Pitchfork: BBC Radio 1 Coming to America

American anglophiles unite! While the Internet has made it easier for dedicated followers of fashion to latch onto the latest UK sounds, U.S. shortwave listeners who used to receive BBC broadcasts with relative ease have been left in the dark since July 2001, when the BBC dropped shortwave service to North America and the Pacific, abandoning over a million listeners in the process. This bummer of a decision has been undone now, somewhat, because the BBC and Sirius Satellite Radio have announced an agreement that will bring the venerable UK institution BBC Radio 1 to the States.

Radio 1 Controller Andy Parfitt says, "Radio 1 already has a strong international reputation amongst music fans around the world, including the U.S. Now the station can be heard easily across America. With our commitment to great new UK music we hope that we can help British acts make inroads into the massive U.S. music market."

The massiveness of that market decreases somewhat when you realize that the broadcasts will only be reaching the roughly one million Sirius subscribers. Still, the UK benefits from pushing their talent overseas, U.S. listeners benefit from having a little variety in their lives, and everyone benefits from more Crazy Frog. BBC Radio 1 is expected to start broadcasting Stateside in late summer.