BBC Radio 3 to move classical music programming to Salford

The production of eight BBC Radio 3 classical music programmes will move from London to Salford, it has been announced.

The BBC said the move, part of its Across the UK strategy, will create a UK-wide classical music hub in the North, allowing it to reach out to new audiences and diversify voices heard on the station.

The eight programmes – Music Matters, Jazz Record Requests, Essential Classics, Through the Night and Sunday Breakfast – will move their production from London to Salford by Autumn 2024. 

The Listening Service and Afternoon Concert – both currently partly based in Salford – will move the entirety of their production and Words and Music will also increase its Salford production. 

Some programmes made by independent producers, such as Unclassified have already made the move.

Alan Davey, Controller of BBC Radio 3, said: “Strengthening Radio 3’s roots in the North of England, with a continued and important presence in London, will ensure the station holds its place at the forefront of leading and developing classical music and culture for the whole of the country. 

"We hope to support and develop a wider pool of established and emerging talent, and build new partnerships with different communities in the North as well as with the wider classical music industry.”