150-704: BBC South Today is the BBC 's regional television news service for the south of England, covering Hampshire , Isle of Wight , Berkshire , Oxfordshire , West Sussex , much of Dorset and parts of Surrey and Wiltshire . The service is produced and broadcast from the BBC South's Broadcasting House on Havelock Road in Southampton with district newsrooms based in Brighton , Dorchester , Guildford , Oxford , Reading , and Swindon . From 2000 to 2022, an opt-out of
300-722: A censorship apparatus for the inevitability of war. Due to the BBC's advancements in shortwave radio technology, the corporation could broadcast across the world during the Second World War. Within Europe, the BBC European Service would gather intelligence and information regarding the current events of the war in English. Regional BBC workers, based on their regional geo-political climate, would then further censor
450-459: A certain point between those dates. Digital Terrestrial Television is commonly received by means of a compatible set-top box or integrated digital television (IDTV), connected to an appropriate receiving antenna. In most cases, reception is possible using aerials originally used for analogue television. Transmissions may be recorded in many ways – such as via the connection of a set-top-box to an existing 'analogue' video or DVD recorder, or by
600-469: A dozen text/interactive services. These include all the television channels from the BBC, some from ITV and Channel 4, Channel 5 and S4C (in Wales only). The other three multiplexes (SDN, Arqiva A, Arqiva B) are broadcast from main transmitter sites only and are operated by their respective commercial licence-holders. To reflect the slightly changed roles, the multiplex names were also changed: The adoption of
750-438: A greater number of channels to be broadcast, but would require the purchase of new equipment for those who wished to receive the new service. On 6 October 2007 Ofcom said that the plans for a new subscription service raised competition concerns and may have to be scrapped. During 2008, a rolling programme of transmitter updates caused approximately 250,000 set-top boxes to stop working. Freeview had warned consumers in advance of
900-452: A halt to the venture. As ITV Digital had collapsed, the rights reverted to the regulator and the ITC invited bids for the space on Multiplexes B, C and D. The Freeview consortium was formed by the BBC, transmitter company National Grid Wireless (known at the time as Crown Castle UK) and BSkyB . This consortium (legal name DTV Services Ltd and trading under the "Freeview" brand) won and launched
1050-469: A larger brand: in 2003, BBC Choice was replaced by BBC Three , with programming for younger adults and shocking real-life documentaries, BBC News 24 became the BBC News Channel in 2008, and BBC Radio 7 became BBC Radio 4 Extra in 2011, with new programmes to supplement those broadcast on Radio 4. In 2008, another channel was launched, BBC Alba , a Scottish Gaelic service. During this decade,
1200-606: A late night bulletin on Sundays, following the BBC News at Ten . The times of these bulletins usually vary. Prior to September 2001, BBC South Today's region included areas served by the Heathfield transmitter and its relays which covered eastern Sussex and southern Kent . These areas are now covered by the BBC's South East Today from studios in Tunbridge Wells . Following digital switchover on 7 March 2012,
1350-409: A new aerial or a signal amplifier to receive digital transmissions. Next, detailed information booklets were delivered to all households in the area (including many on the fringe who may have been receiving their TV from other transmitters- hence the importance of the on-screen warning captions). Two or three months later, the first stage of the switchover began with the analogue BBC Two replaced with
1500-673: A new purpose-built broadcasting centre in Havelock Road. South at Six' s presenter was Martin Muncaster. Bruce Parker joined South Today in 1967 and remained as the main anchor until 1992, continuing to present and contribute as Political Editor until 2003. The current main presenter, Sally Taylor, started co-presenting the programme in 1987 (replacing Debbie Thrower ), initially alongside Parker and then successively with Paddy Haycocks , Mark Longhurst , Harry Gration , Andrew Harvey and Roger Finn, but in recent years she has been
1650-978: A new service. Dropping the failed ITV Digital business model, Freeview launched on 30 October 2002 with free television channels only, and made digital radio stations available on television receivers for the first time. The BBC controlled one Multiplex (B) for its own services, and Crown Castle/National Grid the other two (C & D) for commercial services, though the Community Channel also operated on Multiplex B. The BBC's second multiplex has allowed it to televise BBC Parliament where it had previously only been available in sound, allowed BBC Knowledge and its successor, BBC4, to stop renting space from SDN for coverage, and allowed for special video screens in its interactive service BBCi, for use during sporting events such as Wimbledon and carrying loops of news headlines and weather, (services already provided on digital satellite) On 11 October 2005, ITV plc and Channel 4 joined
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#17327723958901800-607: A news and information service. In 1978, BBC staff went on strike just before the Christmas, thus blocking out the transmission of both channels and amalgamating all four radio stations into one. Since the deregulation of the UK television and radio market in the 1980s, the BBC has faced increased competition from the commercial sector (and from the advertiser-funded public service broadcaster Channel 4 ), especially on satellite television, cable television, and digital television services. In
1950-493: A number of additional channels and radio stations have been launched: Radio 5 was launched in 1990, as a sports and educational station, but was replaced in 1994, with BBC Radio 5 Live to become a live radio station, following the success of the Radio 4 service to cover the 1991 Gulf War . The new station would be a news and sport station. In 1997, BBC News 24 , a rolling news channel, launched on digital television services, and
2100-744: A proposal to cut 4,000 jobs, and to privatise parts of the BBC, disrupted much of the BBC's regular programming. In 2006, BBC HD launched as an experimental service and became official in December 2007. The channel broadcast HD simulcasts of programmes on BBC One , BBC Two , BBC Three and BBC Four as well as repeats of some older programmes in HD. In 2010, an HD simulcast of BBC One launched: BBC One HD . The channel uses HD versions of BBC One's schedule and uses upscaled versions of programmes not currently produced in HD. The BBC HD channel closed in March 2013 and
2250-452: A recording facility. Non-subscription DTT PVRs are also available and are often sold under the 'Freeview+' banner (formerly Freeview Playback.) There also exist a variety of solutions to enable the viewing and recording of DTT programmes on personal computers, with various TV cards or USB tuners available for use with a variety of software packages, including MythTV and Windows Media Center . Most cards or tuners include their own software in
2400-433: A reduced number of video streams. In November 2006, the company launched Top Up TV Anytime , a service which broadcasts overnight "downloads" which are recorded by a proprietary Top Up TV Anytime personal video recorder (PVR). At the same time, they started reducing the linear service. On 19 April 2006, Ofcom ruled that, on request of each multiplex operator, the ' free-to-air channels only' requirement put in place at
2550-555: A series of strikes; however, the BBC stated that the cuts were essential to move the organisation forward and concentrate on increasing the quality of programming. On 20 October 2010, the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced that the television licence fee would be frozen at its current level until the end of the current charter in 2016. The same announcement revealed that the BBC would take on
2700-559: A variety of roles, predominantly the producer of the breakfast show. In 2013, he started as a presenter on South Today, specialising in sport. He has covered Wimbledon, the Olympics, Wembley cup finals and the Women's Euros. He has previously been named RTC Regional Journalist of the Year and Sports Presenter of the Year. Taylor has presented South Today, since 1987. In 2005, Taylor was awarded
2850-557: Is broadcast using the DVB-T international standard for standard-definition content and DVB-T2 for high definition content. The digital switchover process involved discontinuing analogue terrestrial TV broadcasts, which in some areas allowed for greater signal strength and/or better coverage of digital multiplexes. The process concluded on 24 October 2012, when digital switchover completed in Northern Ireland (the same day as
3000-500: Is obviously of paramount importance." Reith succeeded in building a high wall against an American-style free-for-all in radio in which the goal was to attract the largest audiences and thereby secure the greatest advertising revenue. There was no paid advertising on the BBC; all the revenue came from a tax on receiving sets. Highbrow audiences, however, greatly enjoyed it. At a time when American, Australian and Canadian stations were drawing huge audiences cheering for their local teams with
3150-517: Is responsible for operational management and delivery of services within a framework set by the board, and is chaired by the director-general , currently Tim Davie , who is chief executive and (from 1994) editor-in-chief. The corporation has the following in-house divisions covering the BBC's output and operations: Digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom#Digital switchover Digital terrestrial television in
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#17327723958903300-419: Is the only DTT service since Top Up TV closed in 2013. The digital broadcasting technology adopted in the UK is the DVB-T system (Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial) carrying compressed digital audio, video and other data in a combined transport stream, using COFDM Tooltip Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing modulation. A total of eight national and one local 'multiplexes' are broadcast in
3450-642: The Archbishops of Canterbury and York came to St Paul's to broadcast to the UK and the world on the National Day of Prayer. BBC employees during the war included George Orwell who spent two years with the broadcaster. During his role as prime minister during the war, Winston Churchill delivered 33 major wartime speeches by radio, all of which were carried by the BBC within the UK. On 18 June 1940, French general Charles de Gaulle , in exile in London as
3600-538: The BBC South Today Oxford opt-out service was renamed as BBC Oxford News (referred to on-screen as BBC Oxford ). New titles and graphics were introduced as part of an on-screen overhaul across the BBC's national, international and regional news services. From 29 October 2012, this was re-branded back to BBC South Today . The Oxford sub-opt covered the first 10–15 minutes of the main evening BBC South Today at 18:30, before joining Sally Taylor for
3750-598: The BBC Television Service ) started from Alexandra Palace in November 1936, alternating between an improved Baird mechanical 240-line system and the all-electronic 405-line Marconi-EMI system which had been developed by an EMI research team led by Sir Isaac Shoenberg . The superiority of the electronic system saw the mechanical system dropped early the following year, with the Marconi-EMI system
3900-521: The BBC West and BBC South West regions. For geographical reasons, the timeslot for regional news initially had to be shared with a bulletin for Wales, before being replaced by a separate bulletin devoted to news from the South of England at the start of 1958. On 30 July 1958, the BBC's director general Ian Jacob officially opened the corporation's new Southampton television studio, initially based at
4050-490: The British Broadcasting Company , it evolved into its current state with its current name on New Year's Day 1927. The oldest and largest local and global broadcaster by stature and by number of employees, the BBC employs over 21,000 staff in total, of whom approximately 17,200 are in public-sector broadcasting. The BBC was established under a royal charter , and operates under an agreement with
4200-642: The Crystal Palace transmitter which broadcast London News and viewers in parts of Dorset including Weymouth and Isle of Portland receive Spotlight from the Stockland Hill transmitter. Most of Worthing receive its television signals from the Whitehawk Hill transmitter that broadcast South East Today . However, those areas are given South Today on Channel 101 through satellite television such as Freesat as default via
4350-627: The MBE for services to regional broadcasting. Husband is the sports editor for South Today and has worked for the BBC since 1998, covering some of the south's biggest sporting events. Between 2000 and 2007, he was the Southampton commentator for BBC Radio Solent. BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC ) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London , England. Originally established in 1922 as
4500-958: The MediaCityUK development in Salford , with BBC Three moving online only in 2016, the sharing of more programmes between stations and channels, sharing of radio news bulletins, more repeats in schedules, including the whole of BBC Two daytime and for some original programming to be reduced. BBC HD was closed on 26 March 2013, and replaced with an HD simulcast of BBC Two; however, flagship programmes, other channels and full funding for CBBC and CBeebies would be retained. Numerous BBC facilities have been sold off, including New Broadcasting House on Wilmslow Road in Manchester. Many major departments have been relocated to Broadcasting House in central London and MediaCityUK in Salford, particularly since
4650-615: The Olympic Games . The British Government gave Ofcom and Digital UK jointly the task of discontinuing analogue television broadcasting. The switch-off occurred on an ITV sub-region basis. In March 2005, a technical trial in Ferryside , Wales, resulted in viewers losing three out of the four available analogue channels in favour of going digital, leaving only analogue BBC Two Wales until switchover at Preseli in August 2009 (at
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4800-688: The Republic of Ireland also completed its digital switchover ). In areas where analogue signals had terminated, older receiving equipment was likely to require replacement or upgrade. This process was subsidised by the UK Government for those on low incomes. Contracts for this operation were awarded to BSkyB in the Border Television region. Upgrading of analogue receiving equipment required a Freeview set-top box (or other DVB-T capable digital receiver). Where an analogue TV recording device
4950-538: The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport . Its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee which is charged to all British households, companies, and organisations using any type of equipment to receive or record live television broadcasts or to use the BBC's streaming service, iPlayer . The fee is set by the British Government , agreed by Parliament , and is used to fund
5100-471: The Whitehawk Hill transmitter which primarily serves Brighton and Hove switched from broadcasting BBC South Today to broadcasting the neighbouring South East Today . However the transmitter still continues to provide the ITV1 Meridian news service for the western part of the region, based in Southampton. Between 16 October 2000 and 16 December 2022, BBC South produced a distinct news service for
5250-523: The 2025–26 season of the Women's Super League campaign. The BBC is a statutory corporation , independent from direct government intervention, with its activities being overseen from April 2017 by the BBC Board and regulated by Ofcom . The chairman is Samir Shah. The BBC is a state owned public broadcasting company and operates under a royal charter . The charter is the constitutional basis for
5400-568: The BBC Two analogue service was switched off ). At about the same time, details of the Switchover Help Scheme were distributed. Although viewers who lived outside existing Freeview reception areas were unable to test any digital receiving equipment they had bought at this early stage, test-screens on Ceefax (BBC One & Two) and Teletext (ITV & C4/S4C) page 284 made it possible to determine whether they were likely to need
5550-467: The BBC announced a BBC News savings target of £80 million per year by 2022, involving about 520 staff reductions. The BBC's director of news and current affairs Fran Unsworth said there would be further moves toward digital broadcasting, in part to attract back a youth audience, and more pooling of reporters to stop separate teams covering the same news. In 2020, the BBC reported a £119 million deficit because of delays to cost reduction plans, and
5700-585: The BBC is subject to an additional 'Agreement' between it and the Culture Secretary , and that its operating licence is to be set by Ofcom, an external regulatory body . It used to be that the Home Secretary be departmental to both Agreement as well as Licence, and regulatory duties fall to the BBC Trust , but the 2017 charter changed those 2007 arrangements. The charter, too, outlines
5850-826: The BBC released minutes of the board meeting which led to Greg Dyke's resignation. Unlike the other departments of the BBC, the BBC World Service was funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office . The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, more commonly known as the Foreign Office or the FCO, is the British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom abroad. A strike in 2005 by more than 11,000 BBC workers, over
6000-457: The BBC studios at South Western House, the former Cunard shipping line headquarters near the city's docks. On 17 September 1962, an extended 20-minute timeslot for regional news saw the launch of South at Six , before it was renamed during the 1960s as South Today . The programme went onto form part of Nationwide in 1969 and its short-lived successor Sixty Minutes in 1983. In September 1991, BBC South moved its Southampton headquarters to
6150-440: The BBC suddenly became the primary source of news for the duration of the crisis. The crisis placed the BBC in a delicate position. On the one hand Reith was acutely aware that the government might exercise its right to commandeer the BBC at any time as a mouthpiece of the government if the BBC were to step out of line, but on the other he was anxious to maintain public trust by appearing to be acting independently. The government
BBC South Today - Misplaced Pages Continue
6300-558: The BBC switchover contractor Arqiva, but changing the designations of the multiplexes requires changes to legislation and to the multiplex licences issued by Ofcom and is not in the current draft. When digital switchover was complete, two new sub-bands of the UHF spectrum were clear (frequencies corresponding to channel ranges 31–40 and 63–69), leaving only channels 21–30 and 41–62 for digital television multiplexes. This " digital dividend " required millions of homes to upgrade their aerials to
6450-480: The BBC was granted sufficient leeway to pursue the government's objectives largely in a manner of its own choosing. Supporters of the strike nicknamed the BBC the BFC for British Falsehood Company. Reith personally announced the end of the strike which he marked by reciting from Blake's " Jerusalem " signifying that England had been saved. While the BBC tends to characterise its coverage of the general strike by emphasising
6600-536: The BBC", was priced at tuppence (two pence ) on newsstands, and quickly sold out its run of a quarter of a million copies. Mid-1925 found the future of broadcasting under further consideration, this time by the Crawford committee. By now, the BBC, under Reith's leadership, had forged a consensus favouring a continuation of the unified (monopoly) broadcasting service, but more money was still required to finance rapid expansion. Wireless manufacturers were anxious to exit
6750-464: The BBC's airwaves. In 1937, a MI5 security officer was given a permanent office within the organisation. This officer would examine the files of potential political subversives and mark the files of those deemed a security risk to the organisation, blacklisting them. This was often done on spurious grounds; even so, the practice would continue and expand during the years of the Cold War. There
6900-540: The BBC's censorship office, which surveilled and edited American coverage of British affairs. By 1940, across all BBC broadcasts, music by composers from enemy nations was censored. In total, 99 German, 38 Austrian and 38 Italian composers were censored. The BBC argued that like the Italian or German languages, listeners would be irritated by the inclusion of enemy composers. Any potential broadcasters said to have pacifist, communist or fascist ideologies were not allowed on
7050-450: The BBC's international 24-hour English-language news services BBC News , and from BBC.com, provided by BBC Global News Ltd. In 2009, the company was awarded the Queen's Award for Enterprise in recognition of its international achievements in business. Since its formation in 1922, the BBC has played a prominent role in British life and culture. It is sometimes informally referred to as
7200-683: The BBC's radio, TV, and online services covering the nations and regions of the UK. Since 1 April 2014, it has also funded the BBC World Service (launched in 1932 as the BBC Empire Service), which broadcasts in 28 languages and provides comprehensive TV, radio, and online services in Arabic and Persian . Some of the BBC's revenue comes from its commercial subsidiary BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide ), which sells BBC programmes and services internationally and also distributes
7350-522: The BBC, and sets out the BBC's Object, Mission and Public Purposes. It emphasises public service , (limited) editorial independence , prohibits advertising on domestic services and proclaims the BBC is to "seek to avoid adverse impacts on competition which are not necessary for the effective fulfilment of the Mission and the promotion of the Public Purposes". The charter also sets out that
7500-700: The Beeb or Auntie . In 1923 it launched Radio Times (subtitled "The official organ of the BBC"), the first broadcast listings magazine; the 1988 Christmas edition sold 11 million copies, the biggest-selling edition of any British magazine in history. Britain's first live public broadcast was made from the factory of Marconi Company in Chelmsford in June 1920. It was sponsored by the Daily Mail ' s Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe and featured
7650-586: The British government's asylum policy on social media. Lineker was suspended from his position on Match of the Day before being re-instated after receiving overwhelming support from his colleagues. The scandal was made worse due to the connections between BBC's chairman, Richard Sharp, and the Conservative Party. In April 2023, Richard Sharp resigned as chairman after a report found he did not disclose potential perceived conflicts of interest in his role in
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#17327723958907800-506: The CBBC Channel and CBeebies Channel. In addition to the television channels, new digital radio stations were created: 1Xtra , 6 Music and Radio 4 Extra . BBC 1Xtra was a sister station to Radio 1 and specialised in modern black music, BBC 6 Music specialised in alternative music genres and BBC7 specialised in archive, speech and children's programming. The following few years resulted in repositioning of some channels to conform to
7950-701: The Corporation's governance and regulatory arrangements as a statutory corporation, including the role and composition of the BBC Board. The current Charter began on 1 January 2017 and ends on 31 December 2027; the Agreement being coterminous. The BBC Board was formed in April 2017. It replaced the previous governing body, the BBC Trust, which itself had replaced the board of governors in 2007. The board sets
8100-626: The Freeview consortium and in the same year ITV plc also bought SDN and as such they gained control of Multiplex A. The space ITV Digital had rented on other multiplexes initially became empty again, but some were rented out to allow new channels to launch. In May 2004 Top Up TV was launched to provide subscription content in hitherto unused space on multiplex A, rented from Channel 5 and additional services transmitted by Channel 4 on their own capacity on Multiplex 2. TCM purchased its own slot throughout England, Scotland and Northern Ireland from
8250-660: The GPO and the BBC had become deadlocked and the Postmaster General commissioned a review of broadcasting by the Sykes Committee. The committee recommended a short-term reorganisation of licence fees with improved enforcement in order to address the BBC's immediate financial distress, and an increased share of the licence revenue split between it and the GPO. This was to be followed by a simple 10 shillings licence fee to fund broadcasts. The BBC's broadcasting monopoly
8400-424: The GPO proposed that it would issue a single broadcasting licence to a company jointly owned by a consortium of leading wireless receiver manufacturers, to be known as the British Broadcasting Company Ltd , which was formed on 18 October 1922. John Reith , a Scottish Calvinist , was appointed its general manager in December 1922 a few weeks after the company made its first official broadcast. L. Stanton Jefferies
8550-401: The Mendip transmitter but can receive the Oxford transmitter which broadcast South Today . There are a range of returning reporters to the show, however, the following are the most reoccurring presenters: Green first joined CBBC as a runner in 2004, before then going to work as a floor manager at Channel 4 News and a camera operator at Channel 5 News . Green then moved to presenting on
8700-441: The Prime Minister, maintained the censorship of editorial opinions on public policy, but allowed the BBC to address matters of religious, political or industrial controversy. The resulting political "talk series", designed to inform England on political issues, were criticised by members of parliament, including Winston Churchill, David Lloyd George and Sir Austen Chamberlain . Those who opposed these chats claimed that they silence
8850-407: The UK government license the broadcast of channels in six groups, or multiplexes (abbreviated to 'mux') labelled 1, 2, A, B, C, and D. The Independent Television Commission (ITC) allocated each existing analogue terrestrial channel half the capacity of a multiplex each. This meant the BBC got a multiplex to themselves (Multiplex 1), ITV and Channel 4 shared Multiplex 2 (though 3% of the capacity
9000-430: The UK's first Independent local radio station, LBC came on-air in the London area. As a result of the Pilkington Committee report of 1962, in which the BBC was praised for the quality and range of its output, and ITV was very heavily criticised for not providing enough quality programming, the decision was taken to award the BBC a second television channel, BBC2 , in 1964, renaming the existing service BBC1 . BBC2 used
9150-510: The UK, guaranteed to reach over 90% of the country. Three of the multiplexes, carrying the free public service channels operated by the BBC , ITV , Channel 4 , S4C and Channel 5 , are guaranteed wider coverage still, reaching 98.5% of the country including areas dependent on low-power local relays. In the UK, the switchover from analogue to digital TV started on 17 October 2007 and was completed on 24 October 2012. Each group of regional transmitters had its analogue broadcasts switched off at
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#17327723958909300-541: The UK. Channel 5 sold its half of Multiplex A to the owners of the other half of the multiplex, S4C, who set up a subsidiary called S4C Digital Networks (SDN) to manage the multiplex and rented most of it out to ONdigital as well as some space to the BBC who launched BBC Knowledge on 1 June 1999, at a time when technical capabilities limited the number of stations it could carry on its own multiplex. S4C chose not to carry S4C Digidol and its newly launched digital Welsh Assembly station, S4C2 outside Wales, preferring to sell
9450-446: The United Kingdom encompasses over 100 television, radio and interactive services broadcast via the United Kingdom 's terrestrial television network and receivable with a standard television set. The majority of digital terrestrial television (DTT) services, including the five former analogue channels, are broadcast free-to-air , and a further selection of encrypted pay TV services (such as Racing TV ) are also available. Freeview
9600-564: The air and forced the British government finally to regulate radio services to permit nationally based advertising-financed services. In response, the BBC reorganised and renamed their radio channels. On 30 September 1967, the Light Programme was split into Radio 1 offering continuous "Popular" music and Radio 2 more "Easy Listening". The "Third" programme became Radio 3 offering classical music and cultural programming. The Home Service became Radio 4 offering news, and non-musical content such as quiz shows, readings, dramas and plays. As well as
9750-497: The area served by the Oxford transmitter . Previously, the area was covered by Newsroom South East , which also served Greater London and the south east. As part of a three-tier restructure of regional coverage, the Oxford transmitter area was transferred to the BBC South region and began dedicated opt-out bulletins within BBC South Today . A year later, London and the south east split into two distinct regions: BBC London and BBC South East . Originally, BBC South Today Oxford
9900-518: The border; the nearby Sandale transmitter ceased to broadcast TV). The programme continued across the rest of the country, with the Westcountry region, Wales and the Granada region switching over in 2009. The West , STV North , STV Central regions and the Channel Islands followed in 2010; the Central , Yorkshire and Anglia regions in 2011; and finally the Meridian , London , Tyne Tees & UTV regions in 2012. Many decisions had to be made, including what to do about people who may find
10050-410: The broadcast of baseball, rugby and hockey, the BBC emphasised service for a national rather than a regional audience. Boat races were well covered along with tennis and horse racing, but the BBC was reluctant to spend its severely limited air time on long football or cricket games, regardless of their popularity. John Reith and the BBC, with support from the Crown , determined the universal needs of
10200-458: The challenge of better reflecting and representing a changing UK". Since 2017, the BBC has also funded the Local Democracy Reporting Service , with up to 165 journalists employed by independent news organisations to report on local democracy issues on a pooled basis. In 2016, the BBC Director General Tony Hall announced a savings target of £800 million per year by 2021, which is about 23% of annual licence fee revenue. Having to take on
10350-403: The change. The channels on Multiplexes B, C and D are those owned by the Freeview consortium and include the three Sky channels on the platform and the UKTV channels. However, Ofcom believes that in the short to medium term, it is unlikely existing free-to-air channels will convert to pay TV. This is because, firstly, Multiplex B is run by the BBC, which is not expected to request the removal of
10500-453: The city's Guildhall – the first regional studio to be based outside the main centres. The opening occurred a month before the launch of the rival ITV service provided by Southern Television . By January 1961, BBC South had been split off from the West Region and began to provide longer regional bulletins of its own – four months before the launch of Southern's rival news magazine Day by Day . Television operations in Southampton soon moved to
10650-412: The closure of BBC Television Centre in March 2013. On 16 February 2016, the BBC Three television service was discontinued and replaced by a digital outlet under the same name, targeting its young adult audience with web series and other content. Under the new royal charter instituted in 2017, the corporation must publish an annual report to Ofcom, outlining its plans and public service obligations for
10800-667: The conference's second session, due to be held in May and June 2006. On 15 September 2005, addressing the Royal Television Society in Cambridge , Smith's successor at the DCMS , Tessa Jowell , announced the go-ahead for switchover in the UK, coupled with support measures to ensure the disadvantaged are not left behind. On the day after Jowell's speech, an independent not-for-profit company, Digital UK (now Everyone TV) ,
10950-408: The corporation began to sell off a number of its operational divisions to private owners; BBC Broadcast was spun off as a separate company in 2002, and in 2005, it was sold off to Australian -based Macquarie Capital Alliance Group and Macquarie Group Limited and rebranded Red Bee Media . The BBC's IT , telephony and broadcast technology were brought together as BBC Technology Ltd in 2001, and
11100-404: The digital terrestrial platform. However, Ofcom rejected these suggestions, saying they were outside the scope of the consultation. Out of the three that opposed, one was Channel 4, which has been putting in place a portfolio of free-to-air channels, among them Film4 which was made free-to-air across all platforms on 23 July 2006. Channel 4 argued that the number of free channels available has been
11250-561: The division was later sold to the German company Siemens IT Solutions and Services (SIS). SIS was subsequently acquired from Siemens by the French company Atos . Further divestments included BBC Books (sold to Random House in 2006); BBC Outside Broadcasts Ltd (sold in 2008 to Satellite Information Services ); Costumes and Wigs (stock sold in 2008 to Angels Costumes ); and BBC Magazines (sold to Immediate Media Company in 2011). After
11400-624: The early mornings. Channel 4 used their space for subscription channels FilmFour and E4 which, although not part of ONdigital, would be paid for and were only available through an ONdigital subscription. Channel 4's nationwide coverage on 'mux' 2 enabled it to be received terrestrially throughout much of Wales for the first time in its history, where previously only S4C had been available. Consequently, S4C's digital service, 'S4C Digidol' carries only Welsh-language programming, in contrast to S4C analogue which also carries English-language programmes commissioned and transmitted by Channel 4 in other parts of
11550-407: The facilitation of a loan to Prime Minister Boris Johnson . Dame Elan Closs Stephens was appointed as acting chairwoman on 27 June 2023, and she would lead the BBC board for a year or until a new permanent chair has been appointed. Samir Shah was subsequently appointed with effect from 4 March 2024. In October 2024 it was announced that the BBC along with Sky Sports signed a deal to broadcast
11700-404: The famous Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba . The Melba broadcast caught the people's imagination and marked a turning point in the British public's attitude to radio. However, this public enthusiasm was not shared in official circles where such broadcasts were held to interfere with important military and civil communications. By late 1920, the pressure from these quarters and uneasiness among
11850-447: The first fully electronic television system in the world to be used in regular broadcasting. The success of broadcasting provoked animosities between the BBC and well-established media such as theatres, concert halls and the recording industry. By 1929, the BBC complained that the agents of many comedians refused to sign contracts for broadcasting, because they feared it harmed the artist "by making his material stale" and that it "reduces
12000-429: The following year, BBC Choice was launched as the third general entertainment channel from the BBC. The BBC also purchased The Parliamentary Channel, which was renamed BBC Parliament . In 1999, BBC Knowledge launched as a multimedia channel, with services available on the newly launched BBC Text digital teletext service (later rebranded as BBC Red Button), and on BBC Online . The channel had an educational aim, which
12150-458: The forthcoming ending of the remaining £253 million funding towards pensioner licence fees would increase financial pressures. In January 2021, it was reported that former banker Richard Sharp would succeed David Clementi , as chairman, when he stepped down in February. In March 2023, the BBC was at the centre of a political row with football pundit Gary Lineker , after he criticised
12300-506: The four national channels, a series of local BBC radio stations were established in 1967, including Radio London . In 1969, the BBC Enterprises department was formed to exploit BBC brands and programmes for commercial spin-off products. In 1979, it became a wholly owned limited company, BBC Enterprises Ltd. In 1974, the BBC's teletext service, Ceefax , was introduced, created initially to provide subtitling, but developed into
12450-528: The free-to-air requirement. Secondly, due to the nature of the contracts the channel broadcasters hold with multiplex operators and content providers, it is unlikely a channel will be able to change to pay TV. It was announced on 8 February 2007 that BSkyB intended to withdraw Sky Three, Sky News and Sky Sports News from the platform in the summer of 2007. BSkyB had said that it intended to replace them with 4 of its subscription channels. It also said that it would use an alternative ( MPEG4 ) codec, which would enable
12600-633: The full cost of running the BBC World Service and the BBC Monitoring service from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and partially finance the Welsh broadcaster S4C . Further cuts were announced on 6 October 2011, so the BBC could reach a total reduction in their budget of 20%, following the licence fee freeze in October 2010, which included cutting staff by 2,000 and sending a further 1,000 to
12750-647: The government. Throughout the 1930s, political broadcasts had been closely monitored by the BBC. In 1935, the BBC censored the broadcasts of Oswald Mosley and Harry Pollitt . Mosley was a leader of the British Union of Fascists , and Pollitt a leader of the Communist Party of Great Britain . They had been contracted to provide a series of five broadcasts on their parties' politics. The BBC, in conjunction with The Foreign Office of Britain, first suspended this series and ultimately cancelled it without
12900-405: The higher resolution 625-line standard which had been standardised across Europe. BBC2 was broadcast in colour from 1 July 1967 and was joined by BBC1 and ITV on 15 November 1969. The 405-line VHF transmissions of BBC1 (and ITV) were continued for compatibility with older television receivers until 1985. Starting in 1964, a series of pirate radio stations (starting with Radio Caroline ) came on
13050-549: The late 1980s, the BBC began a process of divestment by spinning off and selling parts of its organisation. In 1988, it sold off the Hulton Press Library, a photographic archive which had been acquired from the Picture Post magazine by the BBC in 1957. The archive was sold to Brian Deutsch and is now owned by Getty Images . In 1987, the BBC decided to centralize its operations by the management team with
13200-572: The latter part of the Southampton edition of the programme. Until April 2013, a full 30-minute Oxford edition was produced every Friday evening, but this was scaled back to 10–15 minutes. Special half-hour Oxford editions were still occasionally broadcast if there was a major news story in the sub-region. Viewers in these areas also received dedicated bulletins after the BBC News at Ten , but saw pan-regional bulletins from Southampton at breakfast and lunchtime and on weekends. The 30 second update at 8pm
13350-452: The launch of Freeview in 2002 may be lifted on Multiplex B, C and D. The effect of this ruling is that if a Mux operator requests the restriction to be lifted, their multiplex may carry pay TV services. Ofcom says that the digital television market has changed significantly since 2002. Consequently, it believes that this restriction is no longer required. During the consultation, 9 of the 12 responses from broadcasters were in favour of removing
13500-686: The leader of the Free French, made a speech, broadcast by the BBC, urging the French people not to capitulate to the Nazis. In October 1940, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret made their first radio broadcast for the BBC's Children's Hour , addressing other children who had been evacuated from cities. In 1938, John Reith and the Government of the United Kingdom , specifically the Ministry of Information which had been set up for WWII, designed
13650-497: The loss-making consortium, and Reith was keen that the BBC be seen as a public service rather than a commercial enterprise. The recommendations of the Crawford Committee were published in March the following year and were still under consideration by the GPO when the 1926 United Kingdom general strike broke out in May. The strike temporarily interrupted newspaper production, and with restrictions on news bulletins waived,
13800-513: The main programme also covered Oxfordshire , parts of Wiltshire , small parts of eastern Gloucestershire , western Buckinghamshire and southern Northamptonshire . The same geographical area continues to be served by ITV Meridian News for the Thames Valley. When the BBC introduced regional television news on 30 September 1957, viewers in the South were initially served by a five-minute bulletin from Bristol shared with what would become
13950-413: The major driving force behind the massive success of the platform – there are now more than 10 million Freeview boxes in use. A number of broadcasters requested that their replies were kept confidential. These include ITV and BSkyB. However, it is believed that ITV opposed the plan and BSkyB supported it. In addition to replies from broadcasters, there were 21 replies from individuals. Of these, 20 opposed
14100-776: The material their broadcasts would cover. Nothing was to be added outside the preordained news items. For example, the BBC Polish Service was heavily censored due to fears of jeopardising relations with the Soviet Union . Controversial topics, i.e. the contested Polish and Soviet border, the deportation of Polish citizens, the arrests of Polish Home Army members and the Katyn massacre , were not included in Polish broadcasts. American radio broadcasts were broadcast across Europe on BBC channels. This material also passed through
14250-583: The matter. All subscription services except E4 and FilmFour went off-air on 1 May 2002 after the consortium collapsed, explained as being due to paying too much for the television rights for The Football League . However, the choice of 64QAM broadcast mode, the fact that at least 40% of homes would need new aerials to receive it, a high churn rate , an insecure hackable encryption system, the cost of having to provide free set-top boxes, and aggressive competition from BSkyB all contributed to ITV Digital's spiraling costs, before shareholders Granada and Carlton called
14400-597: The modest, church-going elderly or a member of the Clergy . Until 1928, entertainers broadcasting on the BBC, both singers and "talkers" were expected to avoid biblical quotations, Clerical impersonations and references, references to drink or Prohibition in the United States , vulgar and doubtful matter and political allusions. The BBC excluded popular foreign music and musicians from its broadcasts, while promoting British alternatives. On 5 March 1928, Stanley Baldwin,
14550-414: The most cost-effective solution. After several months of press publicity, leaflet drops, public meetings etc., captions started appearing on analogue broadcasts from the affected transmitters, warning viewers that the analogue service would shortly be switched off and that they would need to take action (for Whitehaven, the first large area to switch over, the captions started appearing some 5 months before
14700-601: The multiplex owner, SDN, but rents from Sit-up Ltd in Wales, timesharing with bid tv . Multiplex A is ultimately owned by ITV Plc via its SDN acquisition, but ITV only has involvement with Top Up TV channels via Channel 5. In September of the same year, Top Up TV began operating solely on Multiplex A, as Channel 4 reclaimed the bandwidth on Multiplex 2 for its own services More 4 , E4, and most recently Film4 . In October 2006, Channel 5 launched two new free-to-air digital channels, Five Life and Five US , using capacity formerly leased out to Top Up TV. This left Top Up TV with
14850-674: The nearest main transmitter, instead of the strongest digital signals; this could be overcome by using the "add channel" option to select channels one-by-one, and in the long term by corrections to the boxes' software. In November 2008, the full rolling programme started in the ITV Border region at the Selkirk transmitter, with the Caldbeck transmitter switching a year later (Caldbeck was rebuilt, and broadcasts Scottish multiplexes as well as English ones to improve service to viewers north of
15000-452: The new BBC A multiplex. At some locations, during the period between stage one and stage two, BBC One, ITV or Channel 4 moved to the analogue BBC Two frequency where that channel's frequency was required for the digital transmission of Multiplex 1. At the same time, captions appeared on the remaining analogue channels reminding viewers of the impending switchover. Finally, the second stage saw the remaining analogue transmissions switched off and
15150-413: The new corporation adopted the coat of arms , including the motto "Nation shall speak peace unto Nation". British radio audiences had little choice apart from the upscale programming of the BBC. Reith, an intensely moralistic executive, was in full charge. His goal was to broadcast "All that is best in every department of human knowledge, endeavour and achievement.... The preservation of a high moral tone
15300-467: The new technology confusing, or who have no desire to receive more than the four or five channels they originally had, and who may have been reluctant to buy a digital box to view the free channels. The government arranged for the BBC to administer a Digital Switchover Help Scheme to ensure that groups such as the over-75s and recipients of disability benefits did not lose their television services when analogue transmissions were switched off. Another issue
15450-425: The next year. In its 2017–18 report, released July 2017, the BBC announced plans to "re-invent" its output to better compete against commercial streaming services such as Netflix . These plans included increasing the diversity of its content on television and radio, a major increase in investments towards digital children's content, and plans to make larger investments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland to "rise to
15600-413: The notice of the public. Less radical politicians faced similar censorship. In 1938, Winston Churchill proposed a series of talks regarding British domestic and foreign politics and affairs but was similarly censored. The censorship of political discourse by the BBC was a precursor to the total shutdown of political debate that manifested over the BBC's wartime airwaves. The Foreign Office maintained that
15750-559: The opinions of those in Parliament who are not nominated by Party Leaders or Party Whips, thus stifling independent, non-official views. In October 1932, the policemen of the Metropolitan Police Federation marched in protest at a proposed pay cut. Fearing dissent within the police force and public support for the movement, the BBC censored its coverage of the events, only broadcasting official statements from
15900-403: The other high power multiplexes switched on. Initially, this occurred four weeks after stage one, but starting with the switchover at Mendip in April 2010 onwards, this gap was reduced to two weeks. Three multiplexes (BBC A, D3&4, BBC B) are for public service broadcasting and are broadcast from all transmitter sites. They contain around 25 TV channels, half a dozen radio stations and half
16050-561: The package also. Digital Terrestrial Television provides many more channels. For some viewers it offers much improved reception compared to analogue broadcasts (although these had been entirely discontinued in the UK by 2012), including 16:9 anamorphic widescreen . A number of interactive services are also offered. An eight-day Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) is available and allows viewers to see programme descriptions and broadcast times well in advance. PVRs will make use of this facility allowing recording timers to be set. This Eight-Day EPG
16200-407: The people of Britain and broadcast content according to these perceived standards. Reith effectively censored anything that he felt would be harmful, directly or indirectly. While recounting his time with the BBC in 1935, Raymond Postgate claims that BBC broadcasters were made to submit a draft of their potential broadcast for approval. It was expected that they tailored their content to accommodate
16350-566: The permanent three-multiplex digital service began (albeit with Channel 5 only on the Whitehaven transmitter, until 2009). Unfortunately, as had been feared, a small number of homes among the hills, which had received "fuzzy" analogue signals, particularly in Eskdale, were unable to receive a decodable Freeview signal. The only other serious problem resulted from the "rescan" command in some models of set-top box defaulting to frequencies used by
16500-435: The positive impression created by its balanced coverage of the views of government and strikers, Seaton has characterised the episode as the invention of "modern propaganda in its British form". Reith argued that trust gained by 'authentic impartial news' could then be used. Impartial news was not necessarily an end in itself. The BBC did well out of the crisis, which cemented a national audience for its broadcasting, and it
16650-482: The post, with a note saying 'We regret, etc.'" In the 1930s music broadcasts also enjoyed great popularity, for example the friendly and wide-ranging BBC Theatre Organ broadcasts at St George's Hall , London by Reginald Foort , who held the official role of BBC Staff Theatre Organist from 1936 to 1938. Television broadcasting was suspended from 1 September 1939 to 7 June 1946, during the World War II , and it
16800-466: The public should not be aware of their role in the censorship. From 1935 to 1939, the BBC also attempted to unite the British Empire's radio waves, sending staff to Egypt, Palestine , Newfoundland , Jamaica, India, Canada and South Africa. Reith personally visited South Africa, lobbying for state-run radio programmes which was accepted by South African Parliament in 1936. A similar programme
16950-423: The radio and television divisions joining forces together for the first time, the activities of the news and currents departments and coordinated jointly under the new directorate. During the 1990s, this process continued with the separation of certain operational arms of the corporation into autonomous but wholly owned subsidiaries , with the aim of generating additional revenue for programme-making. BBC Enterprises
17100-446: The radio in 2006, being a presenter for local BBC radio, as well as commercial radio. She then joined ITV London / GMTV and BBC Radio 5 Live , presenting the traffic and travel. It was during this time that she trained as a journalist, joining South Today in 2008. As of 2023, she presents the weather. Sinclair had worked for South Today as a presenter since 1997, presenting the early-evening news and other news bulletins. He has covered
17250-399: The regular solo presenter of the main programme. Currently, BBC South Today produces 11 bulletins each weekday: six bulletins in the morning during BBC Breakfast, a 15-minute programme at 13:30, the half-hour main programme at 18:30 and a late night bulletin (Monday to Thursday at 22:30. Weekend news bulletins are also broadcast. These include early evening bulletins on Saturday and Sunday and
17400-469: The restriction. These included the BBC. The BBC agreed that the digital television market had changed substantially since 2002, and that Top Up TV probably could not afford the current cost of DTT slots anyway. The BBC suggested that the deregulation should be conditional on a number of further changes to regulation. These included that Ofcom changes the transmission mode of broadcast on all multiplexes from 16 QAM to 64QAM so more services could be squeezed onto
17550-443: The sales of OBs and costumes, the remainder of BBC Resources was reorganised as BBC Studios and Post Production , which continues today as a wholly owned subsidiary of the BBC. The 2004 Hutton Inquiry and the subsequent report raised questions about the BBC's journalistic standards and its impartiality. This led to resignations of senior management members at the time including the then Director General, Greg Dyke . In January 2007,
17700-696: The setting up of the Digital Action Plan, a body working across industry, government and consumer groups to advise on the best way to meet the switchover target date. By 2003, however, it was becoming clear that switchover could not start by 2006. In particular, the decision taken by the International Telecommunication Union to call a Regional Radiocommunication Conference to establish a frequency plan for digital broadcasting meant that in practice, substantive steps towards switchover would need to wait until after
17850-429: The space instead. Consequently, some ONdigital services were not available on Welsh transmitters. While the BBC was seemingly concerned with delivering a service of good technical quality, other broadcasters chose to deliver a larger number of channels rather than optimise service reliability and picture quality. ONdigital had problems from the start, and renaming the service ITV Digital on 11 July 2001 failed to help
18000-469: The staff of the licensing authority, the General Post Office (GPO), was sufficient to lead to a ban on further Chelmsford broadcasts. But by 1922, the GPO had received nearly 100 broadcast licence requests and moved to rescind its ban in the wake of a petition by 63 wireless societies with over 3,000 members. Anxious to avoid the same chaotic expansion experienced in the United States,
18150-427: The strategy for the corporation, assesses the performance of the BBC's executive board in delivering the BBC's services, and appoints the director-general. Ofcom is responsible for the regulation of the BBC. The board consists of the following members: The executive committee is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the broadcaster. Consisting of senior managers of the BBC, the committee meets once per month and
18300-544: The technically superior DVB-T format occurred in each region at the date of switchover. This resulted in no reception for viewers with older '2k' only equipment, such as former ONdigital/ITV Digital boxes, and other incompatible IDTVs and set top boxes. In the Meridian and Anglia regions, transmitters formed a single-frequency network when they were converted to all-digital operation. Alternative post-switchover multiplex designations were used on internal documentation by
18450-464: The time, BBC 2W on digital offered a different schedule to BBC Two Wales on analogue). In October 2007, following a 15-month publicity and information campaign, and an early digital launch in August by Channel 5, the Whitehaven, Eskdale Green and Gosforth transmitters switched off analogue signals on the BBC Two frequency, and began broadcasting a temporary digital service for the main channels. On 14 November, all analogue signals were switched off, and
18600-722: The towns' postcodes. South east of Wiltshire such as Salisbury and parts of the Salisbury Plains is covered by South Today from the Hannington transmitter and the Salisbury relay transmitter which is transmitted via the Rowridge transmitter. Most of Swindon is covered by Points West with their television signals receive from the Mendip transmitter, some eastern parts of the town cannot receive signals from
18750-534: The update, which was phased over a three-month period. The problem affected a specific range of older units, and was caused by an increased Network Information Table (channel list) exceeding the memory available in some set-top boxes. This had been part of the specification that was available and implemented in the very early OnDigital boxes, but not in those using the SetPal chip set. Affected consumers were advised to buy new set-top boxes. The UK Government's intention
18900-726: The use of newer models of such recorders which have built-in digital tuners. However, the most common option is by the use of set-top-boxes which incorporate a hard disk drive, and allow the recording of the digital signal directly to disk, for later replay. Recording on such boxes, known as Personal Video Recorders or PVRs, is more convenient, as programmes may be easily selected for recording from an on-screen programme guide, with no need to specify explicit start and end times for recordings, and no need to program more than one piece of equipment. Many television services which incorporate DTT channels in their service offering – e.g. Top Up TV, BT TV , and TalkTalk Plus TV , offer set top boxes with such
19050-563: The value of the artist as a visible music-hall performer". On the other hand, the BBC was "keenly interested" in a cooperation with the recording companies who "in recent years ... have not been slow to make records of singers, orchestras, dance bands, etc. who have already proved their power to achieve popularity by wireless." Radio plays were so popular that the BBC had received 6,000 manuscripts by 1929, most of them written for stage and of little value for broadcasting: "Day in and day out, manuscripts come in, and nearly all go out again through
19200-577: The war in Afghanistan and Iraq , natural disasters in Asia and Africa and major sporting events in Europe and China. He has skills in self-filming and self-editing journalism which led to covering the major news events. Allard started working for the BBC as a newsreader and sports reporter for BBC Radio Solent . He started presenting the news in 2000, as well as having experience having presented and produced network news on major national stories. Sault
19350-509: The wideband type to receive some or all of the Freeview multiplexes. This spectrum is useful because of its trade-off between bandwidth and range. Following a consultation, in September 2011 Ofcom stated that an auction for the 600 MHz band will most likely lead to channels 31–37 being used for three new TV multiplexes; a reference transmission plan assumes two frequencies would be multiple-frequency networks, and channel 36 would be used as
19500-519: The £700 million cost for free TV licences for the over-75 pensioners, and rapid inflation in drama and sport coverage costs, was given as the reason. Duplication of management and content spending would be reduced, and there would be a review of BBC News . In September 2019, the BBC launched the Trusted News Initiative to work with news and social media companies to combat disinformation about national elections. In 2020,
19650-442: Was a widely reported urban myth that, upon resumption of the BBC television service after the war, announcer Leslie Mitchell started by saying, "As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted ..." In fact, the first person to appear when transmission resumed was Jasmine Bligh and the words said were "Good afternoon, everybody. How are you? Do you remember me, Jasmine Bligh ... ?" The European Broadcasting Union
19800-499: Was adopted in Canada. Through collaboration with these state-run broadcasting centres, Reith left a legacy of cultural influence across the empire of Great Britain with his departure from the corporation in 1938. Experimental television broadcasts were started in 1929, using an electromechanical 30-line system developed by John Logie Baird . Limited regular broadcasts using this system began in 1932, and an expanded service (now named
19950-640: Was born and raised in the Channel Islands. He presents and reports for South Today, either filming and editing himself or working with camera crews. Kent started as a radio presenter for the BBC in Guernsey, before her first TV presenting role in Norwich for the regional BBC news programme. She has also worked for BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC News and BBC Sport. She joined South Today as a presenter in 2004. Coombes started at BBC Radio Solent in 2007, working
20100-434: Was broadcast from BBC South 's Studio B in Southampton . Studio production of the bulletins was transferred in 2004 to the reception area at Radio Oxford while a new television studio and production gallery was built. The programme was produced and broadcast from Oxford from October 2005 until December 2022. Geraldine Peers presented the programme from May 2001 until the programme ended on 16 December 2022. On 21 April 2008,
20250-519: Was divided on how to handle the BBC, but ended up trusting Reith, whose opposition to the strike mirrored the PM's own. Although Winston Churchill in particular wanted to commandeer the BBC to use it "to the best possible advantage", Reith wrote that Stanley Baldwin 's government wanted to be able to say "that they did not commandeer [the BBC], but they know that they can trust us not to be really impartial". Thus
20400-436: Was established to co-ordinate the switchover process. Set up by the broadcasters and the commercial multiplex operators, Digital UK was required to co-ordinate the project and ensure that the public are kept informed about progress. Local television broadcasters, including the BBC and ITV, actively encouraged viewers to upgrade to digital television. UK broadcasters were also under additional pressure to complete migration before
20550-671: Was followed by the Government's acceptance of the recommendation made by the Crawford Committee (1925–26) that the British Broadcasting Company be replaced by a non-commercial, Crown-chartered organisation: the British Broadcasting Corporation. The British Broadcasting Corporation came into existence on 1 January 1927, and Reith – newly knighted – was appointed its first director general. To represent its purpose and (stated) values,
20700-479: Was formed on 12 February 1950, in Torquay with the BBC among the 23 founding broadcasting organisations. Competition to the BBC was introduced in 1955, with the commercial and independently operated television network of Independent Television (ITV) . However, the BBC monopoly on radio services would persist until 8 October 1973 when under the control of the newly renamed Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA),
20850-996: Was given to Teletext Ltd. ) and Channel 5 and S4C shared Multiplex A. The remaining spectrum (Multiplexes B, C and D) was then auctioned off. A consortium made up of Granada and Carlton (members of the ITV network, which have now merged to form ITV plc ) and BSkyB successfully bid for these licences, and set-up the subscription ONdigital service, though BSkyB left the consortium prior to launch. The BBC made some use of its multiplex for three of its then four new television services; BBC Choice (which had started on 23 September 1998 with four national variations), BBC News 24 and BBC Parliament (albeit in sound only). ITV initially used their space to house ITV2 (from 7 December 1998) in England and Wales, You2 (later UTV2) in Northern Ireland and S2 in Scotland (now both ITV2), as well as GMTV2 during
21000-432: Was in use this ideally would require a separate Freeview set-top box, to replicate the previous functionality of recording and watching different programme sources. The progress towards digital switchover in the UK was long. The then Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport , Chris Smith , announced in 1999 that the Government's intention was to achieve switchover "between 2006 and 2010". Work started in earnest with
21150-509: Was its first director of music. The company was to be financed by a royalty on the sale of BBC wireless receiving sets from approved domestic manufacturers. To this day, the BBC aims to follow the Reithian directive to "inform, educate and entertain". The financial arrangements soon proved inadequate. Set sales were disappointing as amateurs made their own receivers and listeners bought rival unlicensed sets. By mid-1923, discussions between
21300-596: Was left to BBC Radio broadcasters such as Reginald Foort to keep the nation's spirits up. The BBC moved most of its radio operations out of London, initially to Bristol , and then to Bedford . Concerts were broadcast from the Bedford Corn Exchange ; the Trinity Chapel in St Paul's Church, Bedford was the studio for the daily service from 1941 to 1945, and, in the darkest days of the war in 1941,
21450-486: Was made explicit for the duration of its current broadcast licence, as was the prohibition on advertising. To avoid competition with newspapers, Fleet Street persuaded the government to ban news bulletins before 7 pm and the BBC was required to source all news from external wire services. The Radio Times , the world's first and longest-running radio and television listings magazine, was launched by Reith in September 1923. The first edition, subtitled "The official organ of
21600-400: Was modified later on in its life to offer documentaries. In 2002, several television and radio channels were reorganised. BBC Knowledge was replaced by BBC Four and became the BBC's arts and documentaries channel. CBBC , which had been a programming strand as Children's BBC since 1985, was split into CBBC and CBeebies , for younger children, with both new services getting a digital channel:
21750-618: Was not an original feature of the Digital Terrestrial system, therefore some early receivers, such as receivers originally made to operate with the ONdigital service, will only display details of 'now and next' programme information. A fourteen-day Top Up TV EPG was an alternative which was available to TUTV-branded PVRs. Digital terrestrial television launched in the UK on 15 November 1998, just after digital satellite television on 1 October 1998. The technology required that
21900-1018: Was produced and presented from Oxford for the entirety of its run. From 2007 there was also at 1520 (later 1500) a short regional update which was also produced and presented from Oxford until the bulletin was ended. On 26 May 2022, it was announced that the BBC proposed to close the Oxford opt (and the equivalent produced in Cambridge). The final programme, a half hour special aired at 6.30pm on 16 December 2022. The programme still continue to broadcast across Hampshire , Isle of Wight , Oxfordshire , Berkshire , West Sussex , much of Dorset and parts of Surrey and Wiltshire (including Salisbury and Swindon ), small parts of eastern Gloucestershire , western Buckinghamshire and southern Northamptonshire . Freeview viewers in Guildford , Farnham , Henley and Aldershot receive better television signals from
22050-461: Was reorganised and relaunched in 1995, as BBC Worldwide Ltd. In 1998, BBC studios, outside broadcasts, post production, design, costumes and wigs were spun off into BBC Resources Ltd. The BBC Research & Development has played a major part in the development of broadcasting and recording techniques. The BBC was also responsible for the development of the NICAM stereo standard. In recent decades,
22200-479: Was replaced by BBC Two HD in the same month. On 18 October 2007, BBC Director General Mark Thompson announced a controversial plan to make major cuts and reduce the size of the BBC as an organisation. The plans included a reduction in posts of 2,500; including 1,800 redundancies, consolidating news operations, reducing programming output by 10% and selling off the flagship Television Centre building in London. These plans were fiercely opposed by unions, who threatened
22350-669: Was that digital terrestrial television would completely replace analogue terrestrial television in the United Kingdom by 24 October 2012. This process was known as " Digital Switchover ", or DSO. The industry association for digital television in the UK, Digital TV Group , was responsible for co-ordination between Freeview and other digital services. DTG licensed suitable equipment to bear the Digital Tick and Freeview Playback Logos to identify PVRs and other devices designed to work through switchover, and to raise awareness of DTT product quality and standards. Digital terrestrial television
22500-758: Was that the "98.5 per cent of the population" availability target could only be achieved "via rooftop aerials", while Section 134 of the Communications Act 2003 sets out the principle "that no person should unreasonably be denied access to an electronic communications network or to electronic communications services". This is taken to mean that everyone has the right to mount a television aerial on their roof. Ofcom allocated frequencies for groups of households to provide "self-help" relay transmitters at their own expense (for analogue broadcasts there were some 200 of these, serving around 13,000 households), but suggested that in such cases, terrestrial TV may no longer be
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