Press Release: 20.04.09
BFBS Forces Radio Comes Home
The British Forces' favourite radio station launches nationwide on DAB Digital Radio at 0700 BST today, Monday 20th April. BFBS Radio has been a lifeline for troops overseas for more than sixty years, and now it's coming home.
"BFBS Radio exists to connect the Forces community," says Controller of BFBS Radio, Charles Foster. "And now family and friends in the UK can stay connected, too. On day one, we'll be linking up live with the Black Watch on ops in Afghanistan and their families in Inverness."
Forces' top brass are strongly behind this initiative from BFBS. The Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Richard Dannatt, said: "The capability it will deliver in reaching so many of the Service Community is invaluable. I welcome the fact that while Forces' personnel and their families overseas are kept in touch through the current service, it is those in the United Kingdom that will now be kept informed through their own Forces radio station. I am a keen supporter of BFBS on Digital - you have my very best wishes."
The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, added his support, saying, "The provision of BFBS Radio across the United Kingdom is a positive step forward, not only for service personnel, but also for their partners, families and friends."
The Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, is also behind the move: "This will be warmly welcomed by the wider RAF community across the UK. I look forward to the BFBS Radio audience expanding even further."
During a 3-month trial on DAB Digital Radio last year, which reached almost a million listeners, one soldier's wife said: "I listen to the station because it brings the world associated with the Forces right around you like a big hug. It's a reminder for me that although I sometimes think that I'm the only one in the world missing the man I love I'm not. BFBS helps keep the families left at home in touch, whether it be Dad, Mum, husband, wife, son, or daughter. It's a network that builds bridges and lets people share a thought, or dedicate a song sometimes to an ear that you know is listening. It gives morale a huge boost."
Damian Watson, Head of Programmes, is confident that BFBS Radio will be a success in the tough UK radio market. "We have hugely talented presenters, who've lived and worked with the Forces around the world; we play fantastic music, we pack our programmes full of Forces news and reports and, most importantly, we connect a unique audience across the world."
The Services' Sound & Vision Corporation, the charity that has run the BFBS Radio and Television contract since 1983, is funding the DAB platform. The corporation's chairman, Air Vice Marshal Andrew Vallance, says the move is a "massive gesture of support to the men and women who serve our country at home and abroad." |
