BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. The 'About Radio 2' BBC webpage says: "With a repertoire covering more than 40 years, Radio 2 plays the widest selection of music on the radio—from classic and mainstream pop to a specialist portfolio including classical, country, folk, jazz, soul, rock 'n' roll, gospel and blues."
Radio 2 broadcasts throughout the UK on FM between and from studios in Wogan House, adjacent to Broadcasting House in central London. Programmes are broadcast on FM radio, digital radio via DAB, digital television and BBC Sounds.
According to RAJAR, the station broadcasts to a weekly audience of 13.4 million with a listening share of 13.1% as of September 2023.
History
1967–1986
The network was launched at 5:30am on Saturday 30 September 1967, replacing the BBC Light Programme — with some of the Light Programme's music shows transferring to the newly launched BBC Radio 1. The first show had started on both Radio 1 and Radio 2 but continued with Breakfast Special presented by Paul Hollingdale as Radio 1 separated at 7am. The first record played on Radio 2 was the title track to the 1965 film The Sound of Music by Julie Andrews.
In early years, much programming and music was common to both stations, particularly on the shared FM frequency. Radio 1 was targeted at the audience of pirate radio stations whereas Radio 2 settled down as a middle of the road station playing laid-back pop and rock, folk and country, jazz and big-band music, easy listening, light classical music, and oldies, with significant amounts of comedy and sport.
Notable broadcasters on Radio 2 in the 1970s and 1980s were Tom Edwards and Ray Moore who both presented the early breakfast show, Terry Wogan on breakfast, replaced by Ken Bruce and later Derek Jameson; Jimmy Young and his lunchtime current affairs show; David Hamilton on mid-afternoons and John Dunn at what became known as drivetime. In its early years, the station as the Light Programme had done played a large amount of specially-recorded music because of needle time restrictions imposed by the Musicians' Union.
On 6 January 1975, broadcasting hours for Radio 2 were reduced due to budget cuts at the BBC. The 5am – 2am schedule was scaled back to a 6am start-up from Mondays to Saturdays, and 6:55am on Sundays. The station closed down at around 12:30am each day. However, from 29 September 1975, the closedown was brought forward to 12:10am on weekdays and 12:33am on Saturdays and Sundays. There were exceptions, especially over Christmas and New Year periods, when hours would be temporarily extended. The pre-1975 schedule was reinstated on 1 April 1978. On 23 November 1978, the station moved from longwave to medium wave.
On 27 January 1979, Radio 2 became the first national 24-hour radio station in the UK.
Frances Line: 1986–1996
The first half of the 1980s had seen presenters such as Kenny Everett, David Hamilton and Steve Jones increasingly featured more contemporary pop music in their playlists and in response to the controversy these changes had caused in some circles, Frances Line, head of music, repositioned the station in April 1986.
An ageing Radio 1 audience which had grown up with the station was sticking with it into their 40s and beyond; Line repositioned Radio 2 to appeal exclusively to the over-50s, introduced older presenters and based the playlist around nostalgia, easy listening and light music.
As a result, David Hamilton quit the station at the end of 1986, claiming the music policy had become "geriatric"; Terry Wogan's replacement Derek Jameson also appealed to an older, down-market demographic. Although popular with its target audience, the policy alienated many younger listeners who had listened to both Radio 1 and Radio 2 and the station's audience fell.
In 1990, in the year that Line become controller, the station lost its medium wave frequencies to allow for the launch of BBC Radio 5, and BBC Radio's sports coverage moved to the new station at that time.