Medium wave in the context of Personal stereo

AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmissions, but also on the longwave and shortwave radio bands.

The earliest experimental AM transmissions began in the early 1900s. However, widespread AM broadcasting was not established until the 1920s, following the development of vacuum tube receivers and transmitters. AM radio remained the dominant method of broadcasting for the next 30 years, a period called the "Golden Age of Radio", until television broadcasting became widespread in the 1950s and received much of the programming previously carried by radio. Later, AM radio's audiences declined greatly due to competition from FM (frequency modulation) radio, Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), satellite radio, HD (digital) radio, Internet radio, music streaming services, and podcasting.

AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmissions, but also on the longwave and shortwave radio bands.

The earliest experimental AM transmissions began in the early 1900s. However, widespread AM broadcasting was not established until the 1920s, following the development of vacuum tube receivers and transmitters. AM radio remained the dominant method of broadcasting for the next 30 years, a period called the "Golden Age of Radio", until television broadcasting became widespread in the 1950s and received much of the programming previously carried by radio. Later, AM radio's audiences declined greatly due to competition from FM radio, digital radio, satellite radio, Internet radio, music streaming services, and podcasting.

The BBC World Service is a British public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcasts radio news, speech and discussions in more than 40 languages to many parts of the world on analogue and digital shortwave platforms, internet streaming, podcasting, satellite, DAB, FM, LW and MW relays. In 2024, the World Service reached an average of 450 million people a week (via TV, radio and online).

BBC World Service English maintains eight regional feeds with several programme variations, covering, respectively, East and Southern Africa; West and Central Africa; Europe and Middle East; the Americas and Caribbean; East Asia; South Asia; Australasia; and the United Kingdom. There are also two online-only streams, a general one and the other more news-orientated, known as News Internet. The service broadcasts 24 hours a day.

Vatican Radio (Italian: Radio Vaticana; Latin: Statio Radiophonica Vaticana) is the official broadcasting service of Vatican City.

Established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi, today its programs are offered in 47 languages, and are sent out on short wave, DRM, medium wave, FM, satellite and the Internet. Since its inception, Vatican Radio has been maintained by the Jesuit Order. Vatican Radio preserved its independence during the rise of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.

BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927. The service provides national radio stations covering the majority of musical genres, as well as local radio stations covering local news, affairs, and interests. It also oversees online audio content.

Of the national radio stations, BBC Radio 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 Live are all available through analogue radio (1, 2, 3 and 4 on FM and 5 Live on MW; BBC Radio 4 additionally broadcasts on longwave) as well as on DAB Digital Radio and BBC Sounds. BBC Radio 1Xtra, 1 Dance, 1 Anthems, 3 Unwind, 4 Extra, 5 Sports Extra, 6 Music, Asian Network and the World Service broadcast only on DAB and BBC Sounds.All of the BBC's national radio stations broadcast from bases in London and Manchester, usually in or near to Broadcasting House or MediaCityUK. However, the BBC's network production units located in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff and Glasgow also make radio programmes.

Smooth Radio is a network of local radio stations broadcasting on FM and DAB in the United Kingdom. It no longer broadcasts any outlets on AM since the last outlet on medium wave ceased at 1:00pm on Friday 28th February 2025. Smooth Radio previously featured a soft adult contemporary radio format but has introduced more upbeat music since 2023. Launched in March 2014, it replaced the national Smooth Radio that had launched in 2010 on FM and DAB, and most outlets of Gold on AM.

Each FM station broadcasts localised breakfast with networked shows simulcast from London at all other times. Four of the seven FM stations, and the former AM stations, are owned and operated by Global, with the remaining three FM licences owned by Communicorp UK and run as a franchise.

Shortwave listening, or SWLing, is the hobby of listening to shortwave radio broadcasts located on frequencies between 1700 kHz and 30 MHz (30 000 kHz). Listeners range from casual users seeking international news and entertainment programming, to hobbyists immersed in the technical aspects of long-distance radio reception and sending and collecting official confirmations (QSL cards) that document their reception of remote broadcasts (DXing). In some developing countries, shortwave listening enables remote communities to obtain regional programming traditionally provided by local medium wave AM broadcasters. In 2002, the number of households that were capable of shortwave listening was estimated to be in the hundreds of millions. As of 2025, it is estimated there are at least 600 million shortwave radio sets worldwide.

The practice of long-distance radio listening began in the 1920s when shortwave broadcasters were first established in the US and Europe. Audiences discovered that international programming was available on the shortwave bands of many consumer radio receivers, and a number of magazines and listener clubs catering to the practice arose as a result. Shortwave listening was especially popular during times of international conflict such as World War II, the Korean War and the Persian Gulf War, and the BBC resumed transmission during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Medium frequency (MF) is the ITU designation for radio frequencies (RF) in the range of 300 kilohertz (kHz) to 3 megahertz (MHz). Part of this band is the medium wave (MW) AM broadcast band. The MF band is also known as the hectometer band as the wavelengths range from ten to one hectometers (1000 to 100 m). Frequencies immediately below MF are denoted as low frequency (LF), while the first band of higher frequencies is known as high frequency (HF). MF is mostly used for AM radio broadcasting, navigational radio beacons, maritime ship-to-shore communication, and transoceanic air traffic control.