Radio Romania International in English on 11975 kHz: Bucharest's evening programme for Europe

What you hear

A classic European international broadcast, half an hour long, in English with a Romanian accent. The 20:30 UTC edition opens with the interval signal and the identification, then news from Romania and the wider region, a press review, and features: Romanian culture, places worth a visit, the economy, the diaspora, folk and classical music, and a listeners' mailbag that answers reception reports and letters on the air. At 21:00 UTC the transmitter moves on. The English service returns at 22:00–23:00 UTC on 9740 kHz for a full hour, then in the morning at 05:30–06:00 UTC on 11960 kHz and at midday, 11:00–12:00 UTC, on 15320 kHz, each on a frequency chosen for the hour.

Who transmits and why

Radio Romania International is the foreign-language arm of Romania's public radio, and English is its flagship service, broadcast to Europe, North America, Asia and Africa at different hours. The service is a survivor: while most of Europe's public broadcasters abandoned shortwave in the 2000s and 2010s, Romania kept its transmitters and its language sections, partly because the plant was already paid for and partly because the audience kept writing. The programmes are made in Bucharest by the English section.

The transmitters are at Țigănești, north of Bucharest, run by Radiocom, with 300 kW transmitters and curtain antennas; the catalogue coordinates point at the site. 9740 kHz is listed as the alternative for 20:30 UTC in case 11975 kHz cannot be used. The frequencies and hours are those of the A26 season, which runs from late March to late October 2026; the winter season will shuffle them, so treat the catalogue as a starting point and listen for the announcements of the new schedule in October.

When and where to listen

11975 kHz is in the 25 metre band. At 20:30 UTC in summer the band is still open over Europe and the signal from Țigănești covers the continent from Portugal to Finland; in autumn the band begins to close by that hour in the north-west and the signal can be weaker there, which is one reason the station keeps 9740 kHz in reserve and uses it for the 22:00 UTC hour. Receivers in Germany, Austria, Italy, Poland and the Netherlands hear the 20:30 edition well in the A season; Britain and Ireland are fine in summer, patchy in October. The 22:00 UTC hour on 9740 kHz is the most reliable for western Europe once the evenings draw in. Outside Europe, the 11:00 UTC broadcast on 15320 kHz is the one to try from Asia, and the 22:00 UTC hour on 9740 kHz is often audible on the east coast of North America.

The signal is strong enough that plain AM is right. If a neighbouring broadcaster leans on it, the sideband away from the neighbour cleans the speech.

In ShackDeck

Station catalogue → Shortwave broadcast → Radio Romania International. The program picks a public receiver that covers 11975 kHz, tunes it and sets AM; no receiver, antenna or account of your own is needed. The Russian and Ukrainian services of the same broadcaster have their own entries, starting with the Russian afternoon programme.