BBC Radio 5

BBC Radio Five Live is the BBC's radio service devoted to live news, phone-ins, and sports commentaries.

It is transmitted via analogue radio on 693 and 909 kHz AM in the mediumwave band, frequencies that had since 1978 belonged to BBC Radio 2, and on digital radio, digital satellite and digital terrestrial television.

The station was originally launched as BBC Radio 5 at 9am on August 27 1990, and carried a mixture of sports, news, children's programming and drama, broadcasting for about 18 hours per day. The BBC eventually decided to relaunch the station with a new name, so the "old" Radio 5 closed down at midnight on Sunday March 27, 1994 following a special programme on the subject of endings, and the new Radio Five Live began its 24-hour service on the morning of Monday, March 28.

Before the launch of digital broadcasting, both versions of the station broadcast for several years on analogue satellite with near-FM quality.

A companion station, BBC Five Live Sports Extra, was launched as a digital-only service on February 2 2002.

The station broadcasts from the News Centre at BBC Television Centre.

The many presenters over the years have included Danny Baker, David Mellor, Nicky Campbell, Stuart Hall, Edwina Currie, Desmond Lynam, Eamonn Holmes, Nick Hancock and Richard Bacon.

See also: List of BBC radio stations