2.3 Radio and Television

Broadcasting in the United Kingdom is controlled by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA). The BBC receives its income from the government, but the private companies controlled by the IBA earn money from advertising.

BBC Radio broadcasts five national services to the United Kingdom plus regional services in Wales (ineluding programmes in Welsh), Scotland and Northern Ireland. These are:

Radio 1: pop and rock music;

Radio 2: light music, drama, documentaries and sport;

Radio 3: classical music, drama, documentaries and cricket;

Radio 4: news, documentaries, drama

and entertainment and educational programmes for schools and adults;

Radio 5: sport, educational programmes and children's programmes.

There are also thirty-two BBC Local Radio stations and a number of independent local stations. There is advertising on the independent commercial channels. -The External Service of the BBC broadcasts over 700 hours of programmes a week in 37 languages, including the English-language World Service and BBC English by Radio and Television. It is estimated that over 120 million people listen to the service.

Watching television is one of the great British pastimes! By the middle of the 1980s there were four channels on British TV: BBC1 and BBC2 plus the two independent channels, ITV and Channel 4. Independent channels get their income from advertisements but there is no advertising on the BBC channels: instead the BBC's revenue comes from licence fees, payable by everybody who has a television, plus some additional funds from Parliament. Both the BBC and ITV sell programmes overseas which adds to their revenue.

The BBC is incorporated under a Royal Charter, which means it is a state organization but not government controlled. The first television broadcasts began in 1936. The Independent Television Authority was created by Act of Parliament in 1954 to provide an additional television broadcasting service. Commercial television consists of fifteen ITV programme companies providing programmes in fourteen different regions. An increasing number of programmes are now made by independent production companies. A second BBC channel (BBC2) began broadcasting in

1964 and a second commercial channel (Channel 4) in 1982.

Channels are generally expected to provide programmes which do not overlap with other channel's productions and there is a Broadcasting Standards Council which is designed to make sure that unsuitable programmes are not shown.

In general, people think the programmes offered on British television are of a very high standard. Some people, however, are becoming worried about the amount of violence on TV, and the effect this may have on young people.

TV and radio are also two of the main teaching channels used by the Open University. This "university of the air" allows many thousands of students to study at home for degrees they never would have obtained in the main educational system. They also have to do without sleep as most of their programmes are broadcast early in the morning or late /at night!

New technology has made it possible for viewers to receive many more programmes into their homes through sattelite TV. The 1990s may well see many changes in British TV and Radio.