BBC Television Totally Explained

Everything about Bbc Television totally explained

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 (although there's generally very little distinction between the two in the UK) 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 programmes 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. The BBC Television Service (renamed BBC tv in 1960) showed popular programming, including drama, comedies, documentaries, game shows and soap operas, covering a wide range of genres and regularly competed with ITV to become the channel with the highest ratings for that week.

1964 to 1967

BBC tv 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's 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 other terrestrial channels, BBC Two doesn't 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's 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, The Blue Planet and Planet Earth.
   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 and Scotland, and the province of 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 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 .
   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 Broadcasting Act 1990. 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 hasn't 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.
The BBC Television department headed by Jana Bennett was absorbed into a new, much larger group; BBC Vision, in late 2006. The new group is part of larger restructuring within the BBC with the onset of new media outlets and technology.
In July 2007, the popular children's show Blue Peter faked the results of a contest, drawing a £50,000 fine, by the Office of Communications (OFCOM). Blue Peter broke the rules by using a studio guest to pose as the winner of a phone-in competition on the "Blue Peter" show on November 27, 2006.

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, sport, and children's programmes. BBC One is also the home of the BBC's main 30-minutes news bulletins, currently shown at 13.00, 18.00, and 22.00 on weekdays (shorter early- and late-evening bulletins are broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays).

� Most watched programme: EastEnders.

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. An important feature of the schedule is Newsnight, a 50-minute news analysis programme shown each weeknight at 22.30.

� Most watched programme: Top Gear

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 intellectual audience, including specialist documentaries, occasional 'serious' dramas, live theatre, foreign language films and television programmes and 'prestige' archive television repeats.

BBC HD � A part-time high definition service launched on 1 December 2007 after a trial period of 18 months.

BBC News � 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.

BBC 2W � BBC Two Wales digital-only channel

International news channel

BBC World News � An international, commercially-funded 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 � A US general entertainment channel, co-owned with Discovery Networks, showcasing British television programming.

BBC Canada � A Canadian general entertainment channel, co-owned with Alliance Atlantis.

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

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

BBC Prime/BBC Entertainment � Showcasing BBC programming via satellite television, available across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

BBC Lifestyle � Lifestyle programming, currently only available in Singapore and Hong Kong, but will expand into other markets in 2008.

BBC Knowledge � Documentaries and factual programming, currently only available in Singapore and Hong Kong, but will expand into other markets in 2008.

The BBC also co-owns the following channels in joint ventures with other broadcasters.

UK.TV � An entertainment channel in Australia and New Zealand, co-owned with Foxtel and RTL Group, carying drama and comedy programmes from the BBC, TalkbackTHAMES, ITV and Channel 4.

UKTV � Commercial television network in the United Kingdom, co-owned with Virgin Media Television). The channels broadcast mainly BBC archive and specially produced programming.

People+Arts � Broadcast in Latin America, Spain and Portugal 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.

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

Further Information

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