This is a list of events in British radio during 1978.
Events
January
No events.
February
No events.
March
8 March – The first episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – the radio series later to be turned into a book, a television programme, a game, and a film – is broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
April
1 April – BBC Radio 2's broadcasting hours are extended when the budget restrictions were eased, and the pre 1975 broadcasting hours of 5am – 2am are re-introduced.
3 April – Permanent radio broadcasts of proceedings in the House of Commons begin.[1]
3 July – After just over a year of being broadcast in two parts, Today once again becomes a continuous two-hour programme. It now airs on BBC Radio 4 from 6.30am until just after 8.30am.
August
No events.
September
No events.
October
No events.
Autumn
Ahead of the launch of BBC Radio Wales, four experimental local radio stations broadcasting for a single week took place. They were Radio Wrexham, Radio Deeside, Radio Merthyr and Radio Rhondda.
November
12 November – Radio 1's Sunday teatime chart show is extended from a Top 20 countdown to a Top 40 countdown. Simon Bates is the presenter having taken over as host from Tom Browne earlier in the year.
All BBC national radio stations change their medium or long wave transmission wavelength as part of a plan for BBC AM broadcasting in order to improve national AM reception, and to conform with the Geneva Frequency Plan of 1975.[3]Radio 1's transmission wavelength is moved from 247m (1214 kHz) to 275 & 285m (1053 & 1089 kHz) medium wave.[4]Radio 2's wavelength is moved from 1500m (200 kHz) long wave to 433 & 330m (693 & 909 kHz) medium wave. Radio 3 is moved from 464m (647 kHz) to 247m (1215 kHz) medium wave. Radio 4 is moved from various medium wavelengths to 1500m (200 kHz) long wave.
The Radio 4 UK Theme is used for the first time to coincide with the network becoming a fully national service for the first time and to underline this the station officially becomes known as Radio 4 UK.
November – BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Radio Wales launch as full time stations on the former Radio 4 Scottish and Welsh medium wave opt-out wavelengths of 370m (810 kHz) and 340m (882 kHz) respectively, albeit initially with very limited broadcast hours due to very limited coverage of BBC Radio 4 on FM in both countries. The establishment of separate networks was made possible when Radio 4 became a fully UK-wide network when it moved from medium wave to long wave.
December
22 December – Industrial action at the BBC by the ABS union, which started the previous day, was extended to radio when the radio unions joined their television counterparts and went on strike too, forcing the BBC to merge its four national radio networks into one national radio station from 4.00pm and called it the BBC All Network Radio Service. The strike was settled shortly before 10.00pm on Friday 22 December 1978, with the unions and BBC management reaching an agreement at the British government's industrial disputes arbitration service ACAS.[5][6][7][8]
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