A timeline of notable events relating to BBC Radio 3, a British national radio station which began broadcasting in September 1967.
1960s
1967
30 September – BBC Radio 3 launches at 8am, replacing the BBC Third Programme.
1968
No events.
1969
No events.
1970s
1970
4 April – BBC Radio's sports coverage transfers from Radio 3 to Radio 2, although cricket commentary continues to be broadcast on Radio 3. Also transferring away from Radio 3 is other factual programming, moving mostly to BBC Radio 4. Consequently, the station now focuses on classical music, the performing arts and adult education. 8 April – Choral Evensong is broadcast on Radio 3 for the first time. It had previously been aired on Radio 4. Initially, it is only broadcast once a month but following the receipt of 2,500 letters of complaint, weekly transmissions resume on 1 July.
1971
August – Pied Piper, a programme aimed at primary school children, is broadcast for the first time.
1972
1 January – Stephen Hearst replaces Howard Newby as Controller. 19 July – Homeward Bound, a new 20-minute teatime programme, is launched. 21 July – The station extends its broadcasting hours by 25 minutes, closing down at midnight instead of 11:35pm.
1973
1 January – Homeward Bound is doubled in length and now broadcasts in two 20-minute segments with a five-minute break for the teatime news bulletin.
1974
From this year, cricket commentary is broadcast only on MW, thereby allowing Radio 3's usual music schedule to continue on VHF.
1975
29 September – Radio 3's weeknight teatime adult education slot Study on 3 is renamed Lifelines.
1976
May – The final edition of Pied Piper is broadcast due to the death of the programme's presenter David Munrow.
1977
No events.
1978
29 September – Adult education slot Lifelines is broadcast for the final time, bringing to an end of Radio 3's non-Open University adult educational output. 2 October – For the first time, Radio 3 broadcasts a music programme on weeknights at 6:30pm when it launches At Home. However, the programme is only broadcast on MW as the station continues to broadcast Open University programmes on VHF. 23 November – Radio 3 moves from 464m (647kHz) to 247m (1215kHz) medium wave as part of a plan to improve national AM reception and to conform with the Geneva Frequency Plan of 1975. 22 December – Industrial action at the BBC by the ABS union which started the previous day, extends to radio when the radio unions join their television counterparts by going on strike, forcing the BBC to merge its four national radio networks into one national radio station from 4pm and called it the BBC All Network Radio Service. The strike is settled shortly before 10pm on Friday 22 December 1978 with the unions and BBC management reaching an agreement at the British government's industrial disputes arbitration service ACAS.
1979
Ian McIntyre replaces Stephen Hearst as Controller.
1980s
1980
2 January – Radio 3 launches a new, extended teatime programme Mainly for Pleasure. The two-hour long programme replaces the much shorter Homeward Bound. 3 May – Financial cutbacks at Radio 3 result in the station closing down 45 minutes earlier, at 11:15pm instead of midnight. 15 October – Open University programmes are broadcast on weekday teatimes for the final time. Consequently, from the following day, Mainly for Pleasure and the full Radio 3 schedule, is heard on VHF all the year round for the first time.
1981
February – The new Open University year sees OU transmissions on Radio 3 moved to late at night and early in the morning and are broadcast prior to and after the end of the stations' daily output. The programmes continue to be broadcast only on VHF. 24 September – John Lade presents Record Review for the final time. His last broadcast is the programme's 1,000th edition. Paul Vaughan takes over the programme the following week.
1982
No events.
1983
No events.
1984
13 October – Radio 3's broadcast hours are extended. The station regains the 45 minutes of late night broadcasting time that it lost in 1980, closing down at midnight instead of just after 11:15pm and weekend broadcasts begin an hour earlier, at 6:55am rather than 7:55am. Consequently, the station is now on air from 6:55am until midnight seven days a week.
1985
No events.
1986
No events.