How to Listen to BBC World Service in Malawi: FM Frequencies and Live Online

BBC World Service · live

BBC World Service

The BBC’s international radio station: world news, Africa news, sport and documentaries in English, around the clock. Listen free on FM in Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu, or on your phone anywhere.

Listen live now Find your FM frequency

97.9 Lilongwe · 98.8 Blantyre
87.9 Mzuzu
Online about 43 MB an hour

Quick answer: In Lilongwe tune to 97.9 FM, in Blantyre 98.8 FM, and in Mzuzu 87.9 FM. Anywhere else, tap Listen live now below. It opens the BBC’s own live player; tap the round play button. It is free and uses about 43 MB of data an hour.

Pick your way

Three ways to listen

FM radioLilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu. Uses no data at all.Free Online, liveThe BBC’s own player in your phone’s browser. Works anywhere in Malawi.About 43 MB an hour Home screen buttonOpen the live player in one tap, like an app.Optional

Way 1 · FM radio

BBC World Service FM frequencies in Malawi

The BBC runs its own FM transmitters in Malawi’s three cities. These are the numbers on MACRA’s current FM list.

BBC transmitters

97.9FMLilongwe
98.8FMBlantyre
87.9FMMzuzu

Older numbers. Some radio lists still show 102.5 for Blantyre or 87.9 for Lilongwe. Those are from the early 2000s, before MACRA moved Malawi’s stations to new numbers. Outside the three cities the BBC FM signal is weak or missing, so use Way 2 online.

No radio set? Use your phone’s FM app

Plug in wired earphones. The cable is the aerial, so Bluetooth earphones will not work.
Open the FM Radio app. Many Tecno, itel and Infinix phones have one built in.
Type 97.9, 98.8 or 87.9 for your city, or tap Scan.
Want the loudspeaker? Switch the sound to the speaker, but leave the earphones plugged in.

It uses no data and no airtime. iPhones do not have an FM app, so use Way 2.

Way 2 · Online

Listen live on your phone

No app, no account and no fee. All you need is a browser and some data or Wi-Fi.

Open the BBC World Service live page
Tap the Listen live now button at the top of this guide. It opens the live player on bbc.com, the BBC’s own website.
The page says World Service under the picture of the programme on air now.
Tap the round play button
Under the programme name is a white circle with a triangle in it. Tap it.
Tap the round play button.
Listen, and pause when you are done
The sound starts after a few seconds. The button turns into a white pause button and the bar shows LIVE. Tap pause to stop. The arrow on the left jumps back to the start of the current programme.
Playing: tap pause to stop.

Old BBC Sounds links still work. Outside the UK, a bbc.co.uk/sounds link for World Service now opens this same bbc.com page. You do not need to sign in or register to listen live.

Data

How much data does BBC World Service use?

43 MBfor one hour of listening online

1 hour43 MB
1 hour a day for a week301 MB
1 hour a day for a month1,290 MB

On a good connection the BBC player streams at 96 kbps (we checked in October 2026). On a slow connection it drops to 48 kbps on its own, which uses about half as much. That is less than TWR Malawi or Radio ABC, and far less than Power 101. A 1 GB bundle gives you about 23 hours of the BBC. Live radio keeps using data until you press pause. More ways to stretch a bundle: our mobile data guide.

Way 3 · Home screen

Make a one-tap BBC button

Outside the UK the BBC now plays World Service on bbc.com rather than in the BBC Sounds app. Save the live page to your home screen and it works like an app.

Add the live page to your home screen

Open the live page with the Listen live now button.
Android (Chrome): tap the three dots at the top right, then Add to home screen.
iPhone (Safari): tap the share button, then Add to Home Screen.
Next time, tap the new BBC icon and press play.

Want to know what is on? The BBC’s World Service schedule lists the day’s programmes.

About the station

What is BBC World Service?

BBC World Service is the British Broadcasting Corporation’s international radio station. It began in 1932 as the Empire Service and has used the World Service name since 1965. It broadcasts in English and more than 40 other languages from Broadcasting House in London.

The English service runs day and night: news bulletins on the hour, plus sport, business, science, history and documentaries. Africa stories get plenty of airtime.

In Malawi the BBC has broadcast on its own FM transmitters since the early 2000s. In 2003 it switched on a new transmitter in Mzuzu, and the BBC said nearly two million Malawians were listening (AIB). Today MACRA lists BBC transmitters at Kanengo in Lilongwe, Mpingwe in Blantyre and Telegraph Hill in Mzuzu.

Run by: The BBC, London
Language: English
On FM in: Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzuzu
Online: bbc.com, free

Questions

BBC World Service FAQ

Is it free?

Yes. FM costs nothing. Online there is no fee or account; you only pay for the data, about 43 MB an hour.

Does the BBC broadcast in Chichewa?

No. The BBC has no Chichewa service, so in Malawi you get BBC World Service in English.

Why does the online programme sometimes differ from FM?

The online player carries the BBC’s main international stream. FM transmitters in Africa can carry Africa editions of some programmes, so at some hours FM may differ.

Are the times on the BBC page Malawi time?

Yes. The live page shows times in your phone’s own time zone, so in Malawi they are Central Africa Time (GMT+2).

Can I use the BBC Sounds app?

Not from Malawi. Outside the UK, BBC Sounds links for World Service open the bbc.com player from Way 2, which needs no app.

I am outside Lilongwe, Blantyre and Mzuzu. Can I get it on FM?

Only near those cities. Elsewhere the signal is weak or missing, so listen online with Way 2.

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