BBC starts closing BBC Radio 5 Live AM transmitters

BBC Radio 5 Live will lose two medium wave transmitters next month.

Redruth in Cornwall, and Folkestone in Kent, will both cease transmissions on 31st July 2026.

The station’s medium wave switch-off appears to have begun on a transmitter-by-transmitter basis, ahead of the BBC’s wider plan to close the AM network by the end of 2027.

The BBC tells listeners: “To continue listening to BBC Radio 5 Live in the Truro/Folkestone Areas, please retune your radio to 693 Medium Wave. Alternatively, you may listen via DAB digital radio by selecting BBC Radio 5 Live on your device’s display.

“Additionally, the service can be accessed through your television, online at bbc.co.uk/radio5live, via the BBC Sounds app, or by asking your smart speaker for BBC Radio 5 Live.”

A plan was announced in 2002 that the station would lose its AM network by the end of 2027.