Editing BBC Radio WM

{{Use British English|date=July 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name = BBC Radio WM
| logo = BBC Radio WM logo 2022.svg
| city = [[Birmingham]]
| area = [[Birmingham]], [[The Black Country]], [[Solihull]], [[North Warwickshire]], and Southern [[Staffordshire]]
| airdate = 9 November 1970
| frequency = [[FM broadcasting|FM]]: 95.6 MHz<br>[[Digital Audio Broadcasting|DAB]]: 11B ([[Black Country]] and [[Shropshire]])<br>DAB: 11C ([[Birmingham]])<br>[[Freeview (UK)|Freeview]]: 714
| former_frequencies = 828 [[Medium wave|MW]]<br>1458 MW
| rds = BBC WM
| format = Local news, talk, music and sport
| former_names = BBC Radio Birmingham (1970–1981)<br>BBC WM (1981–2020)
| language = [[English language|English]]
| owner = [[BBC Local Radio]],<br>[[BBC West Midlands]]
| licensing_authority = [[Ofcom]]
| website = [https://www.bbc.co.uk/wm/ BBC Radio WM]
}}

'''BBC Radio WM''' is the [[Local BBC Radio|BBC's local 
radio station]] serving the [[West Midlands conurbation|West Midlands]].

It broadcasts on [[frequency modulation|FM]], [[Digital Audio Broadcasting|DAB]], digital TV and via [[BBC Sounds]] from studios at [[The Mailbox]] in [[Birmingham]].

According to [[RAJAR]], the station has a weekly audience of 193,000 listeners and a 2.2% share as of December 2023.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rajar.co.uk/listening/quarterly_listening.php|title=RAJAR|publisher=RAJAR|access-date=2015-09-27}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:The Mailbox 01.jpg|left|thumb|[[Mailbox Birmingham|The Mailbox]], home to BBC Radio WM's studios in [[Birmingham]]]]
The station launched as BBC Radio Birmingham on 9 November 1970 and on 23 November 1981, the station changed its name to BBC WM to reflect that the station broadcasts to a wider area than just [[Birmingham]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/birmingham/hi/tv_and_radio/newsid_8957000/8957168.stm ''BBC WM: The first 40 years'']</ref> This date also saw the station launch a second MW transmitter to improve MW reception in Birmingham.<ref>[https://transdiffusion.org/2024/11/23/radio-birmingham-new-name-new-look/ Radio Birmingham: New Name, New Look]</ref>

A short-lived service called WM Heartlands ran between early 1989 and 1991 serving the 'Heartlands' area of East Birmingham using the 1458 [[medium wave]] frequency. It ran as an experiment, opting out from 8 am until 12 am.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/1593463/bbc-radio-wm-heartlands|title=BBC Radio WM Heartlands}}</ref> Further wavelength splitting took place later in 1989 when on 30 October 1989, the [[BBC Asian Network]] launched as a part time service on MW and in 1996, the Asian Network became a full time service. Consequently, at this point, BBC WM stopped broadcasting on MW.

In the 1990s, as an economic measure, BBC WM took over [[BBC CWR|BBC Coventry & Warwickshire]] in [[Coventry]] and [[Warwickshire]]. On 3 September 2005, CWR resumed the production of separate programming between 5 am and 10 pm each weekday (6 am to 6 pm at weekends).

Until 2004, BBC WM was broadcast from the [[Pebble Mill]] studios, in [[Edgbaston]].<ref name=40th>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/birmingham/hi/tv_and_radio/newsid_9168000/9168761.stm|quote=In November 1981 Radio Birmingham changed its name to BBC Radio WM (the 'Radio' was later dropped) to give a better reflection of the area it covered.|date=8 November 2010|publisher=BBC Birmingham|work=BBC News Online|title=BBC WM – 40th anniversary}}</ref> On 4 July that year, the station moved to the new BBC Birmingham city centre offices in [[The Mailbox]].<ref name=40th /> Its facilities include two broadcast studios, a talk studio, an operations and production area, and a studio shared with the BBC Asian Network.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}}

===BBC Radio Wolverhampton===
[[File:BBC_Birmingham_1970s_logo.png|thumb|200px|BBC Radio Birmingham logo]]
On 15 January 2021, BBC Radio Wolverhampton launched as a temporary sister station. The service provided eight hours of opt-out programming for listeners in [[Wolverhampton]] and the surrounding area each weekday until 31 March 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|title=BBC Radio in Wolverhampton is changing on Friday 15th January 2021 {{!}} Help receiving TV and radio|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/reception/work-warning/news/waw-bbc-radio-wolverhampton-150121|access-date=2021-01-16|website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

==Technical==
The service is broadcast across the [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]] on 95.6 FM and [[Digital Audio Broadcasting|DAB]] from the [[Sutton Coldfield transmitting station]] situated north of [[Birmingham]]. 

It also broadcasts on [[Freeview (UK)|Freeview]] TV channel 714 in the [[BBC West Midlands]] region and streams online via [[BBC Sounds]].

The county of [[Staffordshire]] does not have its own designated [[BBC Local Radio]] so it is served by 3 different stations: mid and north Staffordshire is served by [[BBC Radio Stoke]], [[East Staffordshire]] is served by [[BBC Radio Derby]] and south Staffordshire is served by BBC Radio WM.

==Programming==
[[File:BBC Radio WM logo 2020.svg|thumb|200px|BBC Radio WM logo, used from 2020 to 2022.]]
Local programming is produced and broadcast from the BBC's [[Birmingham]] studios from 6 am to 10 pm on Mondays to Saturdays and from 6 am to 6 pm on Sundays.

Off-peak programming, including the late show from 10 pm to 1 am, is simulcast across all BBC Local Radio stations across [[England]].

During the station's downtime, BBC Radio WM simulcasts overnight programming from [[BBC Radio 5 Live]]

==Notable presenters==
<!--Any non-notable presenters or staff added to this article will be removed - if an editor considers someone is notable, write a Wikipedia article on them first, or provide multiple reputable independent sources to show they deserve an article and are associated with the station-->
*[[Gordon Astley]]
*[[Malcolm Boyden]]
*[[Tony Butler (broadcaster)|Tony Butler]]
*[[Carl Chinn]] (1994–2012)
*[[Alan Dedicoat]] (1979–1983)
*[[Ed Doolan]] (1982–2017)
*[[Adrian Goldberg]] (2003–2006, 2010–2017, 2018–2020)
*[[Alex Lester]] (2017–2020)
*[[Stuart Linnell]] 
*[[Janice Long]] (2000–2010)
*[[Andrew Peach]] (2008–2011)
*[[Peter Powell (DJ)|Peter Powell]] (1970–1975)
*[[Les Ross]] (1970–1976, 2005–2009)
*[[Sunny and Shay]] (2014–2020)
*[[Tim Smith (DJ)|Tim Smith]]
*[[Graham Torrington]] (2012–2020)
*[[Tony and Julie Wadsworth]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/wm/ BBC WM website]
*{{Cite news|title=BBC WM looks back on its 40 years of broadcasting|publisher=BBC Birmingham|work=BBC News Online|date=26 August 2010|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/birmingham/hi/tv_and_radio/newsid_8944000/8944511.stm}}

{{Coord|52.4759|-1.9050|display=title}}

{{BBC Radio}}
{{BBC Local Radio}}
{{West Midlands radio}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Radio stations established in 1970]]
[[Category:BBC Local Radio|WM]]
[[Category:Radio stations in Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:1970 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Radio stations in the West Midlands (region)]]