citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . october 2009 learn how and when to remove this template message bbc radio 1 broadcast area united kingdom fm dab tv united states tv canada satellite radio worldwide internet radio slogan where it begins frequency fm 97.6 mhz 99.7 mhz uk 1 2 97.1 mhz jersey dab 12b bbc national dab rds name radio 1 bbc r1 freeview 700 freesat 700 sky uk only 0101 virgin media 901 virgin media ireland 907 first air date 30 september 1967 format contemporary hit radio news entertainment speech showbiz language s english audience share 5.7 % june 2016 3 owner bbc sister stations bbc radio 1xtra webcast web stream http streams worldwide stream shoutcast 128 kbps mp3 hls streams worldwide stream 48 kbps aac worldwide stream 96 kbps aac uk only stream 128 kbps aac uk only stream 320 kbps aac website www.bbc.co.uk radio1 song list bbc radio 1 is a british radio station operated by the british broadcasting corporation which also broadcasts internationally specialising in modern and current popular music and chart hits throughout the day . radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7 00 pm including electronic dance hip hop rock indie or interviews . it is aimed primarily at the 15 29 age group 4 although the average age of the uk audience in 2008 was 33 . 5 bbc radio 1 started 24 hour broadcasting on 1 may 1991 . 6 contents 1 history 1.1 first broadcast 1.2 1970s peak 1.3 1990s changes 1.4 2000s 1.5 2010s 2 broadcast 2.1 studios 2.2 uk analogue frequencies 2.3 digital distribution 2.4 siriusxm cancellation in north america 2.5 regionalisation 3 content 3.1 music 3.2 news and current affairs 3.3 online visualisation and social media 4 controllers 5 presenters 5.1 daytime 5.2 nighttime 6 notable programming 6.1 breakfast 6.2 chart show 6.3 special programming 6.3.1 bank holiday programming 6.3.2 40th birthday 6.3.3 charity 6.3.4 drama 7 events 7.1 radio 1 roadshows 7.2 bbc radio 1 s big weekend 7.3 ibiza weekend 7.4 bbc radio 1 s teen awards 7.5 edinburgh festival 8 see also 9 references 9.1 sources 10 further reading 11 external links history edit first broadcast edit radio 1 was established in 1967 along with the more middle of the road bbc radio 2 as a successor to the bbc light programme which had broadcast popular music and other entertainment since 1945 . radio 1 was conceived as a direct response to the popularity of offshore pirate radio stations such as radio caroline and radio london which had been outlawed by act of parliament . 7 radio 1 was launched at 7 00 am on saturday 30 september 1967 . the first disc jockey to broadcast on the new station was tony blackburn whose cheery style first heard on radio caroline and radio london won him the prime slot on what became known as the radio 1 breakfast show . the first words on radio 1 after a countdown by the controller of radios 1 and 2 robin scott and a jingle recorded at pams in dallas texas beginning the voice of radio 1 were ... and good morning everyone . welcome to the exciting new sound of radio 1 . this was the first use of us style jingles on bbc radio but the style was familiar to listeners who were acquainted with blackburn and other djs from their days on pirate radio . the first complete record played on radio 1 was flowers in the rain by the move . the second single was massachusetts by the bee gees . the breakfast show remains the most prized slot in the radio 1 schedule with every change of breakfast show presenter exciting considerable media interest . 8 the initial rota of staff included john peel and a gaggle of others some hired from pirates such as keith skues ed stewart mike raven david ryder jim fisher jimmy young dave cash kenny everett simon dee terry wogan duncan johnson doug crawford tommy vance chris denning emperor rosko pete murray and bob holness . many of the most popular pirate radio voices such as simon dee had only a one hour slot per week midday spin . 9 annie nightingale who joined in 1970 was britain s first female dj and is now the longest serving presenter having constantly evolved her musical tastes with the times . 10 1970s peak edit i want to slag off all the people in charge of radio stations . firstly radio 1 . they outlawed the pirates and then didn t as they promised cater for the market the pirates created . radio 1 and 2 most afternoons run concurrently and the whole thing has slid right back to where it was before the pirates happened . they ve totally fucked it . there s no radio station for young people any more . it s all down to housewives and trendies in islington . they re killing the country by having that play list monopoly . joe strummer 11 initially the station was unpopular with some of its target audience who it is claimed disliked the fact that much of its airtime was shared with radio 2 and that it was less unequivocally aimed at a young audience than the offshore stations with some djs such as jimmy young being in their 40s . the very fact that it was part of an establishment institution such as the bbc was a turn off for some and needle time restrictions prevented it from playing as many records as offshore stations had . it also had limited finances partially because the bbc did not increase its licence fee to fund the new station and often as in january 1975 suffered disproportionately when the bbc had to make financial cutbacks strengthening an impression that it was regarded as a lower priority by senior bbc executives . despite this it gained massive audiences becoming the most listened to station in the world with audiences of over 10 million claimed for some of its shows up to 20 million for some of the combined radio 1 and radio 2 shows . in the early mid 1970s radio 1 presenters were rarely out of the british tabloids thanks to the publicity department s high profile work . the popularity of radio 1 s touring summer live broadcasts the radio 1 roadshow usually as part of the bbc radio weeks promotions that took radio 1 2 and 4 shows on the road drew some of the largest crowds of the decade . the station undoubtedly played a role in maintaining the high sales of 45 rpm single records although it benefited from a lack of competition apart from radio luxembourg and manx radio in the isle of man . independent local radio did not begin until october 1973 and took many years to cover virtually all of the uk . alan freeman s saturday rock show was voted best radio show 5 years running by readers of a national music publication and was then axed by controller derek chinnery . 1990s changes edit in his last few months as controller johnny beerling commissioned a handful of new shows that in some ways set the tone for what was to come under matthew bannister . one of these loud n proud was the uk s first national radio series aimed at a gay audience made in manchester and was aired from august 1993 . far from being a parting quirk the show was a surprise hit and led to the network s first coverage of the large outdoor gay pride event in 1994 . bannister took the reins fully in october 1993 . his aim was to rid the station of its smashie and nicey image and make it appeal to the under 25s . although originally launched as a youth station by the early 1990s its loyal listeners and djs had aged with the station over its 25 year history . many long standing djs such as simon bates dave lee travis alan freeman bob harris gary davies and later steve wright bruno brookes and johnnie walker left the station or were sacked and in january 1995 old music typically anything recorded before 1990 was banned from the daytime playlist . many listeners rebelled as the first new djs to be introduced represented a crossover from other parts of the bbc notably bannister and trevor dann s former colleagues at the bbc s london station glr with emma freud and danny baker . another problem was that at the time radio 2 was sticking resolutely to a format which appealed mainly to those who had been listening since the days of the light programme and commercial radio which was targeting the radio 1 and a half audience consequently enjoyed a massive increase in its audience share at the expense of radio 1 . after the departure of steve wright who had been unsuccessfully moved from his long running afternoon show to the breakfast show in january 1994 bannister hired chris evans to present the prime morning slot in april 1995 . evans was a popular but controversial presenter who was eventually sacked in 1997 after he demanded to present the breakfast show for only four days per week . evans was replaced from 17 february 1997 by mark and lard mark radcliffe along with his sidekick marc riley who found the slick mass audience style required for a breakfast show did not come naturally to them . they were replaced by zo ball and kevin greening eight months later in october 1997 with greening moving on and leaving ball as solo presenter . the reinvention of the station happened at a fortuitous time with the rise of britpop in the mid 90s bands like oasis blur and pulp were popular and credible at the time and the station s popularity rose with them . documentaries like john peel s lost in music which looked at the influence that the use of drugs have had over popular musicians received critical acclaim but were slated inside broadcasting house . later in the 1990s the britpop boom declined and manufactured chart pop boy bands and acts aimed at sub teenagers came to dominate the charts . new genre music occupied the evenings indie on weekdays and dance at weekends with a mix of specialist shows and playlist fillers through late nights . the rise of rave culture through the late 1980s and early 1990s gave the station the opportunity to move into a controversial and youth orientated movement by bringing in club dj pete tong amongst others . there had been a dance music programme on radio 1 since 1987 and pete tong was the second dj to present an all dance music show . this quickly gave birth to the essential mix where underground djs mix electronic and club based music in a two hour slot . dance music has been a permanent feature on radio 1 since with club djs such as judge jules danny rampling and seb fontaine all having shows as well as radio 1 hosting an annual weekend in ibiza . 2000s edit steve lamacq jo whiley and zane lowe listening numbers continued to decline but the station succeeded in targeting a younger age group and more cross gender groups . eventually this change in content was reflected by a rise in audience that is continuing to this day . notably the station has received praise for shows such as the surgery with aled bobby friction and nihal the evening session with steve lamacq and its successor zane lowe . its website has also been well received . however the breakfast show and the uk top 40 continued to struggle . in 2000 zo ball was replaced in the mornings by friend and fellow ladette sara