1974, BBC Radio Leeds, along withBBC Look North,moved to new studios inWoodhouseLane, where it remained for thirty years until the studios were demolished in 2004.

Until the mid 1980s, the station was generally on air from breakfast until teatime, with any programming after 6 pm devoted to specialist music and magazines aimed at specialist interests and at ethnic minority communities. These programmes did not broadcast all year round, and outside of its broadcast hours, as with all BBC Local Radio stations, Radio Leeds carriedBBC Radio 2.

In August 1986, evening programmes began on a permanent basis when the station joined with the other three BBC stations inYorkshireto provide an early evening service of specialist music programmes on weeknights from 6 pm to 7:30 pm, although since autumn 1984, BBC Radio Leeds' Saturday evening organ music programme,At the Console,had also been carried byBBC Radio YorkandBBC Radio Humberside.The regional specialist music service was expanded in September 1987, running six days a week (Wednesday to Monday) between 7 pm and 9 pm, with Tuesdays reserved for local sports coverage.

On 29 May 1989, theBBC Night Networklaunched which saw the six BBC Local Radio stations in Yorkshire and the north east broadcasting networked programming every evening from 6:05 pm (6 pm at the weekend) and midnight, with the majority of the programmes broadcast from the Leeds studios. Any local programming broadcast after 6 pm, such as sport and ethnic minority output, was transmitted only on medium wave withNight Networkcontinuing uninterrupted onFM.The network expanded in May 1991 to include the fourBBC North Weststations andNight Network's hours were changed, starting an hour later, resulting in an additional hour of local output. Programming was overhauled with specialist music programmes airing from 7:05 pm to 10 pm (the exception being made for midweek sports coverage) followed, on weeknights, by a late show fromLancaster.The late show was extended to 12:30 am a year later and eventually to 1 am. Local programming would now fully opt-out of the network with any local evening programming replacing the scheduled Night Network programme on both FM and AM.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the station was branded as "West Yorkshire's FM BBC Radio Leeds"

BBC Radio Leeds' main studios are at theBBC Yorkshirebuildings on St. Peter's Square inLeeds.

In 2002, the Yorkshire stations left the network to introduce a regional phone-in show withAlex Hall,who had hosted a similar show onPulse.

In 2012, the station closed its offices and studios at theNational Media MuseuminBradford,where the public was able to see programmes being broadcast. Radio Leeds also ran district newsrooms and contribution studios inWakefield Town Hall,atDean CloughinHalifaxand atHuddersfield Town Hall.Four years later, the station reinstated an office and studio in Bradford, located in the Horton building atThe University of Bradford.

As a cost saving measure, all local early evening programmes were scrapped at the start of 2013 and they were replaced by a new evening programme which was broadcast on all local stations (the only time that stations were not able to broadcast the programme was to provide local sports coverage).BBC Radio Leeds was the location of the national programme. The late show was a regional programme. The programme continued until summer 2018, almost a year after the thenDirector-General of the BBC,Tony Hall,announced in a speech to mark BBC Local Radio's 50th anniversary that the national evening show would be axed, resulting in local programming returning to weeknight evenings.

BBC Radio Bradford

On 7 December 2020, BBC Radio Bradford began broadcasting as a temporary service on the MW frequency each weekday between 6 am and 2 pm. The service provided eight hours of opt-out programming for listeners in Bradford and the surrounding area each weekday until March 2021.

Technical

The main VHF /FMtransmitter is located at theHolme Moss transmitting stationon 92.4 MHz, covering most ofWest Yorkshire.

Radio Leeds is also carried on theWharfedaleandLuddendenrelay transmitters on 95.3 MHz, fromKeighleyon 102.7 MHz and from Beecroft Hill (WestLeeds) on 103.9 MHz to fill in areas which are screened fromHolme Mossby the topology of the area.

Since 2001, BBC Radio Leeds has been carried on theBauerLeedsDABmultiplex, and since October 2002, on theBradford & Huddersfieldmultiplex.

The station also broadcasts onFreeviewTV channel 719 in theBBC Yorkshireregion and streams online viaBBC Sounds.

BBC Radio Leeds was also broadcast on 774 kHzmedium wavefrom a transmitter located atFarnley.It used to simulcast theBBC Asian Networkevery evening. MW transmissions ended on 1 June 2021.

Programming

A BBC Radio Leeds vehicle as seen atHeadingleyduring a one-day cricket match in 2009.

Local programming is produced and broadcast from the BBC'sLeedsstudios from 6 am to 1 am each day. The late show, airing from 10 pm to 1 am, is simulcast with sister stationsBBC Radio Humberside,BBC Radio Lincolnshire(weekdays),BBC Radio SheffieldandBBC Radio York.

During the station's downtime, BBC Radio Leeds simulcasts overnight programming fromBBC Radio 5 LiveandBBC Radio London.

Sports coverage

BBC Radio Leeds broadcasts live sport under theWest Yorkshire Sportbanner. Football coverage includesLeeds United,Huddersfield TownandBradford City.Rugby league coverage includesLeeds Rhinos,Bradford Bulls,Huddersfield Giants,Wakefield Trinity WildcatsandCastleford Tigers.The station coversYorkshire Carnegiein rugby union andYorkshire County Cricket Clubin cricket.

Presenters

Notable former presenters

• Pete Allison
• Liz Green
• Richard Hammond
• Philip Hayton
• John Helm
• Stephanie Hirst
• Martin Kelner
• Peter Levy

Management

• Sanjiv Buttoo(Managing Editor)

External links

• Official website
• The history of BBC Radio Leeds