BBC Radio Derby

BBC Radio Derby is the BBC’s local radio station serving the county of Derbyshire.

It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on St Helens Street in Derby.

According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 120,000 listeners and a 9.9% share as of September 2021.

BBC Radio Derby began broadcasting officially on 29 April 1971, though it went on air two months earlier than planned to cover the bankruptcy of the local aero-engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce. The station’s logo was a Rams head in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Much of the station’s output is speech based, featuring news, sport, weather, travel, interviews, and discussions, mixed in with music and competitions. The station’s primary audience is aimed at listeners aged over 45, though the sports and weekend shows attract a greater age range.

BBC Radio Derby Sport broadcasts live match commentaries from local football teams, especially Derby County and Burton Albion. There is also extensive coverage of Derbyshire cricket during the summer.

The station won the prestigious “Station of the Year” award in the category for radio stations that serve between 300,000 and 1 million listeners at the Sony Radio Academy Awards in 2007, 2010 and 2011, becoming the first BBC local radio station to win it three times. Also, in both 2017 and 2009, Radio Derby was named Station of the Year in the BBC local radio station Gillard awards.