Latest news about BBC Local Radio

BBC Local Radio starts search for New Voices

Open auditions are to take place across England and the Channel Islands for BBC local radio’s new talent search. All 39 local radio stations across England and the Channel Islands are hosting open auditions for New Voices on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 September, following our report in January about the project getting underway. Hopefuls will have 60 seconds to impress a panel of judges. They could tell a story about something they care about, something local, something personal… anything as long as it’s unique. Judges across the country will include BBC editors and producers plus special guests such as vocal coaches Carrie and David Grant.

Record listening figures for Greg James and Dotty on Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra

Latest Rajar data (Q2 2019, 1 April - 23 June 2019) shows Radio 1 and Radio 1Xtra have drawn in more listeners each week. BBC Radio 1 had a weekly reach of 10.56 million listeners aged 10+, an increase from 10.18m last quarter and 10.25m last year. BBC Radio 1Xtra also saw increases this quarter, with 1.17 million weekly listeners (10+) up on 1.13m last quarter and 1.11m last year. Highest number of listeners for Radio 1 Breakfast with Greg James as he adds a quarter of a million new listeners since he started last year...

Training officer gets show at BBC Radio Leicester

A theatre graduate, who works in workplace training, is joining BBC Radio Leicester to host a weekly show. Twenty-nine-year-old Aminata Kamara from Leicester will present The Vibe every Wednesday night, where she promises “a dash of drama, a hit of sauce and whole heap of realness!” In May BBC Radio Leicester held open auditions to find original talent to front the Wednesday night programme, aimed at African and Caribbean audiences, which will also be broadcast on Radio2Funky, Leicester’s only radio station dedicated to Black music and arts...

Graham Liver named as Freeman of the City of Lancaster

BBC Radio Lancashire and North West Tonight presenter Graham Liver has been named as a Freeman of the City of Lancaster. He was surprised with the news on his Breakfast Show on Friday morning. Graham said: “Wow! Seriously, am I? Wow! I love this. This is amazing. Hopefully my love of the county, particularly Lancaster where my family are, where I was born, where I grew up, where I went to school… Hopefully that [love] comes across and anything I can do to promote Lancaster, Morecambe and all round there"...

Heart’s Tom Evans returns to radio with BBC Sussex

Former Heart presenter Tom Evans, from the Tom, Nicola and Jack breakfast show on Heart Sussex, is joining BBC Sussex. Tom will cover a variety of programmes in the weeks ahead, including Breakfast and Afternoons.Mark Carter, Assistant Managing Editor at BBC Sussex told RadioToday about the signing: “Tom lives in Sussex and loves the county. He’s proved to be an extremely popular presenter with the local audience over the past few years, so I’m delighted to offer this opportunity of a return to the airwaves.”

Zoe Ball joins top earners list at the BBC

New BBC Radio 2 breakfast show host Zoe Ball has joined the BBC big earners top 10 list whilst Jeremy Vine took at £110k pay cut. Vanessa Feltz also makes it inside the top 10 list, which this year includes three women for the first time, along with Claudia Winkleman. Chris Evans is still in the list, as it covers the period from April 2018 to March 2019, so will only represent nine months of work. He got £1.25m for 150 editions of the Breakfast Show (or £8.3k per programme).

RAJAR Q1 2019: Regional and local radio facts and figures

Whilst the national news is all about new radio stations and breakfast shows, the main headlines in the regions are about one of Bauer’s latest brands. The first results for Greatest Hits Radio in England show a mainly downward trend following the rebrand from City 2 stations last quarter.

Mike Sweeney and BBC Radio Manchester go Mad For It

BBC Radio Manchester’s Mike Sweeney will be turning Salford Lad’s Club into a comedy venue and inviting men along, offering a chance to have a laugh and open up about mental health. It’s part of the BBC’s major series for Mental Health Awareness Week, in partnership with Mind and Andy’s Man Club. Mike Sweeney told RadioToday: “Blokes are rubbish when it comes to talking, particularly when it comes to talking about mental health. You might say ‘I’m alright’ but"...

Radio professionals head to Student Radio event in Swansea

A number of radio presenters, producers and management are in sharing their experience and knowledge with students in Swansea this week. The annual Student Radio Conference is taking place over three days, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and has a line-up to rival most other industry events. Radio presenters giving up their time include Greg James, Adele Roberts, Aled Hayden Jones, Stephanie Hirst, Matt Edmondson, Mollie King, Tim Cocker, Will Manning, Vicki Blight, Trevor Nelson, Tom Swarbrick, Alex Mansuroglu and Sam Darlaston.

Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Greg James increases listeners by more than 300,000

The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Greg James has increased listeners by more than 300,000 in his first full quarter. Latest Rajar data shows since Greg James started on the Radio 1 Breakfast Show, there has been an increase of listeners aged 10+ to 5.59m (Monday-Thursday), from 5.28m last quarter. The same period (17 September-16 December 2018) has also seen a record for digital listening, with the proportion of digital listening now at 52.6%...