area united kingdom slogan intelligent speech the most insightful journalism the wittiest comedy the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in uk radio frequency fm 92.5 96.1 mhz 103.5 104.9 mhz lw 198 khz mw 603 khz 720 khz 774 khz 756 khz 1449 khz 1485 khz dab 12b freesat 704 fm 710 lw freeview 704 fm sky uk only 0104 fm 0143 lw virgin media 904 fm 911 lw virgin media ireland 910 fm various frequencies on analogue cable first air date 30 september 1967 1967 09 30 format news talk and drama language s english audience share 11.7 % september 2015 rajar quarterly listening former callsigns bbc home service owner bbc sister stations bbc radio 4 extra webcast web stream fm worldwide stream url hls 48 kbps aac worldwide stream url hls 96 kbps aac worldwide stream url http progressive 128 kbps mp3 uk only stream url hls 128 kbps aac uk only stream url hls 320 kbps aac lw worldwide stream url hls 48 kbps aac worldwide stream url hls 96 kbps aac worldwide stream url http progressive 128 kbps mp3 uk only stream url hls 128 kbps aac uk only stream url hls 320 kbps aac website www.bbc.co.uk radio4 bbc radio 4 is a radio station owned and operated by the british broadcasting corporation bbc that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken word programmes including news drama comedy science and history . it replaced the bbc home service in 1967 . 1 the station controller is gwyneth williams ; and the station is part of bbc radio and the bbc radio department . the station is broadcast from the bbc s headquarters at broadcasting house london . it is the second most popular domestic radio station in the uk broadcast throughout the uk the isle of man and the channel islands on fm lw and dab ; and can be received in eastern and south eastern counties of ireland the north of france and northern europe . it is also available through freeview sky virgin media and on the internet . its sister station bbc radio 4 extra formerly bbc radio 7 complements the main channel by broadcasting repeats from the radio 4 archive extended versions of radio 4 programmes and supplements to series such as the archers and desert island discs . it is notable for its news bulletins and programmes such as today and the world at one heralded on air by the greenwich time signal pips or the chimes of big ben . contents 1 outline 2 history 3 programmes and schedules 3.1 daily schedule 3.2 production 3.3 programmes 4 notable continuity announcers and newsreaders 4.1 main newsreaders continuity announcers 4.2 newsreaders non today programme continuity announcers 4.3 continuity announcers 4.4 former staff 5 frequencies and other means of reception 6 criticisms 7 see also 8 references 9 further reading 10 external links outline edit bbc radio 4 is the second most popular british domestic radio station by total hours 2 after radio 2 and the most popular in london and the south of england . citation needed it recorded its highest audience of 11 million listeners in may 2011 3 and was uk radio station of the year at the 2003 2004 and 2008 sony radio academy awards . 4 5 it also won a peabody award in 2002 for file on 4 export controls . 6 costing 71.4 million 2005 6 7 it is the bbc s most expensive national radio network and is considered by many to be its flagship . there is no comparable british commercial network channel 4 abandoned plans to launch its own speech based digital radio station in october 2008 as part of a 100m cost cutting review . 8 in 2010 gwyneth williams 9 replaced mark damazer as radio 4 controller . damazer became master of st peter s college oxford . 10 music and sport are the only fields that largely fall outside the station s remit . it broadcasts occasional concerts and documentaries related to various forms of both popular and classical music and the long running music based desert island discs . prior to the creation of bbc radio 5 it broadcast sports based features notably sport on four and since the creation of bbc radio 5 live has become the home of ball by ball commentaries of most test cricket matches played by england broadcast on long wave . as a result for around 70 days a year listeners have to rely on fm broadcasts or increasingly dab for mainstream radio 4 broadcasts the number relying solely on long wave is now a small minority . the cricket broadcasts take precedence over on the hour news bulletins but not the shipping forecast carried since its move to long wave in 1978 because that can be received clearly at sea . 11 the station is the uk s national broadcaster in times of national emergency such as war due to the wide coverage of the droitwich signal if all other radio stations were forced to close it would carry on broadcasting . 8 it has been claimed that the commanders of nuclear armed submarines believing that britain had suffered nuclear attack were required to check if they could still receive radio 4 on 198 long wave and if they could not they would open sealed orders that might authorise a retaliatory strike . 12 13 as well as news and drama the station has a strong reputation for comedy including experimental and alternative comedy many successful comedians and comedy shows first appearing on the station . the station is available on fm in most of great britain parts of ireland and the north of france ; lw throughout the uk and in parts of northern europe and the atlantic north of the azores to about 20 degrees west ; mw in some areas ; dab ; digital tv including freeview freesat sky and virgin media ; and on the internet . history edit logo of radio 4 until 2007 see also bbc home service the bbc home service was the predecessor of radio 4 and broadcast between 1939 and 1967 . it had regional variations and was broadcast on medium wave with a network of vhf fm transmitters being added from 1955 . radio 4 replaced it on 30 september 1967 when the bbc renamed many of its domestic radio stations 1 in response to the challenge of offshore radio . it moved to long wave in november 1978 taking over the 200 khz frequency previously held by radio 2 and later moved to 198 khz as a result of international agreements aimed at avoiding interference . for a time during the 1970s radio 4 carried regional news bulletins monday to saturday these were broadcast twice at breakfast lunchtime and an evening bulletin at 5.55 pm . plus programme variations for parts of england not served by bbc local radio stations . these included roundabout east anglia a vhf opt out of the today programme broadcast from bbc east s studios in norwich each weekday from 6.45 am to 8.45 am . 14 roundabout east anglia came to an end in 1980 when local radio services were introduced to east anglia with the launch of bbc radio norfolk . 14 all regional news bulletins broadcast from bbc regional news bases around england ended in august 1980 . the south west was the only exception having no bbc local radio these news bulletins and its weekday morning regional programme mornin sou west an out put of today continued to be broadcast from the bbc studios in plymouth on vhf and the radio 4 relay on medium wave until 31 december 1982 and just before the launch of bbc radio cornwall and bbc radio devon . the launch of radio 5 on 27 august 1990 saw the removal of open university schools programming and the study on 4 adult education slot to the new station resulting in the full radio 4 schedule being available on fm for the first time . between 17 january 1991 and 2 march 1991 fm broadcasts were replaced by a continuous news service devoted to the gulf war radio 4 news fm with the main radio 4 service being exclusively on long wave . in september 1991 it was decided that the main radio 4 service would be on fm as coverage had extended to cover almost all of the uk . opt outs were transferred to long wave currently test match special extra shipping forecasts the daily service and yesterday in parliament . long wave very occasionally opts out at other times such as to broadcast special services the most recent being when the pope visited britain in 2010 . the longwave signal is part of the royal navy s system of last resort letters . in the event of a suspected catastrophic attack on britain submarine commanders in addition to other checks check for a broadcast signal from radio 4 on 198 longwave to verify the annihilation of organised society in great britain . 15 programmes and schedules edit daily schedule edit the simulcast from the bbc world service begins at 01 00 and ends at 05 20 with a brief introduction from the early shift continuity announcer . the five minute radio 4 uk theme composed by fritz spiegl followed this for 28 years until april 2006 . it was replaced by an extension to the early news bulletin 16 17 despite public opposition 18 and a campaign to save it . 19 after a continuity link and programme trail there are a shipping forecast weather reports from coastal stations for 04 00 gmt and the inshore waters forecasts followed at 05 30 by a news bulletin a review of british and international newspapers and a business report . on weekdays at 05 45 farming today which deals with news of relevance to the agricultural sector is followed by tweet of the day a 2 minute feature looking at different species of birds through their songs and calls . the morning news and current affairs sequence today then runs for three hours from 06 00 to 09 00 on weekdays for two hours from 07 00 on saturdays . the remainder of the day s schedule is determined by the day of the week with the following fixtures on weekdays book of the week at 09 45 the daily service on lw woman s hour at 10 02 including a 15 minute drama at 10 45 you and yours at 12 15 the world at one and a repeat of the previous day s the archers at 14 02 the afternoon drama at 14 15 . at 17 00 another current affairs programme pm is broadcast . at 18 30 there is a regular comedy slot the archers at 19 02 front row at 19 15 and a repeat of the 15 minute drama at 19 45 . the world tonight airs at 22 00 followed by book at bedtime at 22 45 . at weekends the schedule is different with other fixed features at various times . news is broadcast at the top of each hour a two minute summary a longer bulletin as part of a current affairs programme or a 30 minute programme on weekdays at 18 00 and midnight . at 12 00 fm carries a four minute bulletin while long wave has the headlines followed by a shipping forecast ; on weekdays long wave also leaves pm for a three minute shipping forecast at 17 54 . there is a news programme or bulletin depending on the day at 22 00 . a report on the day s proceedings in the westminster parliament is broadcast as today in parliament at 23 30 and repeated as yesterday in parliament on lw only at 08 31 the following morning . the midnight news is followed on weekdays by