BBC Thames Valley FM was a BBC Local Radio station covering the English counties of Oxfordshire and Berkshire, broadcasting between 1996 and 2000.

History

BBC Thames Valley FM began on 9 April 1996 following the merger of

BBC Radio Oxford BBC Radio Oxford is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Oxfordshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios in the Summertown area of Oxford. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audienc ...

and

BBC Radio Berkshire BBC Radio Berkshire is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Berkshire. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds studios at Thames Valley Park near Reading. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience ...

. At launch the new station broadcast its own output from 0500-0100 seven days a week, although this was later cut back with the introduction of regional programming in the evenings. The initial presenter line-up included

Andrew Peach Andrew Peach is a radio presenter in the United Kingdom. He presents a daily news and phone-in show on BBC Radio Berkshire which was named 'Best Local Radio Show in the UK' at the 2021 Radio Academy ARIA Awards. He also presents network programme ...

and Phil Kennedy, Bob Harris on Sunday afternoons and

Martin Kelner Martin Barry Kelner is a British journalist, author, comedian, singer, actor and TV presenter, whose primary career is in radio presenting. He has spent over 40 years hosting radio shows, mostly for the BBC, in particular Radio Leeds. He has be ...

on Friday nights. There were separate news bulletins for the two counties. In September 1998 a new jingle package composed by David Arnold was introduced and the 'FM' suffix was dropped from the station name. Shortly afterwards separate breakfast and drivetime programmes for Oxfordshire and Berkshire were introduced. The merged station was not popular with listeners, and in August 1999, as part of the BBC South East Review, it was announced that BBC Radio Oxford and BBC Radio Berkshire would regain their own identities. The two stations relaunched on 14 February 2000, although their programme schedules remained unchanged, most output continuing to be shared. However, by 2004 the two stations' schedules had become fully separated.

References

{{BBC Local Radio Defunct BBC Local Radio stations Radio stations established in 1996 Radio stations disestablished in 2000 1996 establishments in England 2000 disestablishments in England Radio stations in Berkshire Radio stations in Oxfordshire