BBC Television

Television service of the British Broadcasting Corporation

BBC Television

Logo used since 2021

Company type| Division
Industry| Television
Headquarters| Broadcasting House, London
MediaCityUK, Salford

Area served

| Worldwide
Services| Television broadcasting
Parent| BBC
Website| bbc.co.uk/iplayer
BBC

UK-wide

* Television
* stations
* programmes
* Radio
* stations
* local
* BBC Online
* BBC Red Button
* Ceefax
* iPlayer
* BBC Sounds

Management

* Chairman
* Samir Shah
* Director-General
* Tim Davie
* BBC Board
* BBC Charter

Departments

* BBC Academy
* Archives
* BBC Film
* BBC World Service (Timeline)
* Television
* Design & Engineering
* Monitoring
* News
* Radio
* Sport
* Weather

Nations and regions

* BBC Cymru Wales
* BBC Scotland
* BBC Northern Ireland

* * *

* BBC English Regions

* * *

* Birmingham
* Bristol
* East
* East Midlands
* London
* Manchester
* North East & Cumbria
* North West
* South
* South East
* South West
* West
* West Midlands
* Yorkshire
* Yorkshire & Lincolnshire

Commercial subsidiaries

* BBC Studios
* BBC Studios Productions
* BBC Studioworks
* BBC Worldwide

History

* Archives
* Sound Archive
* BBC Trust
* Board of Governors
* British Broadcasting Company
* Coat of arms
* Controversies
* Criticism
* First day of TV
* Logo
* Radio Times
* Genome
* Timeline
* HD timeline

Key properties in London

* Broadcasting House
* Lime Grove (former)
* Maida Vale Studios
* Television Centre (former)
* White City & Media Village

Birmingham

* Drama Village
* Mailbox Birmingham
* Pebble Mill Studios (former)

Cardiff

* New Broadcasting House, Cardiff
* Broadcasting House (former)
* Drama Village (Roath Lock)
* BBC Hoddinott Hall

Other locations

* Broadcasting House, Belfast
* Broadcasting House, Bristol
* BBC Elstree Centre
* MediaCityUK, Salford
* Pacific Quay, Glasgow

* v
* t
* e

The "Television Symbol", known informally as the "Bats Wings", was the first BBC Television Service ident. It was created by Abram Games and was used from 1953 to 1960.[1]

BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 1932, although the start of its regular service of television broadcasts is dated to 2 November 1936.[2]

The BBC's domestic television channels have no commercial advertising and collectively they accounted for more than 30% of all UK viewing in 2013.[3] The services are funded by a television licence.

As a result of the 2016 Licence Fee settlement, the BBC Television division was split, with in-house television production being separated into a new division called BBC Studios and the remaining parts of television (channels and genre commissioning, BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer) being renamed BBC Content.[4]

## History of BBC Television

[edit]

The BBC operates several television networks, television stations (although there is generally very little distinction between the two terms in the UK), and related programming services in the United Kingdom. As well as being a broadcaster, the corporation also produces a large number of its own outsourcing programmes and thereby ranks as one of the world's largest television production companies.

### Early years (before 1939)

[edit]

John Logie Baird set up the Baird Television Development Company in 1926; on 30 September 1929, he made the first experimental television broadcast for the BBC from its studio in Long Acre in the Covent Garden area of London via the BBC's London radio transmitter propagating an analog signal. Baird used his electromechanical system with a vertically scanned image of 30 lines, which is just enough resolution for a close-up of one person, and a bandwidth low enough to use existing radio transmitters. The simultaneous transmission of sound and pictures was achieved on 30 March 1930, by using the BBC's new twin transmitter at Brookmans Park. By late 1930, thirty minutes of morning programmes were broadcast from Monday to Friday, and thirty minutes at midnight on Tuesdays and Fridays after BBC radio went off the air. Baird's broadcasts via the BBC continued until June 1932.

The BBC began its own regular television programming from the basement of Broadcasting House, London, on 22 August 1932. The studio moved to larger quarters in 16 Portland Place, London, in February 1934, and continued broadcasting the 30-line images, carried by telephone line to the medium wave transmitter at Brookmans Park, until 11 September 1935, by which time advances in the all-electronic 405-line television system made electromechanical broadcasts and systems obsolete.[5]

Following a series of test transmissions and special broadcasts that began in August 1936, the BBC Television Service officially launched at 3.00pm on 2 November 1936 from a converted wing of Alexandra Palace in London.[6][7] The opening day's programming started using the Baird System at 3.00 pm with "Opening of the B.B.C. television service by Major G. C. Tryon", the Postmaster General of the United Kingdom, followed by the latest British Movietone News newsreel at 3.15. This was then followed up with a 10-minute variety show with Adele Dixon and the African-American duo of Buck and Bubbles, and the B.B.C. Television Orchestra. These programmes were then shown at 4.00pm using the Marconi-E.M.I. System.[8] "Ally Pally" housed two studios; Studio A for the 405-line Marconi E.M.I. system, and Studio B for Baird's 240-line intermediate film system. It also housed several scenery stores, make-up areas, dressing rooms, offices, and the transmitter itself, which then broadcast on the VHF band. BBC television initially used both the Baird and Marconi-E.M.I systems on alternate weeks. The use of both formats made the BBC's service the world's first regular high-definition television service; it broadcast from Monday to Saturday between 15:00 and 16:00, and 21:00 and 22:00.[9] The first programme broadcast – and thus the first ever, on a dedicated TV channel – was "Opening of the BBC Television Service" at 15:00.[10] The first major outside broadcast was the coronation of George VI and Elizabeth in May 1937.

The two systems were to run on a trial basis for six months; early television sets supported both resolutions. However, the Baird system, which used a mechanical camera for filmed programming and Farnsworth image dissector cameras for live programming, proved too cumbersome and visually inferior, and ended with closedown (at 22:00) on Saturday 30 January 1937. It was advertised in Radio Times for two weeks later but the decision to end the Baird system was made too late for it be changed in the printed Radio Times.[11]

Initially, the station's range was officially a 40 kilometres radius of the Alexandra Palace transmitter—in practice, however, transmissions could be picked up a good deal further away,[12] and on one occasion in 1938 were picked up by engineers at RCA in New York, who were experimenting with a British television set.[note 1] The service was reaching an estimated 25,000–40,000 homes before the outbreak of World War II which caused the BBC Television service to be suspended on 1 September 1939 with little warning.

### Wartime closure (1939–1946)

[edit]

On 1 September 1939, the station went off the air;[13] the government was concerned that the VHF transmissions would act as a beacon to enemy aircraft homing in on London. Also, many of the television service's technical staff and engineers would be needed for the war effort, in particular on the radar programme. The last programme transmitted was a Mickey Mouse cartoon, Mickey's Gala Premier (1933), which was followed by test transmissions; this account refuted the popular memory according to which broadcasting was suspended before the end of the cartoon.[13]

According to figures from Britain's Radio Manufacturers Association, 18,999 television sets had been manufactured from 1936 to September 1939, when production was halted by the war.

### The remaining monopoly years (1946–1955)

[edit]

BBC Television returned on 7 June 1946 at 15:00. Jasmine Bligh, one of the original announcers, made the first announcement, saying, 'Good afternoon, everybody. How are you? Do you remember me, Jasmine Bligh? Well, here we are after a lapse of nearly seven years ready to start again and of course we are all terribly excited and thrilled...'[14] The Mickey Mouse cartoon of 1939 was repeated twenty minutes later.[13] On 31 December the BBC broadcast First-year Flashbacks, a compilation of the year's highlights.[14] An edited copy is now the oldest programme on the BBC's iPlayer streaming service.

Alexandra Palace was the home base of the channel until the early 1950s, when the majority of production moved into the newly acquired Lime Grove Studios. Postwar broadcast coverage was extended to Birmingham in 1949, with the opening of the Sutton Coldfield transmitting station on 17 December, and by the mid-1950s most of the country was covered, transmitting a 405-line interlaced video image on VHF.

### 1964 to 1967

[edit]

BBC TV was split into BBC1 and BBC2 in 1964, with BBC2 having a remit to provide more niche programming. The channel was due to launch on 20 April 1964, but this was postponed after a fire at Battersea Power Station resulted in most of west London, including Television Centre, losing power. A videotape made on the opening night was rediscovered in 2003 by a BBC technician.[citation needed] The launch went ahead the following night, beginning with host Denis Tuohy sarcastically blowing out a candle. BBC2 was the first British channel to use UHF and 625-line pictures, giving higher definition than the existing VHF 405-line television system.

### 1967 to 2003

[edit]

A special ident was created in 1982 to celebrate 60 years of the BBC.

On 1 July 1967, BBC Two became the first television channel in Europe to broadcast regularly in colour, using the West German PAL system that was used for decades until it was gradually superseded by digital systems.[15] (BBC One and ITV began 625-line colour broadcasts simultaneously on 15 November 1969). Unlike other terrestrial channels, BBC Two does not have soap opera or standard news programming, but a range of programmes intended to be eclectic and diverse (although if a programme has high audience ratings it is often eventually repositioned to BBC One). The different remit of BBC2 allowed its first controller, David Attenborough to commission the first heavyweight documentaries and documentary series such as Civilisation, The Ascent of Man and Horizon.

Attenborough was later granted sabbatical leave from his job as Controller to work with the BBC Studios 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, The Blue Planet, The Life of Mammals, Planet Earth and Frozen 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 other nations of the United Kingdom (Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) have been granted more autonomy from the English network; for example, programmes are mostly introduced by local announcers, rather than by those in London. BBC One and BBC Two schedules in the other 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 some viewers in their respective nations. BBC Scotland produces daily programmes for its Gaelic-speaking viewers, including current affairs, political and children's programming such as the popular Eòrpa and Dè a-nis?. 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') briefly shown on BBC2 across the UK with subtitles in the 1990s.[16] 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 Patrick Kielty Almost Live.

During the 1980s, the BBC came under pressure to commission more programmes from independent British production companies, and following the Broadcasting Act 1990 it was legally required to source 25% of its output from such companies by the terms of the Act. This eventually led to the creation of the "WoCC" (Window of Creative Competition) for independent production companies to pitch programmes to the BBC.[17]

Programmes have also been imported mainly from English-speaking countries: notable—though no longer shown—examples include The Simpsons from the United States and Neighbours from Australia. Programming from countries outside the English-speaking world consisted of feature films, shown in the original language with subtitles instead of being dubbed, with dubbing only used for cartoons and children's programmes.[18] These included programmes from Eastern Europe, including The Singing Ringing Tree from East Germany, although voice-over translation was used instead of dubbing for budgetary reasons.[19]

Ceefax, the first teletext service, launched on 23 September 1974. This service allowed BBC viewers to view textual information such as the latest news on their television. CEEFAX did not make a full transition to digital television, instead being gradually replaced, from late onwards, by the new interactive BBCi service before being fully closed down on 22 October 2012.[citation needed]

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 BBC1) unencrypted from the Astra 2D satellite. This move was estimated to save the BBC £85 million over the next five years.[20]

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.[citation needed]

### 2006 onwards

[edit]

The BBC Television department headed by Jana Bennett was absorbed into a new, much larger group; BBC Vision, in late 2006.[21] The new group was part of larger restructuring within the BBC with the onset of new media outlets and technology.[citation needed]

In 2008, the BBC began experimenting with live streaming of certain channels in the UK, and in November 2008, all standard BBC television channels were made available to watch online via BBC iPlayer.[22]

When Tony Hall became Director General in April 2013, he reverted the division to its original name of BBC Television. As Television it was responsible for the commissioning, scheduling and broadcasting of all programming on the BBC's television channels and online, as well as producing content for broadcast.[23]

Following the 2016 Licence Fee settlement, BBC Television was split into two divisions, with in-house television production being separated into a new division called BBC Studios controlled by Mark Linsey and the remaining parts of television (channels and genre commissioning, BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer) being renamed as BBC Content, controlled by Charlotte Moore.[4][24] As a result, the BBC Television division is now known internally as BBC Content and "BBC Television" as an entity has ceased to exist.[4][25][26]

On 8 December 2020, Moore announced a new leadership structure for BBC Content taking effect in April 2021, which will prioritise iPlayer in order to compete with commercial streaming services. The role of Controller for BBC One, Two, and Four will be scrapped, in favour of giving the BBC's genre heads autonomy in commissioning programmes without the requirement for a channel controller to provide secondary approval. A team of "portfolio editors" will select from these commissions for carriage on BBC television channels and iPlayer, with iPlayer Controller Dan McGolpin will becoming Portfolio Director for iPlayer and channels. McGolpin and the genre heads will report to Moore.[27][28]

In July 2022, the BBC announced plans to merge BBC News (for UK audiences) and BBC World News (for international audiences) as one international news network, under the name BBC News, covering news from both the UK and around the world. The merger took effect in April 2023.[29][30]

In November 2024, six BBC FAST channels were added to Australia's 9Now platform.[31]

## Funding

[edit]

Main article: Television licensing in the United Kingdom

The BBC domestic television channels do not broadcast advertisements; they are instead funded by a television licence fee which TV viewers are required to pay annually. This includes viewers who watch real-time streams or catch up services of the BBC's channels online or via their mobile phone. The BBC's international television channels are funded by advertisements and subscription.

## Channels

[edit]

### Free-to-air in the UK

[edit]

These channels are also available outside the UK in neighbouring countries e.g. Belgium, the Netherlands and the Republic of Ireland. For BBC News, CBBC and Cbeebies see national & international channels

BBC UK viewing figures 1981–2008: BBC1 in red, BBC2 in teal BBC UK viewing share, 2002–2013: BBC3, pink; BBC4, dark-green; BBC News, red; CBBC, light-green; CBeebies, yellow; BBC HD, purple; BBC Wales & West, blue

* BBC One

The Corporation's flagship network, broadcasting mainstream entertainment, comedy, drama, documentaries, films, news, sport, and some children's programmes. BBC One is also the home of the BBC's main news programmes, with BBC Breakfast airing every morning from 06:00 and bulletins airing at 13:00, 18:00 and 22:00 (on weekdays; times vary for weekend news bulletins) and overnight bulletins from the BBC News channel. The main news bulletins are followed by local news. These are provided by production centres in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and a further 14 regional and sub-regional centres in England. The centres also produce local news magazine programming.
A high definition simulcast, BBC One HD, launched on 3 November 2010.

* BBC Two

Home to more specialist programming, including comedy, documentaries, dramas, children's programming and minority interest programmes, as well as imported programmes from other countries, particularly the United States. An important feature of the schedule is Newsnight, a 45-minute news analysis programme shown each weeknight at 22:30. There are slight differences in the programming for England and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
A high definition simulcast, BBC Two HD, launched on 26 March 2013.

* BBC Three

Home to mainly programming geared towards 16-34-year olds, particularly new comedies, drama, programs related to LGBTQ+, music, fashion and documentaries. This channel broadcasts every night from 19:00 to about 04:00 and timeshares with the CBBC channel.
A high definition simulcast, BBC Three HD, launched on 10 December 2013.
On 16 February 2016, BBC Three moved as an online-only content.
On 1 February 2022, BBC Three relaunched as a broadcast programming channel.[32]

* BBC Four

Niche programming for an intellectual audience, including specialist documentaries, occasional 'serious' dramas, live theatre, foreign language films and television programmes and 'prestige' archive television repeats. This channel broadcasts every night from 19:00 to about 04:00 and timeshares with the CBeebies channel.
A high definition simulcast, BBC Four HD, launched on 10 December 2013.

* BBC Parliament

The Corporation's dedicated politics channel, covering both houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and unicameral houses of Scottish Parliament, Senedd, and Northern Ireland Assembly, as well as international politics.

### National & international channels

[edit]

* CBBC

Programming for children aged six and above. This channel is broadcast every day from 07:00 to 19:00 and timeshares with BBC Three. UK & Ireland, United States and Australia feeds.
A high definition simulcast, CBBC HD, launched on 10 December 2013.

* CBeebies

Programming for children aged six and under. This channel is broadcast every day from 06:00 to 19:00 and timeshares with BBC Four. UK & Ireland, International, South African, Asian and Spanish feeds.
A high definition simulcast, CBeebies HD, launched on 10 December 2013.

#### News channels

[edit]

* BBC News (UK and World)

A dedicated English-language news channel based on the BBC's news service of the same name, covering news and sport from across the UK and around the world, 24 hours a day. There are several regional variations: UK & Ireland, Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, North America and South Asia.[33]

On 3 April 2023, the BBC merged the BBC News and BBC World News channels into a single networked news channel, but there are opt-outs for both the domestic and international versions.

* BBC News Arabic

A news and factual programming channel broadcast to the Middle East and North Africa. It was launched on 11 March 2008.

* BBC Persian

News channel that targets Persian-speaking countries including Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan in the Persian/Dari/Tajiki language.

### Other public services

[edit]

* S4C

Although this Welsh language channel is not operated by the corporation, the BBC contributes programmes funded by the licence fee as part of its public service obligation. The BBC used to broadcast Welsh-language programmes on its own channels in Wales, but these were transferred to S4C when it started broadcasting in 1982. S4C is available on iPlayer but without adverts there.

* BBC Alba

A part-time Scottish Gaelic channel. Although it carries the BBC name, it is a partnership between the BBC and MG Alba, with the majority of funding coming from the Scottish Government via MG Alba. Scottish Gaelic programmes were also shown on BBC Two in Scotland – subject to approval from the BBC Trust, but moved to BBC Alba after digital switchover.

* BBC Scotland

Launched on 24 February 2019, the BBC Scotland channel replaced the Scottish version of BBC Two and is home to homegrown Scottish programming. The Nine (and The Seven) are Scottish news programmes, similar to BBC Reporting Scotland. BBC Scotland also airs Scottish comedy, drama, sport, documentaries and music.

### BBC Studios

[edit]

Main article: BBC Studios

See also: International BBC television channels

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

BBC America
A US general entertainment channel, distributed in co-operation with AMC Networks, showcasing British television programming.
BBC Brit
An entertainment subscription television channel featuring male-skewed factual entertainment programming. Launched 1 February 2015 in Poland, April 2015 for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland replacing BBC Entertainment.
BBC Canada
A Canadian general entertainment channel, co-owned with Corus Entertainment, showing Canadian and British television programming. Closed down on 31 December 2020.
BBC Earth
A documentary subscription television channel featuring premium factual programming. Launched 1 February 2015 in Poland, April 2015 for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland and as of 14 April 2015 in Hungary replacing BBC Knowledge also replaced BBC Knowledge in Asia (Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam) as of 3 October 2015 – 21h00 Singapore/Hong Kong Time[34]
BBC Entertainment
Broadcasts comedy, drama, light entertainment and children's programming by BBC and other UK production houses, available in the following regions: Europe (except Scandinavia and Eastern Europe), Turkey and Israel.
BBC First
An entertainment subscription television channel featuring drama, crime and comedy programming. The channel kicked off in Australia on 3 August 2014. Currently available in the following regions: Asia, Australia, Benelux, Central and Eastern Europe (Croatia, Macedonia, Poland and Slovenia), Middle East & North Africa and South Africa.
BBC HD
A high-definition channel gradually replaced by other BBC Studios channels, currently still available in Turkey.
BBC Knowledge
Documentaries and factual programming, currently available in Australia and New Zealand.
BBC Lifestyle
Lifestyle programming, currently available in Asia, Poland and South Africa.
BBC UKTV
An entertainment channel in Australia and New Zealand, carrying drama and comedy programmes from the BBC, Talkback Thames, ITV1, and Channel 4.

The BBC also owns the following:

UKTV
Commercial television network in the United Kingdom. The channels broadcast mainly BBC archive and specially produced programming.

BBC Japan was a general entertainment channel, which operated between December 2004 and April 2006. It ceased operations after its Japanese distributor folded.

## Timeline

[edit]

BBC Television channel timeline, 1980s to present (includes joint ventures, excludes timeshifts and minor localisations)  Type | 1980s  | 1990s  | 2000s  | 2010s  | 2020s

|
|
|
|
|

0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9  | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9  | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9  | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9  | 0 | 1 | 2  | 3  | 4
General
BBC1 | BBC One
BBC2 | BBC Two
| BBC1/2 Mix | BBC E | BBC WSTV (Europe) |  |  |  |
|  | BBC Choice |  |  |
|  | BBC Text | BBCi | BBC Red Button | BBC Red Button\+
|  |  | BBC Kids |  | BBC Kids
|  |  | BBC Four
|  |  | CBBC
|  |  | CBeebies
|  |  | BBC Three
|  |  | BBC HD (UK)  |  |
|  |  | BBC HD (international)
|  |  | BBC Alba
|  |  |  | BBC Scotland
News & factual  |  | TEC  |  |  |  |
|  | BBC A |  |  | BBC Arabic Television | BBC News Arabic
|  | BBC World | BBC World News | BBC News
|  | BBC News 24 | BBC News
|  | BBC Parliament
|  |  | BBC Persian Television | BBC Persian
|  |  |  |  | BBC News Afghanistan
Factual  |  | BMT |  | BBC S |  |  |  |
|  | Animal Planet |  |
|  | UK Horizons | UKTV Documentary |  |  |
|  | BBC Knowledge |  |  |
|  |  | UK History | UKTV History | Yesterday | U&Yesterday
|  |  | UKTV People | Blighty |  |
|  |  | BBC Knowledge (international) |
|  |  | Eden
|  |  | Really |  |
|  |  |  | BBC Earth
|  |  |  | BBC Antiques Roadshow UK
|  |  |  | BBC Travel
|  |  |  | BBC History
|  |  |  |  | BBC Game Shows
|  |  |  |  | BBC Impossible
|  |  |  |  | BBC Dinos 24/7
Factual & comedy  |  |  |  |  | BBC Brit
|  |  |  |  | BBC Top Gear
|  |  |  |  | BBC Nordic
Lifestyle  |  |  | UK Style | UKTV Style | Home |  | BBC Home  | BBC Home & Garden
|  |  | UK Food | UKTV Food | Good Food |
|  |  | BBC Food |  |  | BBC Food
|  |  | UK BI | UKTV BI |  |  |
|  |  | UKTV SG | UKTV G |  |  |
|  |  | BBC Lifestyle
|  |  |  | BBC Liv |
Drama, comedy & factual  |  | BBC WSTV (Asia) | BBC Prime | BBC Entertainment |
|  | UK Gold | UKTV Gold |  |  |
|  | UK.TV | UKTV | BBC UKTV
|  | People+Arts |  |
|  | BBC America
|  | BBC Canada |
|  |  | BBC JP |  |  |
|  |  | Watch | W | U&W
|  |  |  |  | BBC Sci-Fi
Drama  |  |  | UK Arena | UK Drama | UKTV Drama |  |  | Drama | U&Drama
|  |  | Alibi
|  |  |  | BBC First |
|  |  |  | BBC Drama
|  |  |  | BBC Doctor Who
|  |  |  |  | BritBox Mysteries
|  |  |  |  | Silent Witness & New Tricks
Comedy, sport & music  |  |  | UKGC |  | Gold | U&Gold
|  | UK Play | Play UK | UK G2 | UKTV G2 | Dave | U&Dave
|  |  |  |  | BBC Comedy

## See also

[edit]

* BBC portal
* List of television programmes broadcast by the BBC
* History of BBC television idents
* BBC television drama
* BBC Local Radio
* BBC World Service
* British Broadcasting Company for a history of the BBC prior to 1927.
* Timeline of the BBC for a chronological overview of BBC history.
* Prewar television stations
* Freesat

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ They filmed the static-ridden output they saw on their screen, and this poor-quality mute film footage is the only surviving record of 1930s British television filmed directly from the screen. Some images of programmes do survive in newsreels, which also contain footage shot in studios while programmes were being made, giving a feel for what was being done, albeit without directly replicating what was being shown on screen.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Nick Higham, 60 years since 'bat's wings' became first BBC TV symbol, BBC News, December 2, 2013.
2. ^ Radio Times – The Journal of the BBC, issue dated 27 October 1957: The 21st Anniversary of BBC Television
3. ^ "Total viewing summary Oct 7 – Oct 13 2013". BARB. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013. "% viewer-ship of all TV viewing: BBC1 (20.2), BBC2 (5.8), BBC3 (1.4), BBC4 (1.0), CBBC (0.6), Cbeebies (1.2), BBC News (1.0) = 31.2% of total viewer minutes relative to all other channels"
4. ^ a b c "Who we are and how we commission". BBC. Archived from the original on 25 November 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
5. ^ "1932 Television Demonstrated in 1952". Bairdtelevision.com. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
6. ^ "BBC Television – 2 November 1936 – BBC Genome". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
7. ^ "History of the BBC". BBC. Retrieved 18 July 2019.
8. ^ Liverpool Daily Post, November 2, 1936, p.4
9. ^ Burns, R.W. (1998). Television: An International History of the Formative Years. London: The Institution of Electrical Engineers. p. ix. ISBN 978-0-85296-914-4.
10. ^ Radio Times for that date
11. ^ "Radio Times pre-war television supplements". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
12. ^ "TV comes to Moordown". Retrieved 10 February 2024.
13. ^ a b c "The edit that rewrote history – Baird". Transdiffusion Broadcasting System. 31 October 2005. Retrieved 28 May 2007.
14. ^ a b "First-Year Flashbacks". BBC iPlayer. BBC. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
15. ^ TV Technology 8. Britain In Colour – and UHF, Screenonline, Richard G. Elen. Retrieved: 26 November 2010.
16. ^ Welsh BBC adds to drama output, The Independent, 9 February 1993
17. ^ BBC WoCC review, BBC Trust, 2012
18. ^ The sad disappearance of foreign TV, The Guardian, 1 September 2010
19. ^ Return of the teatime terror, The Daily Telegraph, 30 March 2002
20. ^ "BBC satellite switch plan is 'bizarre'". New Scientist. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
21. ^ BBC Vision Press release, BBC Press Office
22. ^ "BBC – Press Office – BBC One and BBC Two to be simulcast from 27 November". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
23. ^ "Television". BBC. Archived from the original on 11 April 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
24. ^ "Mark Linsey is the new Director of BBC Studios". BBC Press Office. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
25. ^ Charlie Cooper, BBC to lose in-house programming guarantee under radical plan to open up public broadcaster to the private sector, The Independent 26 April 2016
26. ^ Programme Supply, BBC Trust, April 2016
27. ^ "BBC Empowers Genre Heads, Cuts Channel Controller Roles in Bid to Grow Digital". Variety. Archived from the original on 8 December 2020. Retrieved 2020-12-08.
28. ^ Kanter, Jake (8 December 2020). "BBC Scraps TV Channel Controller Roles In Major Streaming-Led Restructure". Deadline. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
29. ^ "BBC sets out plans for TV news channel merger in 2023". BBC. 15 July 2022. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
30. ^ "BBC Looking for Washington D.C. Based Talent as It Launches Fresh Global News Network". Variety. Archived from the original on 28 March 2023. Retrieved 2022-07-16.
31. ^ "BBC FAST channels launching on 9Now | TV Tonight". tvtonight.com.au. 25 November 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
32. ^ "BBC Three to return as TV channel in February". BBC News. 30 December 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2021.
33. ^ "BBC News Europe – Schedules".
34. ^ "BBC – BBC Earth to Launch in Asia – Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 July 2015.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to BBC Television.

* BBC TV at BBC Online
* History of the BBC at BBC Online

Links to related articles

* v
* t
* e

BBC

Services|

* Television
* stations
* programmes
* Radio
* stations
* local
* BBC Online
* BBC Red Button
* Ceefax
* iPlayer
* BBC Sounds

Management|

* Chair
* Samir Shah
* Director-General
* Tim Davie
* BBC Board
* BBC Charter
* BBC independence

Departments|

* BBC Academy
* Archives
* BBC Film
* BBC World Service (Timeline)
* Television
* Design & Engineering
* Monitoring
* News
* Pronunciation Unit
* Radio
* Sport
* Weather

Nations and
regions|

| England|

* Birmingham
* Bristol
* East
* East Midlands
* London
* Manchester
* North East & Cumbria
* North West
* South
* South East
* South West
* West
* West Midlands
* Yorkshire
* Yorkshire & Lincolnshire

|

Rest of UK|

* Northern Ireland
* Scotland
* Gàidhlig
* Wales

Commercial
subsidiaries|

* BBC Studios
* Productions
* Natural History Unit
* Home Entertainment
* Demon Music Group
* BBC Studioworks
* BBC Worldwide

History|

* Archives
* Sound Archive
* BBC Trust
* Board of Governors
* British Broadcasting Company
* Coat of arms
* Controversies
* Criticism
* First day of TV
* Logo
* Radio Times
* Genome
* Timeline

Key
properties
(full list)|

| London|

* Broadcasting House
* Lime Grove (former)
* Maida Vale Studios
* Television Centre (former)
* White City & Media Village

|

Birmingham|

* Drama Village
* Mailbox Birmingham
* Pebble Mill Studios (former)

Cardiff|

* New Broadcasting House, Cardiff
* Broadcasting House (former)
* Drama Village (Roath Lock)
* BBC Hoddinott Hall

Other locations|

* Broadcasting House, Belfast
* BBC Elstree Centre
* MediaCityUK, Salford
* Pacific Quay, Glasgow

Finance|

* Television licence
* history

Projects|

* Backstage
* BBC Micro
* BBC UK regional TV on satellite
* The Box
* Bitesize
* BritBox
* Dirac
* Domesday
* Freely
* Freesat
* h2g2
* Local Democracy Reporting Service
* Redux
* YouView

Technical|

* Programme Catalogue
* Programme Identifier

Other|

* List of songs banned by the BBC
* Live at the BBC

* Category
* Portal
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

BBC Television

BBC

UK channels|

* BBC One
* Northern Ireland
* Scotland
* Wales
* BBC Two
* Northern Ireland
* Wales
* BBC Three
* BBC Four
* BBC News
* BBC Parliament
* BBC Scotland
* CBBC
* CBeebies

UK nations
and regions|

* Scotland
* Wales
* Northern Ireland
* North East and Cumbria
* North West
* Yorkshire
* Yorkshire and Lincolnshire
* West
* West Midlands
* East Midlands
* East
* London
* South West
* South
* South East

Services and
programming
blocks|

* BBC iPlayer
* BBC Learning Zone
* BBC Music
* BBC News
* BBC Red Button
* BBC Schools
* BBC Sport
* BBC Switch
* BBC Weather
* CBBC
* CBeebies

UKTV
channels|

* U&Alibi
* U&Dave
* U&Drama
* U&Eden
* U&Gold
* U&W
* U&Yesterday

International
channels and
joint ventures|

* BritBox
* BBC Alba
* BBC America
* BBC News Arabic
* BBC Brit
* BBC Drama
* BBC Earth
* Canada
* India
* BBC First
* Canada
* Netherlands and Belgium
* BBC HD (international)
* BBC Kids (Australia)
* BBC Lifestyle
* BBC Maestro
* BBC Nordic
* BBC Persian Television
* BBC Player
* BBC Select
* BBC UKTV
* BBC News
* Together TV

Defunct
channels|

* BBC Canada
* BBC Choice
* Northern Ireland
* Scotland
* Wales
* BBC Entertainment
* BBC First (Australia)
* BBC Food
* BBC HD (UK)
* BBC Japan
* BBC Kids (Canada)
* BBC Knowledge
* UK
* international
* BBC Living
* BBC Prime
* BBC Select
* BBC TV Europe
* BBC World Service Television
* BBC 2W
* BBC Two Scotland
* UKTV (various channels)

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Media in the United Kingdom

UK national newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals

| Newspapers
(history, circulation)|

| Broadsheet|

* Financial Times
* The Daily Telegraph
* The Sunday Telegraph
* The Sunday Times

|

Compact|

* The i Paper
* The Times
* The Guardian
* The Observer

Middle-market|

* Daily Express
* Daily Mail
* The Mail on Sunday

Tabloid|

* Daily Mirror
* Sunday Mirror
* Morning Star
* The Sunday People
* Daily Star
* Daily Star Sunday
* The Sun
* Sunday Sport
* Weekend Sport
* Midweek Sport

Online|

* 5Pillars

Magazines and
other periodicals|

* List of magazines in the United Kingdom
* List of magazines by circulation

Radio in the UK

| National
stations|

| BBC|

BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1Xtra
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 Extra
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
BBC Radio 6 Music
BBC Asian Network
BBC World Service
BBC National DAB (multiplex)

|

Independent
/ commercial|

Absolute Radio Network
BFBS Radio
Capital
Capital Xtra
Classic FM
Digital One (multiplex)
Gold
Greatest Hits Radio
Heart
Hits Radio
Jazz FM
Kiss Network
LBC
LBC News
Magic
Magic Classical
Premier Christian Radio
RNIB Connect Radio
Sound Digital (multiplex)
Smooth Radio
talkSPORT
TalkRadio
Times Radio
UCB UK
Virgin Radio UK
Radio X

Regional
and local
stations|

| BBC|

List of BBC Local Radio stations
BBC Radio Scotland
BBC Radio nan Gàidheal
BBC Radio Ulster
BBC Radio Foyle
BBC Radio Wales
BBC Radio Cymru

Cymru 2

|

Independent
/ commercial|

* List of community radio stations
* List of local commercial radio stations
* List of semi-national / regional analogue and digital radio stations

Other
stations|

* List of hospital radio stations
* Pirate radio
* Restricted Service Licence (RSL)
* List of RSL stations
* List of student radio stations

Other|

* Broadcasting House
* FM broadcasting
* Radio Academy
* Radio Academy Awards
* Radio Independents Group
* RAJAR
* Most listened to programmes

Television in the UK

| Principal
channels
(list)|

| BBC/UKTV|

BBC One
BBC Two
BBC Three
BBC Four
BBC News
BBC Parliament
BBC Alba
BBC Scotland
CBBC
CBeebies
U&Alibi
U&Dave
U&Drama
U&Eden
U&Gold
U&W
U&Yesterday

|

ITV|

ITV1/STV/UTV
ITV2
ITV3
ITV4
ITVBe

Channel 4/S4C|

Channel 4
S4C

E4 Extra
Film4
More4
4seven

Paramount|

5Star
5USA
5Select
5Action
Comedy Central
Comedy Central Extra
MTV
MTV Music
MTV 80s
MTV 90s
Club MTV
Nickelodeon
Nicktoons
Nick Jr.

Sky UK|

Challenge
Sky Arts
Sky Atlantic
Sky Cinema
Sky Comedy
Sky Crime
Sky Documentaries
Sky History
Sky History 2
Sky Kids
Sky Max
Sky Mix
Sky Nature
Sky News
Sky Replay
Sky Sci-Fi
Sky Showcase
Sky Sports Box Office
Sky Sports F1
Sky Sports News
Sky Sports Racing
Sky Sports
Sky Witness

Warner Bros. Discovery|

Animal Planet
Boomerang
Cartoon Network
Cartoonito
CNN International
Discovery Channel
Discovery History
Discovery Science
Discovery Turbo
DMAX
Food Network
HGTV
Investigation Discovery
Quest
Quest Red
Really
TLC
TNT Sports

Narrative Entertainment UK Limited|

Great! Action
Great! Movies
Great! Romance
Great! Real
Great! TV
Pop
Tiny Pop

Services
and
platforms|

| Current|

* Amazon Prime Video
* BBC iPlayer
* cable
* Channel 4
* digital
* digital terrestrial
* List of channels
* Disney+
* EE TV
* 5
* Freely
* Freesat
* Freesat+
* Freeview
* high-definition
* List of channels
* ITV
* ITVX
* STV Player
* local television
* Now
* Netflix
* Paramount+
* Pop Player
* Restricted Service Licence
* satellite
* List of channels
* Sky Group
* Sky Q
* Sky Glass
* Sky Stream
* TalkTalk TV
* TVPlayer
* U
* Virgin Media
* FilmFlex
* TiVo
* YouView

|

Defunct|

* analogue
* analogue terrestrial
* BBC Store
* Film4oD
* Real Digital
* Sky Group
* Freesat from Sky
* On Demand
* Sky+
* Sky+ HD
* TalkTalk TV Store
* Top Up TV
* Virgin Media
* V+

Studios|

| Current|

* 3 Mills Studios
* BBC Cymru Wales New Broadcasting House
* BBC Elstree Centre
* BBC Pacific Quay
* The Bottle Yard Studios
* Broadcasting House
* Broadcasting House, Belfast
* Broadcasting House, Bristol
* Dock10
* Elstree Studios (Shenley Road)
* Gas Street Studios
* The Leeds Studios
* The Maidstone Studios
* Mailbox Birmingham
* MediaCityUK
* Old Granada Studios
* Riverside Studios
* Roath Lock
* The Sharp Project
* Sky Campus
* Space Studios Manchester
* Television Centre, London

|

Defunct|

* Broadcasting House, Cardiff
* Dickenson Road Studios
* Fountain Studios
* The Hospital Club
* Lime Grove Studios
* Limehouse Studios
* The London Studios
* MGM-British Studios
* New Broadcasting House, Manchester
* Pebble Mill Studios
* Teddington Studios
* Television Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne
* Television Centre, Southampton
* Upper Boat Studios

Other|

* Television in Northern Ireland
* in Scotland
* in Wales
* Defunct channels
* Edinburgh International Television Festival
* History
* List of years
* Viewing statistics
* Most-watched broadcasts

Companies and organisations

| Major
companies|

* Banijay UK Productions
* Bauer Media Audio UK
* BBC
* Bloomsbury Publishing
* BT Group
* Channel Four Television Corporation
* Daily Mail and General Trust
* Dentsu International
* Economist Group
* EMI Music Publishing
* Future plc
* Global Media & Entertainment
* Guardian Media Group
* Haymarket Media Group
* Informa
* ITN
* ITV plc
* National World
* News Broadcasting
* News UK
* Newsquest
* Pearson plc
* Press Holdings
* Reach plc
* RELX
* Reuters
* Sky
* STV Group
* Syco
* TalkTalk Group
* Paramount Networks UK & Australia
* Virgin Media O2
* The Walt Disney Company (UK) Ltd.
* Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA

|

Resources|

* Arqiva
* List of largest UK book publishers

Government and
regulatory bodies|

* Advertising Standards Authority
* BBC Board (formerly: BBC Trust
* Board of Governors of the BBC)
* British Board of Film Classification
* British Film Institute
* Culture, Media, and Sport Select Committee
* Department for Culture, Media and Sport
* Independent Press Standards Organisation
* Ofcom
* Press Recognition Panel
* S4C Authority

Industry and
trades bodies|

* British Academy of Film and Television Arts
* British Phonographic Industry
* Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union
* Clearcast
* Digital TV Group
* Equity
* Everyone TV
* Federation Against Copyright Theft
* Independent Publishers Guild
* National Union of Journalists
* The Publishers Association
* Royal Television Society
* United Kingdom Independent Broadcasting

Other|

* BBC Academy
* National Film and Television School
* National Science and Media Museum

Regional and student media

| Regional media|

* Media in England
* Birmingham
* London
* Manchester
* Media in Scotland
* Aberdeen
* Dundee
* Glasgow
* Media in Wales
* Cardiff

|

Student media|

* Student television
* Student press

* Category

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States
* Israel
* Catalonia

Artists|

* Museum of Modern Art

Other|

* IdRef
* MusicBrainz label

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