This is a list of events in British radio during 2016.
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February
- 19 February – BBC Radio Bristol stops broadcasting on MW following the sale of the land on which the transmitter was located to developers. In order to mitigate the loss of coverage the BBC switches on four new DAB transmitters in the area to help boost the station’s DAB coverage.
- 25 February – Tony Blackburn is dismissed by the BBC[2] and Mark Goodier takes over as temporary host of Pick of the Pops.
- 29 February –
May
- 6 May – Orion Media announces that they have been bought by Bauer for an undisclosed fee, reportedly between £40 and £50 million.[7][8] This gives Bauer the West Midlands network of Free Radio stations and East Midlands regional station Gem 106.
- 17 May – The Free Radio network's head of sport, Tom Ross, presents his final programme after 35 years working for BRMB, Xtra AM, Capital Gold and Free Radio.[9]
- 20 May – Talksport is awarded the right to broadcast three Premier League UK live audio packages for the next three football seasons, starting with the 2016/17 season.[10]
- May – Russ Williams leaves Absolute Radio. He was part of the original presenter line-up at Absolute Radio's predecessor Virgin 1215 (later Virgin Radio) although for the past year he had only been hosting the Saturday afternoon programme Rock and Roll Football, which ends following Absolute Radio's decision to drop its coverage of Premier League football.
June
- 1 June – A previous jingle package produced for Smooth Radio has been re-recorded for United Arab Emirates station 92 Smooth by Salford based Ignite Jingles.[11]
- 17 June – Birmingham-based sports broadcaster Tom Ross presents his final Friday night football phone-in for Free Radio Birmingham after more than three decades with the station and its predecessor, BRMB.[12]
- 21 June – The BBC completes its roll-out of BBC Local Radio on Freeview.[13]
- 22 June – Jazz FM announces it will extend its morning business programme, Business Breakfast from 30 minutes to an hour on 24 June to cover the results of the EU membership referendum.[14]
August
- 15 August – Jazz FM introduces a new schedule. Clare Anderson's The Late Lounge is dropped, while Mark Walker succeeds Helen Mayhew as presenter of Dinner Jazz. New one-hour programmes are also introduced at 6pm.[15]
- August – BBC Radio 5 Live's The Non-League Football Show ends when the BBC decides not to commission any more shows.[16]
September
- September – Schedule changes at BBC Radio 5 Live see Peter Allen and Jane Garvey reunited to host a new Sunday evening show, Emma Barnett becomes the Wednesday to Friday host of 5 Live Daily and Nihal Arthanayake replaces Dan Walker as co-host of Afternoon Edition.[17]
- 17 September – After 35 years, Robbie Shepherd retires as host of BBC Radio Scotland’s Take the Floor show.
- 19 September – BBC Cymru launches a pop-up radio station, Radio Cymru Mwy (Radio Cymru More), broadcasting for three months in the run-up to BBC Radio Cymru's 40th anniversary. Consisting of five hours of music-led entertainment programming each weekday, Radio Cymru Mwy is available on DAB in south east Wales and online.[18]
November
- 4 November – Free Radio Birmingham's breakfast presenter John Fox, known as Foxy, announces his departure from the station after six years presenting breakfast.[20]
- 7 November – Dan Kelly and Naomi Kent succeed Foxy as Free Radio Birmingham's breakfast show presenters.[20]
- 28 October – The Music Goes Round (1981–2016)
- 9 January – Ed Stewart ("Stewpot"), broadcast presenter (BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 1) (Junior Choice) (stroke)
- 31 January – Sir Terry Wogan, broadcast presenter (BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 1) (Wake Up to Wogan and Weekend Wogan) (cancer)
- 14 February – Ali Brownlee, football commentator (BBC Tees) (born 1959)
- 17 March – Cliff Michelmore, broadcast presenter (Family Favourites) (born 1919)
- 21 October – Dave Cash, broadcast presenter (BBC Radio 1, Capital London, Primetime Radio) (heart attack)
- 7 November – Sir Jimmy Young, broadcast presenter (BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 1, BBC Light Programme)
- 10 December – Ian McCaskill, weather forecaster (BBC Radio) (born 1938)
"BBC Radio Cymru Mwy takes to the digital airwaves". BBC Media Centre (Press release). BBC. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2020. For the first time in its history, BBC Radio Cymru will offer a choice of listening with a lively breakfast show on BBC Radio Cymru Mwy. The daily news programme, Post Cyntaf followed by the Aled Hughes programme will continue on BBC Radio Cymru. The pop-up's schedule will continue until midday, with an option to experiment occasionally with lunch-time programmes.
"The Break". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 17 February 2021.