It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Queens Road in Brighton.
According to RAJAR, BBC Radio Surrey and BBC Radio Sussex share a combined weekly audience of 192,000 listeners and a 3.7% share as of December 2023.[1]
BBC Radio Brighton was one of the first wave of BBC Local Radio stations which took to the air during the late 1960s. Broadcasting from Marlborough Place, it officially opened on 14 February 1968, though a short-lived emergency service had been broadcast during the blizzards earlier that winter. Originally broadcast on 88.1 MHz VHF only, the station later acquired a medium wave frequency of 202m, and transferred to 95.3 MHz on VHF. The transmission area was initially restricted to little more than the immediate Brighton and Hove conurbation, with the surrounding suburbs. However, coverage was extended to include Worthing in the late 1970s.
In common with much of the BBC's early local radio output, Radio Brighton broadcast only for limited daytime hours in its early years, relying on BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4 for a sustaining service, but building to a full daytime service by the mid-1970s. In the early years, the emphasis was on structured programmes rather than the open-ended magazine shows which have since become more common. The flagship was the breakfast news programme Coastwise.
On 22 October 1983, as part of the BBC's move to extend its local radio network across the UK, the station expanded further to include the entire county. As a result, the 'Radio Brighton' name was dropped in favour of the more accurate BBC Radio Sussex.
In 1994, BBC Radio Sussex merged with a later arrival, BBC Radio Surrey, to form BBC Southern Counties Radio. At first it ran a single all-talk schedule across Sussex and Surrey. However, in September 1997, two dedicated breakfast shows were introduced, one for Brighton and Hove on the 95.3 FM frequency and another for the remainder of Sussex. The separate breakfast show for Brighton and Hove was discontinued in April 2006.
In March 2009, the county name returned to the radio station name when BBC Sussex became the new name for BBC Southern Counties Radio across Sussex. BBC Sussex and its sister station BBC Surrey continue effectively to operate as one station, with no change in management or infrastructure from its predecessor.
BBC Radio Sussex (2020–present)
On 30 March 2020, the station reverted to its earlier name of BBC Radio Sussex.[2]
Local programming airs from the BBC's Brighton studios from 6 am to 10 am on Mondays to Saturdays and from 2 pm to 6 pm on Saturdays.
Regional programming, shared with BBC Radio Surrey, airs from 10 am to 10 pm on weekdays, from 10 am to 2 pm and 8 pm to 10 pm on Saturdays and from 6 am to 6 pm and 10 pm to 1 am on Sundays.
BBC Radio Sussex covers every Brighton and Hove Albion and Crawley Town game live. On Saturdays, BBC Sussex Sport starts at 2pm, presented by Johnny Cantor[citation needed] from wherever Brighton are playing. This show contains interviews and features on all sports from within the county. The frequencies then split shortly before kick off, with Brighton's match on DAB, 95.0, 95.3 and 104.5 FM, and Crawley on the remaining frequencies.[citation needed]
When non-traditional kick off times occur, the main presenter for the club in question presents a BBC Sussex sports special on midweek evenings.
