Editing BBC Radio 4 Extra (section)

==History==
[[File:Former BBC Radio 7 logos.png|thumb|left|150px|Former branding as BBC 7 (2002) and BBC Radio 7 (2008). Both featured a smiling face motif. The latter was created by design company Fallon.<ref>{{cite news |last=Plunkett |first=John |title=New logos for BBC Radio – cool or balls? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2007/aug/08/newlogosforbbcradiocoolo |access-date=25 May 2013 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |location=London |date=8 August 2007}}</ref>]]

===BBC 7===
The station was initially launched as BBC 7 on 15 December 2002 by comedian [[Paul Merton]]. The first programme was broadcast at 8{{nbsp}}p.m. and was simulcast with Radio 4.<ref name=newsletter>{{cite web |last=Kalemkerian |first=Mary |title=BBC Radio 7 Newsletter |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio7/seasons/newsletter_current.shtml |publisher=BBC |access-date=25 May 2013 |date=25 March 2011}}</ref> The station, referred to by the codename 'Network Z' while in development, was named without the word 'Radio' to reflect the station's presence on the internet and on digital television in addition to radio.<ref name=newsletter/><ref name="renamed">{{cite web |title=BBC 7 adds the magic word and becomes BBC Radio 7 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/10_october/04/radio7.shtml |publisher=BBC |access-date=25 May 2013 |date=4 October 2008}}</ref> The station broadcast mostly archived comedy and drama, in that the programme was either three or more years old or had been broadcast twice on their original station.

The station also broadcast a themed section for children's programmes. This section carried a variety of programmes, including ''The Little Toe Radio Show'' (later renamed ''[[CBeebies|CBeebies Radio]]''), aimed at younger children and consisting of short serials, stories and rhymes, and ''[[The Big Toe Radio Show]]'' and ''[[Arthur Storey and the Department of Historical Correction]]'' with phone-ins, quizzes and stories for the 8+ age group. The segment also hosted the only news programme on the network presented by the ''[[Newsround]]'' team.

The station won the [[Sony Radio Academy Awards|Sony Radio Academy Award]] for station sound in 2003,<ref>{{cite news |title=Sony Radio Academy Awards 2003 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/may/09/radio |access-date=4 January 2018 |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=9 May 2003}}</ref> was nominated for the Promo Award in 2004, and in 2005 received a silver for the Short-Form award, plus nominations in the speech and digital terrestrial station-of-the-year sections. Because of the station's archive nature the station was scheduled, produced and researched by 17 people, excluding presenters.<ref name=newsletter/>

The station was renamed on 4 October 2008 as BBC Radio 7 in an effort to bring it in line with other BBC Radio brands.<ref name="renamed"/> It also coincided with the introduction of a new network logo for the station.

{{quote box |quote=By adding some inviting new programmes and variations of some old favourites, we will encourage more listeners to find and enjoy what this imaginative digital station has to offer.|source=[[Gwyneth Williams]], controller of Radio 4 and Radio 4 Extra<ref name=about/>|align=right|width=220px}}

During this later period, Radio 7 saw growth in its audience, with a growth rate of 9.5% annually in 2010, going from 931,000 listeners in the first quarter of that year<ref name="Feb 2010 RAJAR guardian">{{cite news |last=Plunkett |first=John |title=Jazz FM, 6Music and Radio 7 are bright spots amid digital radio's gloom |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/feb/04/rajars-jazz-fm-6music-radio-7 |access-date=25 May 2013 |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=4 February 2010}}</ref> to 949,000 a quarter later, making it the second most listened to BBC digital radio station at the time.<ref name="August 2010 RAJAR guardian">{{cite news |last=Busfield |first=Steve |title=BBC 6 Music's audience rises again |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/aug/05/bbc-6music-digital-radio-rajars |access-date=25 May 2013 |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=5 August 2010}}</ref> However, despite this growth, the audience of children between 4 and 14 was reported to be only at 25,000, and in February 2011 the [[BBC Trust]] approved a reduction in hours dedicated to children from 1,400 to 350.<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Dowell |first=Ben |title=Radio 4 ditches last remaining children's series |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/mar/17/radio-4-axes-childrens-show-go4it |access-date=25 May 2013 |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=17 March 2009}}</ref>

===BBC Radio 4 Extra===
[[File:BBC Radio 4 Extra.svg|thumb|left|150px|The original BBC Radio 4 Extra logo, used in 2011]]
The BBC announced their intention to relaunch the station on 2 March 2010<ref>{{cite news|last=Plunkett|first=John|title=BBC confirms plans to axe 6 Music and Asian Network|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/mar/02/bbc-6-music-asian-network|access-date=25 May 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|date=2 March 2010}}</ref> and following a public consultation, the proposal was approved by the corporation's governing body the [[BBC Trust]] in February 2011.<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{cite web|title=Service Review: BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 & BBC Radio 7|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/regulatory_framework/service_licences/service_reviews/radio_347/radio_347_final.txt|publisher=BBC Trust|access-date=25 May 2013|date=8 February 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Plunkett|first=John|title=Call for investigation into BBC Radio 7 rebranding|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/feb/08/radio7-rebrand-investigation?INTCMP=SRCH|access-date=25 May 2013|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|date=8 February 2011}}</ref> As a result, the station relaunched as BBC Radio 4 Extra on Saturday 2 April 2011. The relaunched station contained much of the same mix of programming with some new additions that reflected the new alignment with Radio 4, many of which were archive, or extensions or spin-offs of flagship Radio 4 programmes.

On 26 May 2022, as part of planned cuts and streamlining with a greater focus on digital, the BBC announced plans to discontinue Radio 4 Extra as a broadcast station. It will be supplanted by [[BBC Sounds]].<ref>{{cite news |date=2022-05-26 |title=BBC to move CBBC and BBC Four online |language=en-GB |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-61591674 |access-date=2022-05-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Lodderhose|first=Diana|date=2022-05-26|title=BBC To Close CBBC & BBC Four As Linear Channels; 1,000 Jobs At Risk As Public Broadcaster Begins Its "Digital First" Push|url=https://deadline.com/2022/05/bbc-close-cbbc-bbc-four-linear-channels-1000-redundancies-expected-public-broadcaster-next-few-years-1235033365/|access-date=2022-05-26|website=Deadline|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":03">{{cite web |title=Plan to deliver a digital-first BBC |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2022/plan-to-deliver-a-digital-first-bbc/|access-date=2022-05-26|website=BBC Media Centre}}</ref>