The British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides radio and television programmes for Her Majesty's Armed Forces, and their dependents worldwide. Editorial control is independent of the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces themselves.
It was established by the British War Office (now the Ministry of Defence) in 1943. In 1944, it was managed by Gale Pedrick.
Originally known as the Forces Broadcasting Service (FBS), it was initially under the control of the British Army Welfare Service, with its first effort, the Middle East Broadcasting Unit, with its headquarters in Cairo.
Before and after end of the Second World War, various radio stations were set up, some using the FBS name, others using the name British Forces Network (BFN), but by the early 1960s, these had all adopted the BFBS name.
Since the 1980s, BFBS has formed part of the Services Sound and Vision Corporation (SSVC), a registered charity, which is also responsible for the British Defence Film Library, SSVC Cinemas, and Combined Services Entertainment, providing entertainment for HM Forces around the world. BFBS does not carry commercial advertising.
BFBS Radio's three stations broadcast on a combination of local DAB, FM and AM frequencies, via live streaming at bfbs.com/listen, on Sky Channel 0211 and Freesat Channel 786.
BFBS broadcasts to service personnel and their families and friends worldwide with local radio studios in Belize, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, Germany, Gibraltar, the Falkland Islands, Nepal and operational areas from the studio in Afghanistan. In addition, BFBS radio is heard by troops in Ascension Island, Belgium, Bosnia, Diego Garcia and the Netherlands, as well as onboard Royal Navy ships at sea via live satellite links, online at bfbs.com/radio and on Sky Digital channel 0211, via a Eutelsat 28A transponder.
- The Forces Station BFBS – contemporary music and Forces Community Radio.
- BFBS Radio 2 – popular music, news, current affairs and sport.
- BFBS Gurkha Radio – programming for Gurkhas
- Alan Grace: This Is the British Forces Network. The Story of Forces Broadcasting in Germany. Stroud (1996) ISBN
- Alan Grace: The Link With Home. 60 Years of Forces Radio. Chalfont (2003) ISBN
- Doreen Taylor: A Microphone and a Frequency. Forty Years of Forces Broadcasting. London (1983) ISBN and ISBN
- Oliver Zöllner: BFBS: 'Freund in der Fremde'. British Forces Broadcasting Service (Germany) – der britische Militärrundfunk in Deutschland. Göttingen (1996) [in German] ISBN .
- Oliver Zöllner: Forces Broadcasting: A 'Friend' Abroad. In: Communications, Vol. 21 (1996), issue 4, pp. 447–466 ISSN 0341-2059.
- Peter McDonagh: Me and Thirteen Tanks: Tales Of A Cold War Freelance Spy. London (2014) ISBN .
- Ivor Wynne Jones: BFBS Cyprus: 1948-1998. (1998) ISBN .
