Start of experimental stereo broadcasting

On the 28 August 1962 the BBC began regular experimental radio broadcasts in stereo. Initial transmissions were on the Third Programme, the home of classical music. The development of the stereo long playing record, and availability of stereo hi-fi equipment, meant listeners wanted the same sense of space and detail in broadcast music. Broadcasts, from the Third Programme transmitter at Wrotham, were limited to London and the South-East.

The Zenith-GE multiplex system was chosen for the experiments, which ultimately became the worldwide standard. However the BBC had been experimenting with stereo sound since the earliest days of radio. In 1925 a stereo broadcast was made using two radio stations, one broadcasting the right and one the left channel.

Experiments in FM stereo began in the London area in 1958, with an FM Subcarrier system also evaluated. In the end the Zenith-GE system was chosen, helped by the fact that it had already been adopted by the US, and recommended by the European Broadcasting Union. Over the following years stereo became available to the rest of the country. Radios 1, 2 and 4 went stereo in 1973, with a celebratory Stereo Week.