AM Radio fading into history

[nodrogd]

RTE have now closed 252 long wave. The last transmissions were heard on 14.04.23.

RTE have cited rising costs & technical issues as the reason for closure.

https://about.rte.ie/2023/03/31/rte-...player%20apps.

[Dude111]

Thats sad......... So they went off air for good??

Originally Posted by Dude111

Thats sad......... So they went off air for good??

RTE Radio 1 is still on FM. The significance for UK radio listeners isn’t with RTE directly, it’s that during the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s the frequency was leased by a commercial radio station called Atlantic 252 which was essential listening for teens and young adults at the time (like me). Although it was based in Ireland the station could be received across much of the western side of Great Britain, and it was the British rather than the Irish audience they were after. After Atlantic 252 closed down the frequency reverted to RTE, the Irish state broadcaster. I guess they have been using it for their main radio output since then.

For Atlantic 252 fans the end of the era was really when that station closed down, however there is something poignant in the frequency itself going permanently silent. The mast that was used to deliver it is being decommissioned and nothing will replace it. So it’s really gone for good.

[nodrogd]

Originally Posted by Chris

RTE Radio 1 is still on FM. The significance for UK radio listeners isn’t with RTE directly, it’s that during the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s the frequency was leased by a commercial radio station called Atlantic 252 which was essential listening for teens and young adults at the time (like me). Although it was based in Ireland the station could be received across much of the western side of Great Britain, and it was the British rather than the Irish audience they were after. After Atlantic 252 closed down the frequency reverted to RTE, the Irish state broadcaster. I guess they have been using it for their main radio output since then.

For Atlantic 252 fans the end of the era was really when that station closed down, however there is something poignant in the frequency itself going permanently silent. The mast that was used to deliver it is being decommissioned and nothing will replace it. So it’s really gone for good.

When the licence for the frequency was awarded to Ireland, one of the conditions was that any service carried must not be aimed at any audience in the Republic. In other words it is an external broadcast frequency. RTE entered into a joint venture with those that used it, but eventually ended up carrying the can, so used it to broadcast to Northern Ireland & ex-pats in the UK.

They tried to get a licence from OFCOM to operate on DAB over here, but it never got anywhere.

[Rillington]

Originally Posted by Chris

The significance for UK radio listeners isn’t with RTE directly, it’s that during the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s the frequency was leased by a commercial radio station called Atlantic 252 which was essential listening for teens and young adults at the time (like me).

and me

---------- Post added at 23:46 ---------- Previous post was at 23:42 ----------

Originally Posted by Chris

After Atlantic 252 closed down the frequency reverted to RTE, the Irish state broadcaster. I guess they have been using it for their main radio output since then.

Atlantic 252 closed won at the start of 2002 after it became clear that pop music on long wave was no longer commercially viable, similar to the view taken by RTL a decade earlier when they closed down Radio Luxembourg.

The frequency used later in 2002 by a sports news station called Teamtalk 252 but that only lasted a few months.

Eventually, RTE started using the frequency to broadcast not only to Irish ex-pats in the Uk but also to carry the AM opt-puts such as religious programming and additional sports coverage.

[Rillington]

and to underline this trend, Radio 4 is expected to stop broadcasting on long wave next year, shortly after the LW opt-puts end.

It will be interesting to see how much longer Radio 5 Live continues on MW with one suggested date being 2027. Same with BBC Local and national Radio on MW.

[Media Boy UK]

Global to turn off FOUR AM transmitters from June 30th broadcasting Gold:

*Gold’s AM frequencies covering:
*Peterborough/Cambridge (1332 kHz),
*Derby (945 kHz),
*Nottingham (999 kHz) &
*Northampton (1557 kHz)

https://radiotoday.co.uk/2023/06/glo...nd-manchester/

[Dude111]

Very very sad.....

[Rillington]

and many of Smooth Radio's AM outlets are being switched off on the same day with the remainder expected to close a short while later.

It's a shame that Ofcom isn't reusing any of these AM frequencies that Global, Bower and the BBC are vacating for community or various other types of stations.

[nodrogd]

Originally Posted by Rillington

and to underline this trend, Radio 4 is expected to stop broadcasting on long wave next year, shortly after the LW opt-puts end.

It will be interesting to see how much longer Radio 5 Live continues on MW with one suggested date being 2027. Same with BBC Local and national Radio on MW.

Radio 5 live is likely to be the last to close owing to it having no FM outlet as the other BBC nationals have. I am surprised that the BBC have not done the obvious & made Radio 1 a digital only service, then given the frequencies to 5 Live. Radio 1 is after all a youth oriented station & most of their audience probably listen on their phones anyway.

[cheekyangus]

Originally Posted by nodrogd

Radio 5 live is likely to be the last to close owing to it having no FM outlet as the other BBC nationals have. I am surprised that the BBC have not done the obvious & made Radio 1 a digital only service, then given the frequencies to 5 Live. Radio 1 is after all a youth oriented station & most of their audience probably listen on their phones anyway.

The phrase "listen on their phones" when I see it is usually used when talking about an internet connection. But given many phones have an FM tuner in them it's not actually as useful a shorthand as it may first seem.

For example, I only listen to live radio on the FM tuner on my mobile. I do listen to other things but those are predownloaded before I leave the house.

And I still listen to Radio 1 occasionally, I'm not that old.

[Peter729]

I was talking to my grandchildren about Radio 1 and none of them listen to it, they all seem to listen to music that they stream or have stored on their phone.

[nodrogd]

Originally Posted by cheekyangus

The phrase "listen on their phones" when I see it is usually used when talking about an internet connection. But given many phones have an FM tuner in them it's not actually as useful a shorthand as it may first seem.

For example, I only listen to live radio on the FM tuner on my mobile. I do listen to other things but those are predownloaded before I leave the house.

And I still listen to Radio 1 occasionally, I'm not that old.

Come to think of it, how many times do you hear the BBC promoting their DAB services now? All the adverts seem to say is “listen on BBC Sounds”. They also quite happily “dumped” a lot of their Radio 3 FM listeners in Wales in order to all but shut Radio Wales AM services.

Originally Posted by nodrogd

Come to think of it, how many times do you hear the BBC promoting their DAB services now? All the adverts seem to say is “listen on BBC Sounds”. They also quite happily “dumped” a lot of their Radio 3 FM listeners in Wales in order to all but shut Radio Wales AM services.

DAB is a bit of a dud. Poor coverage and, as per, quantity over quality with notably inferior sound compared to FM thanks to bit rates that are simply too low for good quality music. It also puts much more of the power requirement onto the receiver which makes a DAB radio a poor replacement for any small portable FM one. So whether you want good quality audio on your home equipment or good battery performance on your portable radio, it’s inferior in every way.

[Rillington]

Originally Posted by nodrogd

Radio 5 live is likely to be the last to close owing to it having no FM outlet as the other BBC nationals have.

I agree with that, and I think that the rest of the BBC local and national stations will stop broadcasting on AM in the middle of the decade with 5 Live being the last BBC service to leave AM later in the 2020s.