UK Dopers - How much radio do you listen to?

Cafe Society
1

I recently became aware of the dearth of programming available on BBC radio. It’s akin to what we have in the US as NPR (National Public Radio) but spread over 7+ channels. It seems like a lot of famous folks go seamlessly between radio and TV shows like it’s a no-brainer to them to do both (Jonathan Ross, Russell Brand, Clive Anderson, Mitchell & Webb, Stephen Fry, etc)

Do you guys actually listen to a lot of radio? The only radio I set out to listen to during the day is baseball during the baseball season. Otherwise, radio is what happens to be on in the car or happens to be on in the background when I am doing some sort of project.

I know a lot of Americans will still tune in specifically to listen to their favorite NPR shows or to catch a talk show they like on a local channel. But American radio doesn’t seem as important to Americans as BBC radio is to the UK. Or maybe it’s not important at all, I dunno.

When do you listen to the radio? Do you set out to catch specific shows? What do you like? Do you listen to it with friends or chat about it at work the next day? Enlighten me!

2

Radio 4 is the real institution in the UK, has a hardcore following. There would be bloody rebellion if that ever came off the airwaves. My MIL literally turns it on at 7 am when she gets up, and never has it off whilst she’s in her house. I don’t listen to a huge amount of radio 4 myself, so someone else will be able to describe it better than me - in a nutshell it covers politics, satire, plays, debate, news, comedy etc, hardly any music; middlebrow / highbrow depending on your POV.

Radio5live gets the most airplay for me, it’s the sports channel and is very good. Standard of live game commentary is outstanding, Alan Green apart.

Did you mean dearth BTW in the OP?

3

Yeah that’s one of those “I reworded everything so much that the wrong words got left in there” sort of deals. Thanks for pointing it out - I hope it doesn’t confuse everyone, argh!

4

I’ve always listened to the radio but now listen to it even more since the inception of programming online. I listen to BBC radio 1 and listen to a good 6-10 hours of it a day (Greg James after work online as he’s on at stupid o’clock, Chris Moyles on the way to work, bit of Jo Whiley whilst having lunch, Scott Mills on the way home, maybe some Zane Lowe too, then Colin Murray in the evening). If I’m at my computer I’ll nearly always be listening to a radio 1 show.

I really recommend them, you can get podcasts for nothing, try Scott Mills for a taster - http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/podcasts/mills/.

5

I listen to the radio most of the time I’m in the car, which is quite a bit of time when I’m working. I’ll head to Radio 1 for a lot of the more interesting post-7pm stuff, and Scott Mills for the brain-dead wind-downs driving home, and Radio 3 at most other times.

Or if there’s football on, commentary of all Ipswich matches is local station, or more typically 5 Live for all the 3pm kickoffs. The latter also for when I’m on a long journey and want to keep track of traffic reports.

The only times I listen at home are my clock radio alarm, permanently tuned to Radio 4, and (mostly online) if there’s a specific concert I want to hear on Radio 3.

Listen with or chat about it with friends? Sometimes a particularly funny prank on Scott Mills becomes a talking point (more likely with kids I’m teaching, actually), and there’s one particular friend with whom I’ll listen to Hear And Now with, slagging off all the music and the composers as we do so :wink:

6

I don’t really listen to radio, only the occasional podcast of a radio show.

7

I listen to a metric shitload of radio.

Radio 4 is on in my house from the moment I get up. I listen to it while having coffee, breakfast, shower, getting dressed, then when I get in my car it’s on in the car. Sometimes in the car I switch from Radio 4 to 2 and 1 (music stations), or local stations. I listen to Radio 4 streaming if I’m performing a repetitive task in the office, and then have Radio 4 on in my car on the way home, then in the house until I go to bed, unless there’s something on TV I want to watch. Because I’m an insomniac, I also listen to the World Service while trying to sleep.

So, maybe 5 or 6 hours a day? Maybe more.

8

Couple of hours - mainly in the car. I like to listen to radio 1, northsound one (local radio station) and a little bit of original fm! I just flick between them to hear something I like. Working in the car industry I spent a lot of time in cars so I get my quota filled!

9

Not living in the UK so it’s the world service (of the BBC) for me. I recently learned that the world service is now available in the UK. Why was it ever not? I love the feeling that some student in Jakarta or wherever is listening with me. It’s so cosy. I’ll listen to Virgin on the net and I miss Radio One where they read out a real life love story - do they still do that?

Confession: when the cricket is on I may well supplement TV coverage with radio commentary - feels like I’m in the box with them all blabbing away.

10

[quote=“Busy_Scissors, post:2, topic:462031”]

Radio 4 is the real institution in the UK, has a hardcore following. There would be bloody rebellion if that ever came off the airwaves.

When the BBC were re-jigging the networks, apparently they considered ceasing broadcast of Radio 4 from on LW.

According to The Guardian, legions of Radio 4 fans descended on Broadcasting House to protest against the closure with the chant “Where do we want it? Long wave. What do we say? Please!”

You don’t mess with Radio 4 fans…

11

Yep, it’s been a while since I posted. Does it show?

12

Brilliant.

13

The funding for the World Service has always come directly from the Foreign Office, rather than from the normal BBC funding via the TV licence. As it had a remit to broadcast to other parts of the world rather than to the UK, that money was to be spent on ways of transmitting to the countries most in need of an alternative to censored media, rather than an extra option for British audiences.

14

I’m an American, and I listen to a tonne (heh) of BBC Radio. Thank you, internet! I believe that at the moment, I have about 14 days’ worth of downloaded programs on my iPod waiting for me to listen to them. I’ve stopped listening to music.

15

I’m a big Radio 4 fan too. I particularly like listening to some intelligent discussion while playing ultraviolent first-person shooters.

16

BBC radio (particularly Radio 4, but I’m probably biased here) is worth every penny of the license fee alone*. I’d rather be without any form of TV than have to do without the radio.

To answer the OP I generally listen to an hour or two a day. If I’m on the road this increases to about five (podcasts on my iPod).

*The fact that I live abroad and don’t have to pay the license fee, but still get Radio 4 online, is a guilty bonus.

17

On the way to work in the morning I usually listen to CDs in the car (part of my “getting ready to face the world” routine).

I often switch over to NPR for the drive home, especially on “Science Fridays.”

Other than these two habits, I rarely listen to the radio. I hate not being able to control what I hear and I despise the obnoxious DJs and commercials.

18

And I watch BBC WorldNews almost every night.

19

AND I just read the OP and realized that this is a UK thread. [SIZE=“1”]Sorry to be one of those upstarts from one of the colonies.[/SIZE]

20

Up to about six months ago, I would have answered : “About 8 hours a day, and I listen to BBC 6 music”.

BBC 6 is one of the digital radio channels, which was one of the best in the uk if you liked indie and rock music. Its presenters were well versed in music and were actually fun to listen to. Its like Radio 2, without the feeling that you are waiting to die… :slight_smile:

However, they started getting rid of the good presenters and they put in replacements from the bland (Nemone, sort of a Sarah Cox clone) and the appalling (George Lamb, who samples the word “Shabba” during his songs, and talks for up to 20 minutes without music with his fawning entourage laughing at his bitter rants and big brother commentary). There are still good presenters, later in the day, such as Gideon Coe and Marc Riley so its worth a listen.

Perhaps US listeners might think this is college radio. Perhaps it is.

I moved to listen to PlanetRock for about 6 hours a day. It is commercial, but it hits exactly the spot on the old Rock music I like (late 70’s to late 80’s) and its presenters don’t feel the need to speak much at all. Added that they will play 20 minute sides of albums regularly, its a better radio station than 6 music in my opinion nowadays.

I tried Radio 4 for a while once, but I got to know a lot of stuff I didn’t want to know, such as the sex life of Molluscs and detailed gardening tips. Its that sort of radio station.

I listened to Radio 1 about 5 years ago when Mark and Lard were on in the afternoon. Dropped it when that fat bloke took over.

Some people like Radio 7 for its drama and comedy. I never seem to find much on there when I listen to it, often childrens drama. My tivo does pick up some nice repeats on there though, but I don’t listen to it live.

A number of digital radio stations went out of business recently. One was replaced by a station called “Birdsong” which doesn’t exactly that. I tried it for a while once when the office was particularly noisy, but I did end up speculating whether some noises were some ducks attacking some seagulls…