James Cridland’s radio newsletter
20 April 2026
Closure of Radio 4 on Long Wave
The BBC made an announcement about the future of BBC Radio 4 Longwave. In the early 1990s it was due for closure; then in 2011, theyconfidently suggestedthat it would be off by the end of the decade; in 2022 they announced that they would stop scheduling separate content on longwave; they announced aninformation campaignin 2023 pending the switchoff which was planned for March 2024. Then the BBC suddenly said it was staying until June 2025, then announced that it would be on until some time in 2026, and now they say it’ll close “later this year”. It’s quite the long goodbye.
Mike Terry to WOR iog (2026-04-20)