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This section is in advanced English and is only intended to be a guide, not to
be taken too seriously!
British television broadcasting has a range of different organisations broadcasting multiple channels.
History of British TV
The first British television broadcast was made by Baird Television's electromechanical system over the BBC radio transmitter in September 1929. By 1939 they were providing a limited amount of programming five days a week. On August 22, 1932, the BBC launched its own regular service using Baird's 30-line electromechanical system, continuing until September 11, 1935. Then on November 2, 1936 they became the world's first regular high-definition television service. TV broadcasts in London were on the air an average of four hours daily from 1936 to 1939. There were 12,000 to 15,000 receivers. Some sets in restaurants or bars might have 100 viewers for sport events, but the outbreak of the Second World War caused the BBC service to be suspended on September 1, 1939, resuming from Alexandra Palace on June 7, 1946.
The first regular colour broadcasts didn't get broadcast until 1967. Again it was the BBC!
Digital terrestrial television launched in 1998 as a subscription service named ONdigital. Since October 2002, the primary broadcaster is Freeview, with Top Up TV and Setanta Sports providing additional subscription services.
Satellite television Sky TV is a subscription service owned by British Sky Broadcasting. It is the dominant satellite provider with the largest number of channels compared to other providers.
Freesat is a free satellite service created jointly by the BBC and ITV, it does not need a viewing card. It is the UK's first provider of high definition television without a subscription; one channel was available at launch. Freesat does not provide video on demand, or access to specific free channels which use BSkyB's encryption, including Channel 4 HD and Fiver.
The TV Licence
A television licence is required to receive any publicly broadcast television service, from any source. This includes the commercial channels, cable and satellite transmissions. The fee is set annually by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by the use of Statutory Instruments.
The money from the licence fee is used to provide radio, television and Internet content for the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Welsh-language television programmes for S4C.
When first introduced on 1 June 1946, the licence fee for a black and white TV that received just a single-channel (the BBC) cost £2. On 1 January 1968, a 'colour supplement' of £5 was added to the existing £5 monochrome licence fee; the combined colour licence fee was therefore £10. The current cost is £135.50 (as of 2007 – about €200 or US$270) for colour TV and £45.50 for monochrome TV, per household.
UK TV Channels Today
There are six main channels that are responsible for most viewing, these are:-
The BBC
ITV
Sky
Channel 4
Channel 5
Britain produces 27,000 hours of domestic content a year at a cost of £2.6 billion. According to Ofcom, 56% (£1.5bn) of production is in-house by the channel owners, and the remainder by independent production companies. In addition:-
- 25,900,000 television sets are equipped to view digital terrestrial in the UK (directly or via a set-top-box)
- 17,700,000 homes are using digital terrestrial equipment
- 9,800,000 homes have digital terrestrial as the only form of digital television received.
The Future of TV in the UK
Digital television has been available in the UK since 1998 via satellite, cable or terrestrial, and since 1999 via IPTV. Analogue transmissions are currently being switched off and this is due to be completed in 2012, which is when the UK will be completely digital.
Best British TV Programmes
The 100 greatest TV programmes, according to the British Film Institute (BFI), were:-
1. Fawlty Towers BBC2 1975-1979
2. Cathy Come Home (The Wednesday Play) BBC1 1966
3. Doctor Who BBC1 1963-1989, 1996, 2005-Present
4. The Naked Civil Servant ITV 1975
5. Monty Python's Flying Circus BBC2 1969-1974
6. Blue Peter BBC1 1958-
7. Boys from the Blackstuff BBC2 1982
8. Parkinson BBC1/ITV 1971-1982, 1998-2007
9. Yes Minister / Yes, Prime Minister BBC2 1980-1988
10. Brideshead Revisited ITV 1981
11. Abigail's Party (Play for Today) BBC1 1977
12. I, Claudius BBC2 1976
13. Dad's Army BBC1 1968-1977
14. The Morecambe & Wise Show ITV/BBC1 1961-1983
15. Edge of Darkness BBC2 1985
16. Blackadder Goes Forth BBC1 1989
17. Absolutely Fabulous BBC2/BBC1 1992-1996, 2001-2004
18. The Wrong Trousers BBC2 1993
19. The World at War ITV 1973-1974
20. The Singing Detective BBC1 1986
21. Pennies From Heaven BBC1 1978
22. The Jewel in the Crown ITV 1984
23. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? ITV 1998-
24. Hancock's Half Hour BBC1 1956-1961
25. Our Friends in the North BBC2 1996
26. 28 Up ITV 1985
27. The War Game (The Wednesday Play) BBC1 1965 (transmitted 1985)
28. The Magic Roundabout BBC1 1965-1977
29. That Was The Week That Was BBC1 1962-1963
30. An Englishman Abroad BBC1 1983
31. The Royle Family BBC1 1998-2000, 2006
32. Life On Earth BBC2 1979
33. The Old Grey Whistle Test BBC2 1971-1987
34. University Challenge ITV/BBC2 1961-1987, 1994-
35. Porridge BBC1 1974-1977
36. Blue Remembered Hills (Play for Today) BBC1 1979
37. Mastermind BBC1/BBC2 1972-1997, 2003-
38. I'm Alan Partridge BBC2 1997, 2002
39. Cracker ITV 1993-1996, 2006
40. Coronation Street ITV 1960-
41. Top of the Pops BBC2/BBC1 1964-2006
42. Inspector Morse ITV 1987-2000
43. Grange Hill BBC1 1978-
44. Steptoe and Son BBC1 1962-1965, 1970-1974
45. Only Fools and Horses BBC1 1981-1996, 2001-2003
46. Auf Wiedersehen, Pet (series 1) ITV 1983-1986
47. Tiswas ITV 1974-1982
48. Elgar BBC 1962
49. Nuts in May (Play for Today) BBC1 1976
50. Father Ted Channel 4 1995-1998
51. The Avengers ITV 1961-1969
52. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy BBC2 1979
53. The Forsyte Saga BBC2 1967
54. Hillsborough ITV 1996
55. Dennis Potter: The Last Interview (Without Walls Special) Channel 4 1994
56. Bar Mitzvah Boy (Play for Today) BBC1 1976
57. Edna, the Inebriate Woman (Play for Today) BBC1 1971
58. Live Aid for Africa BBC1 1985
59. World In Action ITV 1963-1998
60. Thunderbirds ITV 1965-1966
61. Talking Heads/Talking Heads 2 BBC2 1987, 1998
62. Ready Steady Go! ITV 1963-1966
63. Z-Cars BBC1 1962-1978
64. Culloden BBC1 1964
65. The Ascent of Man BBC2 1973
66. A Very British Coup Channel 4 1988
67. Civilisation BBC2 1969
68. Prime Suspect ITV 1991-1996, 2003-2006
69. The Likely Lads / Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? BBC2/BBC1 1964-1966, 1973-1974
70. Have I Got News for You BBC2/BBC1 1990-
71. The Snowman Channel 4 1982
72. Walking with Dinosaurs BBC1 1999
73. Nineteen Eighty-Four BBC1 1954
74. The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin BBC1 1976-1979
75. Quatermass and the Pit BBC1 1958-1959
76. Between The Lines BBC1 1992-1994
77. Blind Date ITV 1985-2003
78. Talking to a Stranger (Theatre 625) BBC2 1966
79. The Borrowers BBC1 1992
80. One Foot in the Grave BBC1 1990-2000
81. Later with Jools Holland BBC2 1992-
82. Tutti Frutti BBC2 1987
83. The Knowledge ITV 1979
84. House of Cards BBC1 1990-1995
85. This is Your Life BBC1/ITV 1955-1964, 1969-2003
86. The Tube Channel 4 1982-1987
87. The Death of Yugoslavia BBC2 1995
88. Till Death Us Do Part BBC1 1966-1975
89. A Very Peculiar Practice BBC1 1986-1992
90. Michael Moore's TV Nation BBC2 1995
91. This Life BBC2 1996-1997
92. Death on the Rock (This Week) ITV 1988
93. The Nazis - A Warning From History BBC2 1997
94. Drop the Dead Donkey Channel 4 1990-1998
95. Arena BBC2 1975-
96. The Railway Children BBC1 1968
97. Teletubbies BBC2 1997-2001
98. Spitting Image ITV 1984-1996
99. Pride and Prejudice BBC1 1995
100. Made in Britain ITV 1982
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