Updated list of BBC network radio URLs

Posted on April 3, 2015 by blogmywiki

Update March 2021

Please note this is a VERY old blog post and the BBC is closing the streams listed below. I mainly listen online to Fip which is not affected.

Have a look here for new streaming addresses and read the notes further down about extracting URLs from PLS files.
https://gist.github.com/bpsib/67089b959e4fa898af69fea59ad74bc3#file-bbc-radio-m3u

Updated April 2016 to include BBC local radio streams

The BBC has changed the way it streams a lot of its radio stations on the internet. You can read more about the changes on the BBC Blog.

One upshot of this was that none of my many RaspberryPi internet radios would pick up BBC stations any more. Yes, I know I can listen to most of them on DAB, but I like to be able to listen to everything in one place.

So here’s an updated list of URLs – these work with the Pimoroni Displayotron3000 Raspberry Pi radio which uses VLC as its player. I’ve not tried them with any of my MPC/MPD-based radios yet.

The nice thing about this list is it includes separate streams for Radio 4 FM and LW, useful if you want to listen to the full-length Yesterday in Parliament, for example. World Service isn’t on this list because I think the old URLs I was using are still working.

(As of Feb 2020, fip can be found at http://icecast.radiofrance.fr/fip-midfi.mp3, Scala Radio at https://stream-mz.planetradio.co.uk/scalahigh.aac)

National stations

BBC Radio 1
http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_radio1_mf_p

BBC Radio 1xtra
http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_radio1xtra_mf_p

BBC Radio 2
http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_radio2_mf_p

BBC Radio 3
http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_radio3_mf_p

BBC Radio 4FM
http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_radio4fm_mf_p

BBC Radio 4LW
http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_radio4lw_mf_p

BBC Radio 4 Extra
http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_radio4extra_mf_p

BBC Radio 5 Live
http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_radio5live_mf_p

BBC Radio 5 Live Sportsball Extra
http://a.files.bbci.co.uk/media/live/manifesto/audio/simulcast/hls/uk/sbr_high/ak/bbc_radio_five_live_sports_extra.m3u8

BBC Radio 6 Music
http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_6music_mf_p

BBC Asian Network
http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_asianet_mf_p

BBC World Service UK stream
http://bbcwssc.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcwssc_mp1_ws-eieuk

BBC World Service News stream
http://bbcwssc.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcwssc_mp1_ws-einws

Nations and regions

Radio Cymru

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_cymru_mf_p

BBC Radio Foyle

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_foyle_mf_p

BBC Radio nan Gàidheal

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_nangaidheal_mf_p

BBC Radio Scotland

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_scotlandfm_mf_p

BBC Radio Ulster

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_ulster_mf_p

BBC Radio Wales

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_walesmw_mf_p

Local radio (all broadcasting exactly the same programme as I compiled this!)

BBC Radio Berkshire

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrberk_mf_p

BBC Radio Bristol

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrbris_mf_p

BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrcambs_mf_p

BBC Radio Cornwall

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrcorn_mf_p

BBC Coventry & Warwickshire

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrwmcandw_mf_p

BBC Radio Cumbria

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrcumbria_mf_p

BBC Radio Derby

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrderby_mf_p

BBC Radio Devon

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrdevon_mf_p

BBC Essex

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lressex_mf_p

BBC Radio Gloucestershire

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrgloucs_mf_p

BBC Radio Guernsey

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrguern_mf_p

BBC Hereford & Worcester

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrhandw_mf_p

BBC Radio Humberside

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrhumber_mf_p

BBC Radio Jersey

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrjersey_mf_p

BBC Radio Kent

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrkent_mf_p

BBC Radio Lancashire

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrlancs_mf_p

BBC Radio Leeds

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrleeds_mf_p

BBC Radio Leicester

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrleics_mf_p

BBC Radio Lincolnshire

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrlincs_mf_p

BBC Radio London

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrldn_mf_p

BBC Radio Manchester

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrmanc_mf_p

BBC Radio Merseyside

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrmersey_mf_p

BBC Newcastle

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrnewc_mf_p

BBC Radio Norfolk

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrnorfolk_mf_p

BBC Radio Northampton

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrnthhnts_mf_p

BBC Radio Nottingham

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrnotts_mf_p

BBC Radio Oxford

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lroxford_mf_p

BBC Radio Sheffield

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrsheff_mf_p

BBC Radio Shropshire

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrshrops_mf_p

BBC Radio Solent

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrsolent_mf_p

BBC Somerset

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrsomer_mf_p

BBC Radio Stoke

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrsomer_mf_p

BBC Radio Suffolk

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrsuffolk_mf_p

BBC Surrey

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrsurrey_mf_p

BBC Sussex

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrsussex_mf_p

BBC Tees

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrtees_mf_p

BBC Three Counties Radio

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lr3cr_mf_p

BBC Wiltshire

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrwilts_mf_p

BBC WM 95.6

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lrwm_mf_p

BBC Radio York

http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_lryork_mf_p

Update, July 2015: Fip has also moved, it’s now at http://audio.scdn.arkena.com/11016/fip-midfi128.mp3 – not sure if there is still a working low bandwidth stream.

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90 Responses to Updated list of BBC network radio URLs

  1. Mike says:
    May 4, 2015 at 6:25 pm

    Where did you find this list of the new streams? I can’t seem to find it anywhere. The reason I ask is because the BBC World Service stream is no longer working for me, and I was hoping to find new World Service stream or to find a comprehensive list.

  2. Ian Haynes says:
    June 8, 2015 at 8:29 am

    The following link for the BBC World Service is still working:

    http://bbcwssc.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcwssc_mp1_ws-eieuk

  3. bbconetwo says:
    August 15, 2015 at 1:59 pm

    Hi can you help im trying to find a stream i can add as a url to tunein radio? Im blind so id like to listen to bbc tv 1 & 2 on this can you please help?
    thank you in advance

  4. Bbconetwo says:
    August 27, 2015 at 10:23 am

    Hi thanks for the response I’m wanting the bbc TV channels bbc 1 and 2 so I can use them as a custom url on my tunein radio thanks you in advance

  5. Bbconetwo says:
    August 29, 2015 at 8:41 am

    Hi I’m interested in bbc TV channels 1,2,3 as I’m blind I use tunein radio but it won’t stream on my iPhone properly so I’d like to use a custom url
    Thank you

  6. George says:
    November 14, 2015 at 5:32 pm

    Nice!
    It works on Volumio (Raspberry Pi) with the MPD-player.

  7. Mark says:
    November 29, 2015 at 7:29 pm

    Thanks for this list. Just was using my net radio and found all the old links now working. Still trying to get a good link in the new format for Radio Scotland. Let me know if you have it or how you deduced these. Thanks!

  8. Mike says:
    February 9, 2016 at 11:12 pm

    Thanks for this for this very useful list. It was the lack of this information that somewhat curbed my enthusiasm to build a Pi Internet radio, a project I was intending to start, as I live abroad and I shall be moving to a region of the country where radio reception is very poor. The hardware and software elements seemed feasible, even for my low level of skill, thanks to various fine tutorials, but it was the last piece of the puzzle that was lacking. Now all I have to do is find a similar list for the national stations I usually pick up easily where I’m living now – only one of those is audible on an ordinary radio in the area I’m moving to – and I’ll be away! Many thanks,

    Mike

  9. andrew says:
    February 11, 2016 at 8:13 am

    Thanks, Thanks, Thanks! I could not record my favourite radio stations on screamer radio for a long time. Thanks to You I finally can! Greetings from Poland,

  11. Chrislayeruk says:
    April 14, 2016 at 5:41 pm

    These links work with Roon. Thank you. Do you have links for BBC local radio?

  12. Chrislayeruk says:
    April 14, 2016 at 8:44 pm

    Thanks, I’ll try it. Roon is amazing they do a free trial. Read up on it at Roon labs.

  13. d says:
    May 2, 2016 at 9:40 pm

    How did you find the links, please? Very useful for mplayer (linux) and the command terminal

  14. Bernard says:
    May 9, 2016 at 6:38 am

    You seem to have missed this one out from your list:
    BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra
    http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_radio5extra_mf_p

  15. Dan says:
    May 20, 2016 at 4:06 pm

    Do you know the streaming url for BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra, by any chance? I’d love to listen to the cricket test match commentary on my Soundbridge! Thank you.

  16. Paul Webster says:
    June 14, 2016 at 2:33 pm

    FYI – If you used LMS (Logitech Media Server) via, for example, PiCorePlayer, then you would benefit from the station stream URLs being maintained by 3rd-party (TuneIn – formerly known as Radio Time) – with the big benefit that you can also access the Listen Again programmes.

  17. Chris P Bacon says:
    November 7, 2016 at 1:48 pm

    Hi anybody got a working one for Radio Live 5 Extra

    http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_radio5live_mf_p

    as this one not working for me

    thanks / Appreciated

    Chris P

  18. Mohassin hassan says:
    April 14, 2017 at 11:53 am

    Please provide me stream of BBC Urdu I am waiting to get it from you

  19. Mohassin hassan says:
    April 14, 2017 at 2:31 pm

    Please anyone here provide BBC URDU STREAMING ID TO PLAY ON VLC PLAYER

  20. Mohassin hassan says:
    April 14, 2017 at 3:19 pm

    Only find this not sure is it live streaming or podcast of BBC Urdu
    http://wsdownload.bbc.co.uk/urdu/css/32mp3/latest/sairbeen.mp3

  21. Rich Robinson says:
    July 17, 2017 at 1:12 pm

    Stoke is a repeat of somerset – just change somer to stoke ….. But thanks for the great list!!

  22. Harry Music Lover says:
    September 18, 2017 at 5:02 am

    Ohh!! I think I lost BBC but that list helps me so much to get the correct one I love to listen https://harrypottermusicbox.com/ to this all time.

  23. Arun says:
    October 25, 2017 at 11:31 pm

    Just wondering the BBC links (at the top) are the 320K ones or 128? National links are supposed to be 320K but just making sure.

  24. Roland says:
    November 3, 2017 at 12:10 pm

    Thanks a lot for providing these infos. Much appreciated!!

  25. Frederick says:
    January 7, 2018 at 2:33 pm

    This list was very very useful to me, and I loved reading your very interesting blog; nothing to do with teaching or indeed radio broadcasting: I’m a retired French doctor, and spend half of my time in St Lucia where I miss(ed) the BBC programs I listen to every day in Le Havre.

  26. scarlett says:
    March 13, 2018 at 7:31 am

    This is old but it still works :) thank you

  27. sixbacon says:
    March 18, 2018 at 3:06 pm

    Very useful list. As above says, still valid, except for the BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra link, which does not work. I have tried various changes to the way the station name is included, but cannot crack it. It could be temporary, has anyone else experienced problems or a solution.

  28. artik says:
    July 22, 2018 at 7:44 pm

    ──╔════╦╗───────╔╗──╔╗──╔╗
    ╔╦╣╔╗╔╗║║───────║║──║╚╗╔╝║────╔╦╗
    ║║╠╝║║╚╣╚═╦══╦═╗║║╔╗╚╗╚╝╔╩═╦╗╔╣║║
    ╚╩╝─║║─║╔╗║╔╗║╔╗╣╚╝╝─╚╗╔╣╔╗║║║╠╩╝
    ────║║─║║║║╔╗║║║║╔╗╗──║║║╚╝║╚╝║
    ────╚╝─╚╝╚╩╝╚╩╝╚╩╝╚╝──╚╝╚══╩══╝

  29. owlmark says:
    September 3, 2018 at 7:38 pm

    Thank you. Working well with Banshee Media Player on Raspberry Pi .

  30. Kendra says:
    December 12, 2018 at 2:43 pm

    Can you tell me where to find the URL for “All Christmas Hits” radio station?

    Thank you in advance for any help with this issue.

  31. Admin says:
    January 16, 2019 at 11:15 am

    Hello!
    Any idea on how to find BBC streams with tagged music playing?

  33. Chris Dunhill says:
    March 11, 2019 at 12:13 pm

    Anyone happen to know if CBeebies Radio has a streaming URL, please? Failing that, any tips for other radio stations suitable for young kids? Thanks in advance,
    Chris

  34. Dr John Richards says:
    May 4, 2019 at 10:13 am

    BBC Radio Engineering are always happy to give the latest URLs is you’re polite and willing to wait a little while for the response.

    I’ve been successfully using the BBC URLs since 2007 in the old Windows Vista Sidebar, using the gadget ‘Mini Radio’. Microsoft discontinued the Sidebar after Windows 7. However, I’m now using the Sidebar and gadgets on Windows 10 using the emulator ‘ 8 Gadget Pack’ which can be downloaded for free from:

    https://8gadgetpack.net/

    Thus far, it’s working very well (as is Mini Radio with the above BBC URLs).

  35. Dr John Richards says:
    May 4, 2019 at 11:08 am

    @bloymywiki

    With respect to the URLs for BBC Local Radio Stations, you state that “all broadcasting exactly the same programme as I compiled this!”

    You were most likely listening to the local stations on an evening or early in the morning. Despite criticism from the BBC Trust, listeners and MPs, in 2016 the BBC introduced a massive cost-saving exercise as part of the corporation’s attempts to meet the £700m cost of free TV licence fees for the over-75s.

    One of the measures was to merge all the 39 local radio stations with the output of BBC Radio 5 Live. Originally the syndicated programming (chiefly talk, music and some phone-ins) operated between 22:00 on the evening, until 06:00 the following morning. However, more recently the syndication has only operated between 01:00 and 06:00.

    This is very much mirrored in the UK commercial independent local radio sector, particularly with the stations owned by Global, and by Bauer Media Group where much of the time the stations within each media group have the same output, same music play-outs and only the advertisements and station ID jingles differ to reflect the local market.

  36. zi zeng says:
    December 10, 2019 at 7:53 am

    i used in 2019 and most of the url is not available expect the bbc world serves,but i found u can change the begin of the link,for example:BBC ONE,the link before is http://bbcmedia.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_radio1_mf_p,and the world serves link is http://bbcwssc.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcwssc_mp1_ws-eieuk,so change BBC ONE link to http://bbcwssc.ic.llnwd.net/stream/bbcmedia_radio1_mf_p,the end bbcmedia_radio1_mf_p no need change,the way can use for all bbc radio,just a bit slow,and sometimes disconnnect,u can try it

  37. zi zeng says:
    December 10, 2019 at 8:05 am

    PS:I using iphone 4s and ios 6.1.3 so many app can’t install,i using the app Hidef Radio,and it can add custom sation using url,but the link can’t use so i changed the link,if ur ios is 9 u can install many app,using tunein radio and the link above is ok,no need to change,i think it’s the old apps problem,many url can’t play

  38. LETICIA says:
    April 3, 2020 at 11:01 am

    Thank so much for mainitaining this list! I listen to my radios in windows media player via URL to avoid having a web browser consuming too many resources in my computer, and these work fenomenally! :)

  39. Cathy says:
    June 27, 2020 at 1:41 pm

    Bonjour, je suis à la recherche de l URL de la radio Caroline flash-back (oldies). Merci de votre aide.

  40. Peter says:
    August 17, 2020 at 1:46 pm

    Thank you for the links! I like to play these stations all in one place to, so I’ve been looking for these. Greetings from Germany

  42. MK says:
    December 25, 2020 at 9:37 pm

    Thanks! Been looking for a good list – these streams sound terrific.

  43. Ted leaf says:
    January 19, 2021 at 5:04 pm

    Cheers for this, found the original version many years ago, been very useful over the years, BBC urls still impossible to find,I shared your file to the app developer of my fav android
    streaming app, Stream Recorder Pro, by Mike Ludwig, he couldn’t find BBC urls to put in his pre loaded stations after the 2006 change..
    Cheers
    Ted

  44. matt says:
    March 5, 2021 at 4:53 pm

    Don’t suppose you know the links to the regularly updated news summaries, do you? Like if you ask google/alexa for the latest news from BBC you get a minute or so headlines.

  45. Scarlett says:
    March 5, 2021 at 7:30 pm

    Some, perhaps all, of these streams are now playing a message just before the top of the hour saying they will stop working on 22 March 2021. Pushing people to use BBC Sounds. This is killing off many simple media players and requiring logins/tracking/etc. Such a shame to complicate things.

  46. Jamie says:
    March 12, 2021 at 2:25 pm

    Alas the BBC are deprecating these links at the end of the March 2021.

    On contacting the BBC they responded saying that as a cost-cutting exercise they are bringing the management of the streams in-house and that they are no longer making public the URLs, rather that they be managed by third-party service aggregators.

  47. Aaron says:
    March 13, 2021 at 9:16 am

    The BBC is not cost cutting. it doesn’t cost anything to provide a stream url if you already use the bandwidth I would have thought. They are simply trying to force people onto their crappy app and I suppose they get additional tracking info they can sell.

    I hope you can find a work around. It is a real pain to have to open a VNC to my music server and then open browsers and navigate when all I want to do is choose a radio station.. 1 click

  48. Mike says:
    March 19, 2021 at 9:01 am

    I still get the BBC message on the radio 4 link from the link above.
    http://stream.live.vc.bbcmedia.co.uk/bbc_radio_fourfm
    I am using a pi zero driven by NodeRed and using mpd for stations and streamripper to record the radio 4 news at 8:00am (cus I am not always up by 8:00am!).
    Message was on my recording – at 8:00am.
    For you interest the radio is on my website and at https://www.instructables.com/Internet-Radio-Radio-Recorder-and-MP3-Player-With-/.
    Where do we go from here?

  49. Mike says:
    March 19, 2021 at 4:34 pm

    I have just done a further check using the longer urls extracted from the https://gist.github.com/bpsib/67089b959e4fa898af69fea59ad74bc3#file-bbc-radio-pls-m3u file. I also get the BBC message. (checked at 4pm). Mike

    • blogmywiki says:
      March 19, 2021 at 10:41 pm

      Hi Mike – that’s disappointing. I’m really not sure what the solution is, but if I find one, I will post it here. I mainly listen to fip on my internet radios, which obviously isn’t affected.

  50. Mike says:
    March 20, 2021 at 12:26 pm

    These urls may be OK for listening live. In all cases that I heard the message it was from my recording of radio using streamripper. So I just did a test where I was listening to radio4 at 12:00 (via MPD) while also recording radio4 via streamripper. I did not hear the message on the live/MPD stream but it was on my recorded stream. So it looks like I need a different system for recording! Hopefully all will be clearer Monday. Mike

  51. Mike says:
    March 22, 2021 at 10:14 am

    It would probably help if more users were to complain to the BBC. I have done so but will be ignored if there are few others.
    The radio4 url from the new addresses link above worked fine 8am this morning with no message.
    Meanwhile the BBC response to my enquiry/complaint was ‘It sounds like you will be unable to listen to the streams on your set up’. So I asked how we escalate this to Ofcom. Response (quick) was ‘We’ll try to respond as quickly as possible, but it can sometimes take some time to look into technical matters, so we apologise if we’re not able to reply as quickly as you or we would like’.
    They may be waiting to see how many complaints they get.

  52. soph says:
    March 22, 2021 at 2:48 pm

    Hi,

    BBC shutdown all their feeds this morning. This is permanent. I think feeds are set to multicast and geo-blocked .

  53. Fred Hancock says:
    September 29, 2021 at 2:00 pm

    Has anyone found a BBC url for Five Live Sports Extra – none of those posted here work for me. I am using Pirate Radio from Pimoroni. Thanks.

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