BBC Radio Solent

BBC Radio Solent is the BBC’s local radio station serving Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight.

It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Havelock Road in Southampton.

According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 205,000 listeners and a 5.4% share as of March 2020.

The station, which began broadcasting on 31 December 1970, is named after the Solent, the area of sea between Southampton, Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight.

In 1996, Radio Solent expanded its coverage into West Dorset and South Dorset by taking over neighbouring BBC Dorset FM, which was formerly an opt-out of BBC Radio Devon.

In 2013, a new programme targeted specifically for Dorset listeners on 103.8FM was launched under the name Breakfast in Dorset, after campaigns for a more locally focused service. The programme comes from a studio complex based in Dorchester and also broadcasts county-wide on DAB.