BBC Radio Merseyside


BBC Radio Merseyside is the BBC Local Radio service for the Merseyside region, England. It was the third BBC local radio station to start broadcasting, launching on 22 November 1967, serving south west Lancashire. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 257,000 listeners and a 8.6% share as of December 2019.

Technical

BBC Radio Merseyside broadcasts from its studios in Hanover St, Liverpool on 95.8 MHz and DAB.
The Allerton Park transmitter also transmits Radio City on 96.7 MHz and Greatest Hits Radio Liverpool on 105.9 MHz. All three have the same coverage. DAB signals come from the Bauer Digital Bauer Liverpool 10C Multiplex from Billinge Hill, Hope Mountain and the Radio City Tower.
In late 1981 BBC Radio Merseyside moved from the council-owned offices in Commerce House, Liverpool to a new purpose built studios on Paradise Street, Liverpool. Broadcasts began from the new studios on 7 December 1981, 14 years after the station's inception. On 15 July 2006, BBC Radio Merseyside moved from its former home to a new purpose-built studio building on the corner of Hanover Street and College Lane in Liverpool. This building has two ground-floor studios next to a public performance space. An open learning centre is on the first floor and the main office is on the second floor. It's the third building BBC Radio Merseyside has occupied since it was launched in 1967 from studios on the sixth floor of a council-owned building, Commerce House, in Sir Thomas Street.
In October 2006, the studio building was nominated and made the Building Design shortlist for the inaugural Carbuncle Cup, which was ultimately awarded to Drake Circus Shopping Centre in Plymouth.

AM Frequency Switchoff

In March 2020 BBC Radio Merseyside's 1485 AM signal was switched off and its license was handed back to Ofcom. It continues to broadcast on 95.8FM and on the Bauer Liverpool 10C DAB Multiplex.

Programming

Most of BBC Radio Merseyside's programming is produced and broadcast from its Liverpool studios from 5am - 1am on weekdays, 6am - 12am on Saturdays and 5am - 2am on Sundays. During the station's downtime, BBC Radio Merseyside simulcasts BBC Radio 5 Live overnight. Specialist programming includes Liverpool's only English-Chinese speaking programming Orient Express with June Yee and Billy Hui and Upfront with Ngunan Adamu.

Notable past presenters

During a breakfast show on 25 June 2007, presenter Simon O'Brien accidentally broadcast an unedited interview in which he said, "fuck the government, fuck the planners". O'Brien resigned from the station later in the day. He later went on to present a short-lived Saturday breakfast show on the now defunct talk radio station Radio City Talk in Liverpool. Radio City Talk later used the phrase that led to his resignation as part of their launch marketing for the station.