RADIO

Popular national radio stations are BBC, Virgin, Kiss FM, Choice FM and Classic FM. BBC’s Radio 1 (97.6–99.8Mhz) churns out music for the younger generation. The more popular, award-winning Radio 2 (88–9 lMhz) plays a mix of music and current affairs that caters to a wider, mature taste; Radio 3’s output (90.2–92.4Mhz) is mainly classical; Radio 4 (92.4–94.6Mhz) is a channel mainly dedicated to news, current affairs and drama. Radio 5 Live (693 and 909Khz) is generally a sports channel; Classic FM (100– 102Mhz) is a commercial station whose output, like Radio 3’s, is classical music; and Virgin Radio (1215AM) is another popular commercial music channel. Besides the national radio stations, there are several local FM stations (at least two in every town) broadcasting current music and local news. A listing of radio programmes can be found in all Saturday and Sunday newspaper supplements and the Radio Times magazine.

You can also listen to most of the radio channels live over the internet at any time of day. Programmes are usually available on the website, for up to a week. DAB digital radios are becoming increasingly popular in the UK and currently cost from £50. With DAB digital radio you get far better reception and will be able to pause, rewind and record live radio programmes.

TELEVISION

There are five main national terrestrial channels (unless you want to pay extra for satellite, cable or digital TV). These are BBCl, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4 and Channel 5. The popular channels are BBC1 and ITV1. BBC1 and BBC2 are public-funded channels and carry no advertisements. A few films are shown every night, but more are screened at the weekends. Channel 4 has many programmes that appeal to the British student audience. Channel 5 is relatively new and programmes are mainly American series.

Popular satellite and cable channels are Sky One, Sky Movies, Sky Sports, ITV2, Film Four, MTV, V channel, UK Gold and BBC Choice. A listing of television programmes can be found in all Saturday and Sunday newspaper supplements and the Radio Times magazine.

TV licence

It is compulsory to have a TV licence in the UK if you have a television (including PCs with TV cards). This is a unique way of funding BBC programmes. The cost of a licence for a colour TV is £126.50 and for a black and white set, £42.00. If you are to be in the UK for less than a year you might choose to pay by quarterly instalments. TV licences can be bought from your local post office or by telephoning the TV Licensing Authority on 0870 241 6468. Remember, you are liable for a heavy fine of up to £1,000 if you are caught using a TV without a licence. For more information check www.tvlicensing.co.uk

TV, video and DVD rentals

TVs, videos, and DVDs can be rented from rental shops around town. For example, the ‘Box Clever’ chain has shops in almost every town in the UK. The standard rental for a 21-inch TV is around £6 per week. However, you might find it cheaper to buy a second-hand TV.

Video tapes and DVDs can be rented from Blockbusters and several other local video rental companies. Blockbusters have many branches around town and have vending machines on some campuses. Rental for two nights costs around £3.50 for a new release. Your council library also rents music CDs, DVDs and videos at a slightly cheaper rate. Remember that videos in Britain operate on a PAL system. DVDs can also be rented online and cost from around £9.99 a month for unlimited rental.