| Ràdio 4 | |
| Network: | RNE |
| Area: | Catalonia (FM, DAB, DVB-T and Satellite) |
| Frequency: | 87.9–106.9 MHz |
| Format: | News, talk and contemporary music in Catalan |
| Owner: | RTVE |
| Sister Stations: | Radio Nacional Radio Clásica Radio 3 Radio 5 Radio Exterior |
| Website: | Ràdio 4 |
Ràdio 4 is a Spanish free-to-air radio station owned and operated by Radio Nacional de España (RNE), the radio division of state-owned public broadcaster Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE). It is the corporation's Catalan language radio station, and is available in Catalonia and Andorra.[1] It was launched on 13 December 1976.[2]
Ràdio 4 was launched in 1976 during the Spanish transition to democracy, and was integrated into a regional countrywide Radio 4 network in 1988 after the closure of the state-owned but commercially funded Radiocadena Española in that same year. The integrated regional countrywide Radio 4 network was shut down in 1991 due to poor ratings, and RNE Ràdio 4 once again became a standalone radio station.
In 2006 however, RNE Ràdio 4 was itself threatened with the prospect of closure due to a very low audience share (only 8,500 listeners in Catalonia out of a population of 7.5 million people). This sparked a campaign against closure of the station, which eventually proved successful after Santiago Gonzalez, the then newly appointed director of RNE (Radio Nacional de España), decided against closing Ràdio 4.