BBC Television

BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which began in 1932. The British Broadcasting Corporation has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927.

History of BBC Television

The British Broadcasting Corporation operates several television networks, television stations and related programming services in the United Kingdom. As well as being a broadcaster, they also produce a large number of their own programmes in-house, forming one of the world's largest television production companies.

1932 to 1939

Mechanically scanned, 30-line television broadcasts by John Logie Baird began in 1929, using the BBC transmitter in London, and by 1930 a regular schedule of programs was transmitted from the BBC antenna in Brookmans Park. Television production was switched from Baird's company to what is now known as BBC One on August 2, 1932, and continued until September 1935. Regularly scheduled electronically scanned television began from Alexandra Palace in London on November 2, 1936, to just a few hundred viewers in the immediate area. It was reaching an estimated 25,000-40,000 homes before the outbreak of the Second World War caused the service to be suspended in September 1939. The VHF broadcasts would have provided an ideal radio beacon for German bombers homing in on London, and the engineers and technicians of the service would be needed for the war effort, in particular the RADAR programme.

1946 to 1964

In 1946, TV transmissions resumed from Alexandra Palace. BBC One shows popular programming, including drama, comedies, documentaries, game shows and soap operas, covering a wide range of genres and regularly competes with ITV to become the channel with the highest ratings for that week. BBC One is the home to the BBC's main news bulletins, currently being shown at 1pm, 6pm and 10pm.

1964 to 1967

The BBC Television Service was renamed BBC1 in 1964, after the launch of BBC2 (now BBC Two), the third television station (ITV was the second) for the UK; its remit, to provide more niche programming. The channel was due to launch on 20 April, 1964, but was put off the air by a massive power failure that affected much of London, caused by a fire at Battersea Power Station. A videotape made on the opening night was rediscovered in 2003 by a BBC technician. In the end the launch went ahead the following night, hosted by an announcer holding a candle. BBC2 was the first British channel to use UHF and 625-line pictures, giving higher definition than the existing VHF 405-line system.

1967 to 2003

In December 1967, BBC Two became the first television channel in Europe to broadcast regularly in colour, using the German PAL system that is still in use today although being gradually superseded by digital systems. (BBC One and ITV began 625-line colour broadcasts simultaneously on November 15, 1969). Unlike its contemporaries, BBC Two does not have the usual soap opera or standard news programming, but rather a breadth of programming that is eclectic, fun and diverse (although if a programme has high audience viewing figures, it is often eventually repositioned to BBC One). The different remit of BBC2 allowed its first controller, Sir David Attenborough to commission the first heavyweight documentaries and documentary series such as Civilisation, The Ascent of Man and Horizon.

David Attenborough was later granted sabbatical leave from his job as Controller to work with the BBC Natural History Unit which had existed since the 1950s. This unit is now famed throughout the world for producing high quality programmes with Attenborough such as Life On Earth, The Private Life of Plants and The Blue Planet.

National and regional variations also occur within the BBC One and BBC Two schedules. England's BBC One output is split up into fifteen regions (such as South West and East), which exist mainly to produce local news programming, but also occasionally opt out of the network to show programmes of local importance (such as major local events). The nations of the United Kingdom (Wales and Scotland, and the province of Northern Ireland) have been granted more autonomy from the UK network; for example, programmes are mostly introduced by local announcers, rather than by those in London. BBC One and BBC Two schedules in the UK nations can vary immensely from BBC One and BBC Two in England.

Programmes, such as the politically fuelled Give My Head Peace (produced by BBC Northern Ireland) and the soap opera River City (produced by BBC Scotland), have been created specifically to cater for viewers in their respective nations, who may have found programmes created for English audiences irrelevant. BBC Scotland produces daily programmes for its Gaelic-speaking viewers, including current affairs, political and children's programming. BBC Wales also produces a large amount of Welsh language programming for S4C, particularly news, sport and other programmes, especially the soap opera Pobol y Cwm ('People of the Valley'). The UK nations also produce a number of programmes that are shown across the UK, such as BBC Scotland's comedy series Chewin' the Fat, and BBC Northern Ireland's talk show Almost Live.

The BBC is also renowned for its production of costume dramas, such as Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and contemporary social dramas such as Boys from the Blackstuff and Our Friends in the North. The BBC has come under pressure to commission more programmes from independent British production companies, and indeed is legally required to source 25% of its output from such companies by the terms of the 1990 Broadcasting Act. Programmes have also been imported mainly from English-speaking countries: notable examples include The Simpsons from the United States and Neighbours from Australia. Because of the availability of programmes in English, few programmes need use sub-titles or dubbing unlike much European television.

The BBC also introduced Ceefax, the first teletext service, starting in 1974. This service allows BBC viewers to view textual information such as the latest news on their television. CEEFAX has not made a full transition to digital television, instead being replaced by the new interactive BBCi service.

In March 2003 the BBC announced that from the end of May 2003 (subsequently deferred to 14 July) it intended to transmit all eight of its domestic television channels (including the 15 regional variations of BBC 1) unencrypted from the Astra 2D satellite. This move was estimated to save the BBC £85 million over the next five years.

While the "footprint" of the Astra 2D satellite was smaller than that of Astra 2A, from which it was previously broadcast encrypted, it meant that viewers with appropriate equipment were able to receive BBC channels "free-to-air" over much of Western Europe. Consequently, some rights concerns have needed to be resolved with programme providers such as Hollywood studios and sporting organisations, which have expressed concern about the unencrypted signal leaking out. This led to some broadcasts being made unavailable on the Sky Digital platform, such as Scottish Premier League and Scottish Cup football, while on other platforms such broadcasts were not disrupted. Later, when rights contracts were renewed, this problem was resolved.

2004 onwards

On 5 July 2004, the BBC celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its television news bulletins (although it had produced the Television Newsreel for several years before 1954). This event was marked by the release of a DVD, which showed highlights of the BBC's television coverage of significant events over the half-century, as well as changes in the format of the BBC television news; from the newsreel format of the first BBC Television News bulletins, to the 24-hour, worldwide news coverage available in 2004. A special edition of Radio Times was also produced, as well as a special section of the BBC News Online website.

Free-to-air stations in the UK available as both analogue and digital signals

BBC One

The Corporation's primary network, broadcasting mainstream comedy, drama, documentaries, films and the home of their television news, sport and children's programmes.

BBC Two

Home to more specialist programming, including comedy, documentaries, dramas and minority interest programmes, as well as imported programmes from other countries, particularly the United States.

Shutdown of all UK analogue television stations will begin in 2008, leaving only digital transmission for terrestrial services.

Free-to-air digital-only stations in the UK

BBC Three

The main digital television network operated by the Corporation, home to mainly youth-oriented programming, particularly new comedy sketch shows and sitcoms.

BBC Four

Niche programming for an older audience, including specialist documentaries, occasional 'serious' dramas, live theatre, foreign language films and television programmes and 'prestige' archive television repeats.

BBC News 24

A dedicated news channel.

BBC Parliament

The Corporation's dedicated politics channel, covering both the British parliament and international politics.

CBBC Channel

For children aged six and above.

CBeebies

For children under six.

International news channel

BBC World

An international, commercially-funded (albeit run by the BBC and not BBC Worldwide) twenty-four hour news channel, not officially available to UK viewers.

BBC Worldwide channels

The BBC's wholly-owned commercial subsidiary, BBC Worldwide, also operates several international television channels under BBC branding:

BBC America

An American cable television channel, co-owned with Discovery Networks, showcasing British television programming.

BBC Canada

The Canadian equivalent of BBC America, co-owned with Alliance Atlantis.

BBC Kids

Also based in Canada and co-owned with Alliance Atlantis, and dedicated to children's programming.

BBC Japan

A Japanese equivalent of BBC America and BBC Canada.

BBC Food

Dedicated to the BBC's various cookery programmes, broadcasting via satellite television in southern Africa and Scandinavia.

BBC Prime

Showcasing BBC programming via satellite television, available across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

UK.TV

An equivalent of BBC Prime in Australia & New Zealand.

UKTV

Commercial television network in the United Kingdom, co-owned with Flextech (part of Telewest Broadband. The channels broadcast mainly BBC archive and specially produced programming.

People+Arts

Broadcast in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula in both Spanish and Portuguese. Co-owned with Discovery Networks.

Animal Planet

Wildlife channel co-owned with Discovery Networks. The channel broadcasts in many markets around the world.

Gourt Home::Gourt :: BBC Television