On 2 January, 2023 at 0000Z, RTL ceased broadcasting on the Longwave (LW) band at 234 kHz from Beidweiler, Luxembourg. The station started broadcasting on 15 March 1933 and was set up in order to bypass French regulations and result in a commercial broadcasting station in French aimed at France. The station was commonly known as Radio Luxembourg.
It was renamed in 1966 as RTL. RTL was shut down during World War 2. In 1968 it continued broadcasting during the French 1968 crisis when radio stations in France went off the air as part of general labour unrest. Although the LW service has ceased, RTL continues to broadcast on FM in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and has related stations such as Bel RTL in Wallonia, Belgium. RTL is a modern media conglomerate based in Kirchberg, Luxembourg.
There remains only one LW radio station left in Europe, the BBC Long Wave service transmitting at 198 kHz from Droitwich, Worcesershire (BBC Radio 4). The BBC in 2011 indicated it would no longer invest in this station and the transmitter relies on a pair of glass tubes (valves in the UK) which cannot be replaced. Once they burn out, the station will cease transmitting.