The BBC Has Done The Unthinkable! Farewell Radio 4 On Long Wave

Ajouté : 2026-05-22

[00:00:01]9 months ago, I made a video after a tip off I received began to leak online from another source. The video explained that the BBC would switch off its Radio 4 Longwave service on September the 26th, 2026. However, the BBC announced last week that Radio 4's longwave service will close down on the 27th of June, 2026, much earlier than the original proposed date. Every time this comes up, the new stories center around the Joy Witch transmitting station. But what about the other two, Burkehead and Westerlenn, that serve listeners in harderto-reach areas? Well, it would appear that they're being switched off, too. The BBC is broadcasting daily on air reminders to encourage people to switch to other ways of listening. This will be difficult for the small number of listeners in areas with little to no internet service. The BBC has been talking about shutting off Radio 4 on Longwave for a while now, but got serious about it in 2023 when it formally announced a plan citing rising costs. the age of the transmission equipment, energy costs, and of course, declining listenership. It still maintains that the company that owns and operates the longwave broadcasting equipment has confirmed that the system is reaching the end of its life. I don't know where I sit on this. There are ways that the service could continue, and all of the people I've spoken to who work or worked in the broadcasting industry claim it could be done quite easily and relatively cheaply. The word relatively being key there. Either way, investing in upgrading the longwave equipment at Droid Witch, Burghhead, and Westerlen, the three remaining radio 4 transmitters, is not considered a cost-effective solution for license fee funded services. That's all chestnut. As I've said in other videos, some older electricity meters still use a system called the radio teles switching service or RTS that's carried within the 198 kHz signal from Ditro Witch. The RTS has been in place for over 40 years now and is run by the energy industry, not the BBC. At the last count in June 2025, there were still 800,000 homes in the UK still relying on this service and the industry wasn't switching them to smart meters quickly enough. So that's it.

[00:02:06]After 90 years, BBC Radio 4 on Longwave will cease, allowing the Droid Witch, Burkehead, and Wester Glenn transmitting stations to decline further towards retirement.

[00:02:17]As a radio enthusiast, it's always sad to see things change for the worst. My local MF site at Ashton Moss was demolished recently.

[00:02:26]I snuck out of a beachside barbecue one barmy summer's evening the other year to spend an hour capturing Penmon before it too was cut down. Perhaps I just don't like change. One article encapsulates this whole thing perfectly though. It said a valuable radio service is set to shut down after nearly a century in a move that fans have labeled criminal.

[00:02:47]And that's it. Radio 4 on Longwave no longer has a valid enough listener base.

[00:02:52]The people up in arms over its closure seem to be mainly fans. Fans of the service or like me, fans of the infrastructure that provides it. I certainly don't listen to Radio 4. I just hate the thought of Joy Witch and the others eventually being toppled.

[00:03:05]Tobias launched a fantastic campaign along with a petition and an unbelievably well-ressearched report, but most of the noise around this still came from fans. The fact is listenership has declined. Most people in remote areas can receive other services. The broadcast infrastructure is aging and isn't cheap to operate and maintain. So, it's happening. On the plus side, Berghead will continue to radiate BBC Radio Scotland on 810 kHz and Radio 5 Live on 693 kHz. Westerlen will continue to radiate BBC Radio Scotland also on 810 kHz, Talk Sport on 1089 kHz and Radio 5 Live on 909 kHz. And Joy Witch will continue to radiate Talk Sport on 1053 kHz and Radio 5 Live on 693 kHz.

[00:03:53]All of this of course will end in the next couple of years. So I thought why not pay tribute to the service by looking at a potted history of Radio 4 on Longwave. Droid Witch actually entered service on the 7th of October 1934 with the national program on 200 kHz at 150 kW. But as I said, I just want to look back at the history of the radio 4 longwave service. The BBC home service was the predecessor of radio 4 and broadcast from 1939 to 1967. It had regional variations and was broadcast on mediumwave with a network of VHF FM transmitters being added from 1955. I won't cover the entire history of Radio 4 as we'll be here all day, but rather just the longwave service. On September the 30th, 1967, the BBC, having been sent into an unprecedented spin by the pirate radio stations, launched its pop service, Radio One. It did far more than break with tradition, and the old guard of the BBC didn't pretend to like this new innovation. It shattered the image nurtured by John Ree, the BBC's austere, but admired first chief and director general. Pop dealt a sharp blow to the high ideals of public service broadcasting in terms of the old BBC.

[00:05:05]Yet change was imperative. It meant expansion rather than decay. This time the public was to get what it wanted rather than what was considered good for it. So why am I going on about Radio One? Well, the BBC was soundly beaten in the pop music skirmish with the pirate stations. The offshore pirates had been recently banished by the Marine Offenses Act, but their effect was acknowledged by the BBC and it now needed to fill a gap on the basis that if you can't beat the opposition, you join it. The BBC made a spectacular takeover bid for a hungry pop audience and this takeover marked the relaunch of all its services.

[00:05:40]Radio One was the new pop service. Radio 2 replaced the former light program.

[00:05:44]Radio 3 replaced the former third program and Radio 4 replaced the home service. On Thursday the 23rd of November 1978, as a result of international agreements aimed at avoiding interference, many of the BBC's frequencies changed. Radio 4 moved to longwave, taking over 200 kHz or 1500 m, a frequency previously occupied by radio 2. It's my understanding that this is when Burghhead and Westerlen entered service with their new radio 4 transmitters. 22 million sticker cards like this were sent out to listeners before the changeover date. stickers you still find on secondhand radios today.

[00:06:20]The frequency change and additional transmitters meant that radio 4 was now available across all of the UK for the first time and the station officially became known as Radio 4 UK, a title that remained until the 29th of September 1984. It later moved to 198 kHz on the 1st of February 1988 where it remains today.

[00:06:41]And finally, I thought I'd leave you with some Detroit Witch Radio 4 transmitter facts and trivia you probably didn't know. On December the 17th, 1979, severe storms hit the region and strong winds damaged the antenna beyond repair. There was no service for 3 days while riggers battled high winds to replace it. January 1984 also saw storm damage take radio 4 off the air.

[00:07:04]On the evening of the 6th of July 1983, Detroit witch was struck by lightning and radio 4 was off the air for 20 minutes while damage assessments were carried out. Tuesday the 28th of January 1992 saw thick ice form on the mesh covering the air inlets at Droid Witch causing everything to overheat which in turn led to the transmitters being off the air for 6 and 1/2 hours.

[00:07:26]I recall an instance from July 1989 in which aircraft working Davidton airport were allegedly wandering miles off course due to the strong transmission of radio 4 from Detroit witch. The BBC said it's not our fault, but the airport was convinced that the high-powered signal from the station was causing aircraft to veer up to 15° off course. It would appear that the air navigation beacon at the airport, also known as an NDB, was being regularly affected by interference from radio 4 at Droid Witch. The answer, according to the BBC, was not to fly so close to the masts.

[00:08:00]While the BBC feel it's no longer economically viable to keep maintaining the transmitters, this wasn't always the case. Detroit Witch was shut down on September the 4th, 1985 for maintenance, leaving listeners to tune to the VHF radio for service. The same thing happened on November the 18th, 19th, and 25th, 1989, and for seven days across August 1991. All day with a reduced power service on air at nighttime only.

[00:08:26]And that's a potted history of BBC Radio 4 on Longwave, which in just over a month's time will disappear forever.

[00:09:07]Heat.