At 1am on Saturday June 27, 2026, a signal that had been travelling through the air for almost a hundred years went quiet. The BBC has ended its long wave radio broadcasts after almost 100 years. BBC Radio 4, which was the last long wave radio station in the UK, had the service permanently switched off at 1am on Saturday. For a generation of British listeners who grew up tuning into the Shipping Forecast, Test Match Special, and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy through the distinctive crackle of long wave, the moment marked the end of something genuinely irreplaceable.
Something happened this morning which will have been unnoticed by many, but which for a certain breed of radio enthusiast marks the end of an era. The BBC stopped broadcasting Radio 4 on their 198 kHz Long Wave frequency, ending over a century of transmission in the band. For now the transmitter carries a recorded message telling listeners that the service has ended, but it’s expected that this will soon be turned off.
“BBC Radio 4 Long Wave has closed. After almost 100 years of long wave broadcasting, the service on 198kHz has been switched off at 1am on 27 June 2026. Thank you for listening.”~BBC
From 1934 To 2026: What Long Wave Made Possible
Long wave services have been used since 1934 and were used to transmit messages during the Second World War. Radio 4 moved to the frequency in 1978, where it has remained until now.
The Long Wave transmitting stations at Droitwich in Worcestershire, Westerglen near Stirling in Scotland, and Burghead overlooking the Moray Firth in Scotland will all be closed on that day. Droitwich was built in September 1934, and the BBC Long Wave transmissions have been a constant presence for most of us.
The first BBC Long Wave transmissions in the mid-1920s were on a 1600 metre wavelength, or 187.5 kHz. A series of international agreements saw them move to 193 kHz, and then 200 KHz or 1500 metres in 1934. They stayed on that frequency until another shift down 2 KHz to 198 kHz in 1988. They were atomic-controlled, and thus usable as a frequency standard.
Long wave’s defining physical characteristic, its ability to travel enormous distances by bending around the curvature of the earth made it the broadcasting technology of choice for reaching remote communities, ships at sea, and listeners across continental Europe who could pick up BBC Radio 4 well beyond British shores.
“BBC Radio 4 Long Wave on 198kHz has closed at 0100 BST on 27 June 2026. Droitwich, Westerglen and Burghead transmitting stations all go silent. A remarkable chapter in British broadcasting history comes to an end.”~Radio Society of Great Britain
Why The BBC Finally Pulled The Plug?
The BBC first announced in 2022 that it expected its long wave services to close and in 2024 it ended the separate scheduling of Radio 4 long wave ahead of the change. The corporation said the service has been shut down as long wave technology is “coming to the end of its life” and its continued use would be a “significant investment” for a platform used by a small proportion of listeners.
The main 198kHz BBC transmitter, at Droitwich, and its demise comes because there are no more spares for its high-power transmitter tubes. The practical reality is that the valves required to keep Droitwich’s transmitter running are no longer manufactured anywhere in the world. Keeping the service alive would have required a multi-million pound investment to either engineer bespoke replacement components or rebuild the transmitter around entirely new technology.
It joins many Medium Wave, or AM, as it is commonly known, stations in leaving the airwaves, as increased interference from switch mode electronics and the availability of higher quality alternatives took away their listeners.
“So long, Droitwich, and thanks for all the fish. The BBC has switched off its 198kHz Long Wave transmitter, ending over a century of long wave broadcasting. The main transmitter died because there are no more spare parts for its high-power transmitter tubes.”~Hackaday
The Programmes That Defined Long Wave And What Listeners Will Miss:
For many, long wave was not just a frequency, it was the medium through which certain uniquely British institutions came alive. Test Match Special’s cricket commentary, with its unhurried pace and witty asides, was synonymous with long wave for generations of listeners. The Shipping Forecast that hypnotic list of sea areas, wind speeds, and visibility readings broadcast four times daily became one of the most recognisable pieces of audio in British culture precisely because it drifted out of long wave radios in kitchens, boats, and farmhouses across the country.
We have listened to the Shipping Forecast, the “Sailing By” theme music, Test Match Special and much more. Radio 4 remains available on FM, DAB digital radio, and online but for listeners in remote areas, on ships at sea, or in parts of Europe where long wave was the only reliable way to receive BBC programming, the closure creates a gap that digital alternatives do not always fill.
