137-496: BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC , providing national sports coverage for BBC television , radio and online . The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadcasting the sport live or alongside flagship analysis programmes such as Match of the Day , Test Match Special , Ski Sunday and Today at Wimbledon . Results, analysis and coverage
274-693: 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
411-461: 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,
548-403: A major decentralisation of BBC departments from London and a key investment in the north of England where BBC spending in the region had previously been low. The department moved into Quay House, MediaCityUK gradually in late 2011 and early 2012 with the first Sports bulletins being broadcast from the new BBC Sport Centre on 5 March 2012. In 2017, BBC Sport launched a new on-air identity, becoming
685-599: 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
822-489: 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
959-410: A play-by-play commentator for Premier League matches as an alternate to Arlo White, and has also hosted studio coverage for the network during the absences of primary host Rebecca Lowe , as well as various on-location segments. He has also hosted the network's Match of the Day and Premier League Download programs. In 2016, Bower was a lead presenter for ESPN 's coverage of Euro 2016 . Now, Bower
1096-732: 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
1233-539: 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
1370-589: Is also added to the BBC Sport website and through the BBC Red Button interactive television service. The BBC has broadcast sport for several decades under individual programme names and coverage titles. Grandstand was one of the more notable sport programmes, broadcasting sport for almost 50 years. The BBC first began to brand sport coverage as 'BBC Sport' in 1988 for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul , by introducing
1507-537: Is best known as one of the main voices for BBC TV 's Match of the Day , culminating in being part of the commentary teams for the 2010 , 2014 , 2018 , and 2022 FIFA World Cups . Bower commentated on New Zealand 's historic draw with Italy and Argentina 's 4–1 win over South Korea amongst others. He can also be heard on TNT Sports covering the Europa League , Serie A , and the Bundesliga , NBCSN covering
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#17328448375231644-602: Is broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra however coverage is also broadcast on BBC Radio 4 's longwave frequencies, BBC Local Radio and the BBC World Service . Highlights are also reported on the BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2 news bulletins. Although cricket is not covered on television, the sport is fully covered by the BBC on its radio platforms, primarily BBC Radio 5 Live, 5 Sports Extra but also on Local Radio and BBC Radio 4 Longwave. This commentary
1781-477: Is led by the BBC's tennis correspondent, Russell Fuller , along with Gigi Salmon, David Law, Naomi Cavaday , Jonathan Overend , Iain Carter, Alison Mitchell and Sara Orchard. For other grand slam tournaments, Russell Fuller, David Law and Gigi Salmon are the commentators. For the select few ATP Tour Masters 1000 events that BBC Radio cover, Russell Fuller is usually the sole commentator. The BBC holds joint rights to
1918-500: 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
2055-578: Is presented by Dan Walker alongside Osi Umenyiora and Jason Bell . Both the live coverage and highlights use coverage and commentators from American TV. The BBC previously held the rights to live coverage, highlights (primarily broadcast on its web site) and live radio coverage of the NFL from 2007 to 2013 . Jake Humphrey presented their play-off highlights show for the first 2 years with Matt Roberts taking over duties in 2010. The studio pundits included Mike Carlson , Rod Woodson and Jerry Rice . Since 2012,
2192-614: Is repeated and expanded on the BBC Sports website and on the BBC Red Button , overlaid with live scorecards. While television coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games was held by Channel 4 , the BBC retained the radio rights to the event and plans to broadcast events on radio stations BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra. BBC Radio 5 Live and its sister station BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra continue to cover Formula One World Championship as of 2023 season . Horse racing coverage on
2329-412: 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: Steve Bower Stephen Robert Bower is an English football commentator. He
2466-612: Is the WTA AEGON International event from Eastbourne . Both events are primarily shown on BBC Two. The BBC holds rights to show daily TV highlights from the Australian Open. Coverage is presented by Sue Barker with commentary from Andrew Castle and John Lloyd. The BBC has exclusive free to air TV rights for 8 singles matches from the ATP World Tour Finals which includes the semi-final and the final. The BBC covered
2603-499: The 1998 FIFA World Cup for the entire EMAP radio network. From September 1998 to July 2007, Bower was senior commentator and presenter at Manchester United Television (MUTV) where he provided commentary on Premier League , Champions League , FA Cup and League Cup matches for the full 90-minute delayed broadcast with a co-commentator (including the historic treble winning season of '98-99 ). He also gave commentary and on-location presentation on pre-season tour matches live around
2740-626: 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
2877-577: 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
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#17328448375233014-594: The English team. Gabby Logan leads the BBC's rugby coverage. Martin Johnson , Sam Warburton , Jonathan Davies , John Barclay , Jamie Heaslip , Andy Nicol , Chris Paterson and Thomas Castaignède are the main pundits and co-commentators. The BBC's main commentator is Andrew Cotter . Sonja McLaughlan and Lee McKenzie are the reporters. The BBC shows live coverage of the Challenge Cup including both semi-finals and
3151-637: The European Athletics Championships , domestic British athletics and mass-participation events such as the London Marathon and the Great North Run . The BBC has the rights to show coverage of each Diamond League meeting on the red button, with the two British rounds and final two meetings live on BBC Two and selected meetings on BBC Three. Gabby Logan is the main host of the athletics coverage with, Michael Johnson and Denise Lewis
3288-523: The FA Cup and will do so until 2026. On 30 June 2017 it was announced that live cricket would be returning to BBC TV for the first time in 21 years. The BBC regained rights to highlights of all England's home Tests, ODIs and T20Is. They also have live broadcasts of two home T20 matches per season, plus 10 matches from The Hundred . Coverage also includes England Women for whom they will broadcast one home T20 and 8 matches from The Hundred. Today At The Test ,
3425-560: The Irish Derby , which had been included in Grandstand and later Sunday Grandstand for decades, was only shown on At the Races . The Grand National used to be one of the biggest attractions on Grandstand with audiences around or often in excess of 10 million for the race on a Saturday afternoon. Coverage of other events such as Royal Ascot and The Derby were also broadcast. The Derby
3562-829: The Masters , and the UK Championship are shown annually on BBC Two. The BBC also broadcasts the Welsh Open snooker tournament, which is available to watch on BBC Two Wales or via the BBC Red Button service. Snooker coverage is regularly hosted by Hazel Irvine , Jason Mohammad or Seema Jaswal . Pundits and commentators on the coverage include Steve Davis , John Parrott , Stephen Hendry , Ken Doherty , Alan McManus , John Virgo , Dennis Taylor and Joe Perry . The World Championships have featured guest commentators such as Judd Trump , Jack Lisowski , Mark Allen, Peter Ebdon and Shaun Murphy and Neil Robertson. Rob Walker appears in
3699-936: 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
3836-574: The PGA Championship live. Until 2015, the BBC's coverage of The Open Championships was extensive with coverage broadcast live and uninterrupted on BBC Two between 9 am and 8 pm on Thursday and Friday and on BBC One on Saturday and Sunday. Since 2016, Sky Sports has exclusive UK rights to The Open with the BBC showing a two-hour highlights programme every night. The BBC also shows highlights of two other European Tour events held in Britain -
3973-572: The Six Nations championship in the UK with ITV Sport until 2025. The BBC will show all Scotland and Wales home matches live either on BBC One or BBC Two . Coverage of these games is complemented by an interactive service on BBC Red Button and Radio commentary on all matches. The BBC held the live rights to the Autumn Internationals for the Scottish and Welsh sides as well as highlights of
4110-538: The World Club Challenge , beating Channel 4 . It will show this coverage for the next three seasons. The BBC holds the exclusive terrestrial rights to show Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games and has shown live coverage of every Summer Olympics since 1960 . For the 2012 Olympics in London the BBC had three stations showing live coverage of the games. BBC One showed main coverage, BBC Three with special extended coverage and BBC Two aired when BBC One
4247-569: The World Indoor Bowls Championships . Currently this is presented by Persad with commentary by David Corkill and analysis from current players such as Greg Harlow and Andy Thompson . Former bowls presenters include David Icke and Dougie Donnelly. BBC Sport had monopolised the sports commentary market on British radio since the BBC's conception but since 2000, has lost coverage of some sporting events to competitors including TalkSPORT . The majority of BBC Sport's radio coverage
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4384-458: The 1990s to 2004. BBC Sport also holds the rights to the Invictus Games which is presented by Clare Balding, Ade Adepitan, Johnathan Edwards. The BBC also has rights to highlights of Equestrianism from Badminton Horse Trials and Burghley Horse Trials . The coverage is hosted by Clare Balding and if she is unavailable Rishi Persad hosts with commentary by Mike Tucker. The BBC also shows
4521-439: The 2004 film The Day After Tomorrow . In July 2007, Bower made the move to Setanta Sports where he was a commentator and presenter. His work included live Premier League games, live FA Cup matches, live UEFA Cup matches, live World Cup qualifiers, commentary and presentation of live Blue Square Premier (conference) games, including play-off games and a final at Wembley. He also worked on FA Cup matches including build-up to
4658-400: The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup , 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup . These were hosted by Sonali Shah , Rishi Persad and Manish Bhasin . They also had highlights of the 2006–07 Ashes Series with Manish Bhasin. The BBC took the world feed for these tournaments which all broadcasters take including Sky Sports and this comprises commentators from broadcasters all over
4795-552: The 2012 London Olympics. Live coverage was shown from 9.00 am to 10.30 pm on BBC One with coverage switching to BBC Two during news bulletins (1.00 pm to 1.45 pm, 6.00 pm to 7.00 pm and 10.00 pm to 10.30 pm). BBC Three broadcast alternative coverage from 9.00 am to 10.00 pm. The BBC covers events such as the Commonwealth Games , the World Athletics Championships ,
4932-514: 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
5069-508: The BBC aired live weekly radio coverage of the NFL on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and air the Super Bowl on BBC TV and BBC Radio 5 Live in 2012 but Jake Humphrey stepped down and was replaced by Mark Chapman. For the 2012–13 season, the BBC broadcast Monday Night Football on the iPlayer and via BBC HD (commencing with the Giants at Redskins game on 4 December 2012; prior to this the broadcast
5206-467: 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
5343-691: The BBC announced that the NFL would return to its screens in an initial 2-year deal that includes the rights to show the NFL London Games live with at least one match being exclusively live. The BBC also show weekly highlights and magazine shows, which started in November 2015. The deal included live television, radio and online rights to screen the Super Bowl alongside Sky Sports. The London Games were presented by Nat Coombs , Mike Carlson and Osi Umenyiora with Ore Oduba as sideline reporter. The BBC highlights show
5480-900: The BBC broadcast all Centre Court matches from the 2018 Wimbledon Championships in 4K UHD via iPlayer. For the most recent tournament in 2021, the commentators included, Chris Bradnam, James Burridge, Andrew Castle , Matt Chilton , Andrew Cotter , Katherine Downes, Paul Hand , John Inverdale , David Law , Nick Lester, Dan Lobb , Alison Mitchell , Ronald McIntosh, Nick Mullins , Pete Odgers, Mark Petchey , Simon Reed, Sam Smith and Andy Stevenson. Co-commentators included, Tracy Austin, Marion Bartoli , Boris Becker, Pat Cash, Annabel Croft , Colin Fleming , Peter Fleming , Tim Henman, Anne Keothavong , John Lloyd , Miles Maclagan , John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Arvind Parmar , Louise Pleming , Chanda Rubin , Liz Smylie and Mel South . Lee McKenzie , Rishi Persad , John Inverdale and Simon Mundie were
5617-537: 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 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
BBC Sport - Misplaced Pages Continue
5754-640: The BBC had declined in recent years and finished altogether at the end of 2012 when Channel 4 won the rights to the Grand National, Royal Ascot and the Epsom Derby. The BBC had lost many tracks over the years such as the Cheltenham Festival and other Cheltenham meetings went to Channel 4 in 1995, meetings from Newbury moved to Channel 4 in 2002 and after 50 years Glorious Goodwood and other Goodwood meetings were lost to Channel 4 in 2007. Also, in 2007
5891-506: The BBC has played a prominent role in British life and culture. It is sometimes informally referred to as 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
6028-565: 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
6165-741: 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
6302-440: 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
6439-477: 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
6576-531: 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
6713-459: 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
6850-535: 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
6987-512: The BBC's revenue comes from its commercial subsidiary BBC Studios (formerly BBC Worldwide ), which sells BBC programmes and services internationally and also distributes 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,
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#17328448375237124-620: The BBC's streaming service, iPlayer . The fee is set by the British Government , agreed by Parliament , and is used to fund 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
7261-409: The BBC's test cricket highlights programme is presented by Isa Guha alongside commentators, Michael Vaughan , Phil Tufnell , Ebony Rainford-Brent , Mark Ramprakash and James Anderson . Jonathan Agnew and Alison Mitchell also contributed to commentary as well as, presenter, Isa Guha. Regularly, a guest co-commentator will join the team from the touring side. On 30 August 2020, the BBC broadcast
7398-510: 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
7535-614: The BMW PGA Championship and the Scottish Open . It also covers the Women's British Open . Eilidh Barbour is the lead presenter with commentary from, Andrew Cotter , Ken Brown , Paul Azinger , Maureen Madill and Wayne Grady . Rishi Persad is the reporter. The BBC also shows highlights of the Ryder Cup and has done so since 1997. The corporation had held the live rights from 1981 until 1993. The BBC Two programme Pot Black
7672-555: The Boat Race from ITV Sport who pulled out of coverage after the 2009 event. A five-year contract was signed by BBC Sport to cover the event from 2010 after last covering the 2004 race. Clare Balding hosts this and commentary came from Andrew Cotter from 2010 to 2011, 2013–present and from Jonathan Legard in 2012. The race is also broadcast on BBC World News . Former presenters for this were Harry Carpenter who also commentated and Steve Rider while Barry Davies also commentated on this from
7809-529: 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
7946-445: 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
8083-418: 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
8220-477: 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
8357-417: The Games to the BBC in 2022 and 2024. The deal is intended to maintain the BBC's tradition of Olympic broadcasting, although the BBC's coverage will be reduced as a result; the BBC and Discovery have had a historic relationship in regards to co-production of factual and nature programming. The BBC showed the 2014 Commonwealth Games with more coverage than ever before. Coverage was similar to their coverage of
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#17328448375238494-413: The Premier League in the US, and ESPN covering international matches. He is the lead presenter on world feed Premier League Productions and presents Premier League football for Amazon Prime Video UK . Previous work includes Setanta Sports , ESPN UK , and MUTV. Educated at Calday Grange Grammar School , Bower began his career in 1991 at Radio City (Liverpool) , where he presented sports bulletins on
8631-1100: The Premier League on Match of the Day which has been hosted by Gary Lineker since 1999. Match of the Day 2 and Match of the Day 2 Extra , are presented by Mark Chapman . Alex Scott hosts Football Focus every Saturday lunchtime before Jason Mohammad presents Final Score every Saturday afternoon. Pundits for Match of the Day as well as co-commentators include Alan Shearer , Robbie Savage , Chris Sutton , Don Hutchison , Mark Lawrenson , Danny Murphy , Kevin Kilbane , Jermaine Jenas , Martin Keown , Stephen Warnock , Rio Ferdinand , Matthew Upson , Alex Scott , Faye White , Sue Smith , Lucy Ward , Chris Waddle , Cese Fabregas , Ian Wright and Tony Pulis while commentators include Guy Mowbray , Steve Wilson , Jonathan Pearce , Simon Brotherton , Steve Bower , Dave Woods , Vicki Sparks , Jacqui Oatley , Alistair Mann , Conor McNamara , Dan O'Hagan , Mark Tompkins, Martin Fisher, Gary Bloom, John Roder, Mark Scott, Chris Wise, Robyn Cowen , Tom Gayle, Steven Wyeth and Pien Muelensteen. The BBC also broadcasts live coverage of
8768-441: 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
8905-410: The Red Button, or Online via the BBC Sport website. Highlights are also shown on the long-running Today at Wimbledon , presented by Clare Balding , who replaced John Inverdale in 2015. The same year, the programme was renamed "Wimbledon 2day", with a new lighthearted magazine format, but after only one year, the format was abandoned for 2016. Following the trial which commenced with 2018 World Cup ,
9042-660: The TV rights with Sky Sports for the Netball World Cup in Liverpool. Following the success of the Vitality England Roses Squad at the Commonwealth Games in 2018, the BBC's coverage of the sport has increased. As well as all of this, the BBC broadcasts winter sports, including the Alpine Skiing World Cup , under its Ski Sunday banner; and briefly covers sports such as road and track cycling , sailing , badminton , table tennis , squash , equestrianism , gymnastics and other minority sports. Presenters for these sports include Jill Douglas and Phil Jones who often report for other areas of BBC Sport. BBC Sport regained coverage of
9179-430: 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
9316-443: The United States, 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
9453-564: 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
9590-410: 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
9727-458: 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
9864-464: 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
10001-408: 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
10138-553: 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
10275-400: The event originally between 2009 and 2011, followed by an extension for 2012 and 2013. This was extended again in 2013 through to 2015. It was extended again in 2016 for another 2 years before another deal was announced in 2017 and will run until 2020, with Sky Sports, showing one afternoon match per day including one semi-final and the final which are usually shown on BBC Two. BBC Radio covers
10412-407: 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
10549-616: The final, as well as coverage of live England under-21 and under-19 matches, and coverage of the FA Youth Cup (including the Final). Following Setanta Sports' UK division entering administration in June 2009, Bower began working for ESPN in August 2009, mainly focusing on European football including Portuguese Liga and Eredivise , but also domestic competitions from time to time. His first commentary for
10686-628: The final, the Four Nations and the Rugby League World Cup . Coverage is hosted by Mark Chapman and Tanya Arnold with commentary from Dave Woods , Jonathan Davies and Brian Noble . The BBC's Super League Show shows weekly highlights of the Super League , Magic Weekend , Super 8's and the Grand Final . Also, for the first time, the BBC will show 12 Super League live, as well as
10823-598: The first BBC property to implement the broadcaster's new corporate typeface. The BBC shares the rights to the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championship with ITV . A near equal split of group stage and knockout stage games are shown, including a semi-final and the final is shown on both networks. The BBC aired all its matches from the 2018 World Cup in 4K UHD and VR to a limited number of viewers subject to bandwidth. The BBC shows highlights of
10960-447: 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
11097-429: 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
11234-453: 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
11371-523: The four Grand Slam tournaments - the Australian Open , French Open , Wimbledon and US Open - on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra . For most recent Wimbledon tournament in 2021, Gigi Salmon and Tony Livesey hosted full coverage on Radio 5 Live, with expert analysis from Marion Bartoli, Pat Cash , Laura Robson , Leon Smith , Chanda Rubin, Annabel Croft, Miles Maclagan, Mark Woodforde and Jeff Tarango . The team of commentators
11508-499: 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
11645-612: 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
11782-633: 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
11919-405: 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
12056-534: 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
12193-665: 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
12330-581: 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,
12467-754: 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
12604-586: 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,
12741-625: The network was the pre-season friendly between S.L. Benfica and A.C. Milan He has been heard commentating for Sky Sports and on Match of the Day for the BBC . He also lends his voice for ITV Sport 's highlights of the UEFA Europa League on ITV4 . In the 2013-14 season he has commentated on live Conference Premier coverage for BT Sport . He continues as the No. 2 commentator for Europa League as well as working Bundesliga and Ligue 1 for BT Sport. He has also worked for NBC Sports as
12878-413: 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
13015-473: 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
13152-413: 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
13289-541: 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
13426-826: The overall look of the channel. In the Autumn of 2000, he and long time co-commentator from his days at Piccadilly, 1968 European Cup winner, Paddy Crerand were given their own show by MUTV entitled Crerand and Bower...in Extra Time . During this time, Bower was the England reporter for talkSPORT radio during Euro 2000 which saw him conduct daily interviews with manager and players, and offer on-location studio presentation. He also provided studio presentation throughout Euro 2004 for talkSPORT radio in addition to full match commentaries on England qualifiers and Champions League matches. Bower's MUTV commentary work, alongside Paddy Crerand, can be heard in
13563-407: 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
13700-435: 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
13837-476: 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
13974-495: The pressure from these quarters and uneasiness among 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
14111-549: The programme with a short animation of a globe circumnavigated by four coloured rings. This practice continued throughout the next two decades. Upon the launch of the BBC News website in 1997, sport was included in the BBC's online presence for the first time. In May 2007, the BBC Trust approved plans for several BBC departments, including BBC Sport, to be moved to a new development in Salford . The new development at MediaCityUK marks
14248-459: 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
14385-423: 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
14522-533: The reporters. Regular tournament weather updates are provided by Carol Kirkwood . The BBC also broadcasts two traditional Grass warm up events in the fortnight before the Wimbledon Championships. First is the AEGON Championships from Queen's Club , which takes place two weeks before Wimbledon. The BBC has covered the tournament since 1979 and has a contract in place until 2024. The following week
14659-673: The rights to the British Touring Car Championship at the end of 2001, with the rights eventually being picked up by ITV. BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC ) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London , England. Originally established in 1922 as 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,
14796-1326: The role of Master of Ceremonies at the major snooker tournaments televised by the BBC. In February 2016, it was announced that the BBC would cover the inaugural PDC Champions League of Darts . As a consequence the BBC would no longer show the BDO World Darts Championships, a tournament that the BBC had shown since its inception in 1978. Darts presenters on the BBC have included David Vine in 1978, Peter Purves from 1979 to 1984, Tony Gubba from 1985 to 1990, Eamonn Holmes from 1991 to 1993, Dougie Donnelly from 1994 to 1998, John Inverdale from 1999 to 2000, Ray Stubbs from 2001 to 2009, Colin Murray & Rob Walker from 2010 to 2016 and Jason Mohammad from 2016 to present. Bobby George has presented as well from 2000 to 2016. The current commentators are Vassos Alexander (2011–present), Dan Dawson (2016–present), Alan Warriner-Little (2016–present), Paul Nicholson (2016–present) and Mark Webster (2016–present). Former commentators are Sid Waddell 1978–1994, David Croft 2003–2012, John Part 1995–2007, Tony Green 1978–2010 and 2012–2016, Jim Proudfoot 2013–2016, Scott Mitchell 2014–2016 and John Rawling 2014–2016. On 9 September 2015,
14933-443: 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,
15070-473: The second England vs Pakistan Twenty20 International, its first live cricket broadcast for 21 years. BBC Sport currently holds the rights to broadcast the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and the Queen's Club Championships live on its television platforms. The Wimbledon contract has been held by the BBC since 1927 and the current contract lasts until 2024 making it the longest such contract in
15207-427: 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
15344-822: The studio pundits. Steve Cram and Andrew Cotter commentate on track events alongside, Colin Jackson and Paula Radcliffe , with Steve Backley commentating on field events alongside Toni Minichiello . Jeanette Kwakye and Radzi Chinyanganya are the main interviewers. The BBC no longer holds rights to live coverage of golf. Until 2019, live coverage of Saturday and Sunday's play in the US Masters , and highlights of Thursday and Friday's play were broadcast, with Sky Sports showing all four days of The Masters live. From 2020, Sky Sports have exclusive live coverage of all four rounds. Daily highlights aired on BBC TWO up to and including 2022. For 2017 , they also showed all four days of
15481-563: 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
15618-754: The weekday breakfast show. He then began providing commentary and presenting on the stations coverage of local football teams Everton F.C. , Liverpool F.C. and Tranmere Rovers matches In May 1996, Bower was appointed Head of Sport at Piccadilly Radio in Manchester , at the time the youngest sports editor in UK Independent Radio. He also presented various sports programme, and match commentary on Manchester United , Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers . In addition, he gave coverage of UEFA Euro 1996 for Independent Radio News , while in 1998, he gave full match commentary on all England and Scotland matches during
15755-464: The world in places such as Australia, United States, China, Japan and South Africa, not to mention Reserve and Youth Cup matches (live). He conducted after-match interviews at every game with players and manager, plus special exclusive sit-downs such as with David Beckham on signing in Madrid , Sir Alex Ferguson on announcing his retirement and Roy Keane on 'prawn sandwich' fans . The Roy Keane interview
15892-482: The world, examples of which are Nasser Hussain, Michael Atherton and David Lloyd from Sky Sports as well as Mark Nicholas and Michael Vaughan from Channel 5 / Channel 9. However, 21 years after last showing live cricket, the BBC returned to live coverage of the sport in 2020. The BBC covered the World Rally Championship until 2001, when Channel 4 bought the rights. WRC is now shown on ITV4. The BBC gave up
16029-437: The world. The BBC produce over 900 hours of footage that is distributed to broadcasters in 159 countries. BBC Wimbledon coverage is presented by former British number one and 1976 French Open Champion Sue Barker alongside a whole host of former ex-professional players including John McEnroe , Martina Navratilova , Boris Becker , Billie Jean King , Tracy Austin and Tim Henman . Matches are broadcast live on BBC One, BBC Two,
16166-509: 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,
16303-462: Was Peter O'Sullevan , who became one of the first ever TV sports commentators in the immediate post-war years and stayed with the BBC until 1997. Julian Wilson had presented the BBC's horse racing coverage from 1966 to 1997. Clare Balding took over presenting duties following Wilson's retirement. Prior to 1999, the BBC had shown live cricket coverage for many decades. Coverage had been fronted by Peter West and later by Tony Lewis . Richie Benaud
16440-544: Was a commentator for the BBC for more than 30 years. In 1999, the BBC lost coverage of England home matches to Channel 4 and subsequently, one of the major criticisms of BBC Sport was that it did not show any live cricket and this was further enhanced when the BBC did not subsequently bid for the rights to show home Test matches . Due to this the popularity of cricket in UK (primarily England) has fallen sharply since cricket left terrestrial television in 2005 since being broadcast on Sky Sports . The BBC did broadcast highlights of
16577-442: 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
16714-495: 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
16851-450: Was arguably the starting point for the great popularity of snooker over the last 50 years. The sport always produces large viewing figures for the BBC; the 1985 World Snooker Championship final between Steve Davis and Dennis Taylor attracted the largest-ever audience for a BBC Two programme, pulling in 18.5 million viewers at the climax of the match shortly after midnight on 29 April 1985. The World Snooker Championship ,
16988-555: Was broadcasting news bulletins. The BBC's current rights deal lasts through the 2020 Summer Olympics . Beginning at the 2018 Winter Olympics , the BBC entered into sub-licensing agreements with Discovery Communications , the pan-European rightsholder of the Olympics for 2018 through 2024. Discovery will sub-license exclusive pay television rights to the Games from the BBC in 2018 and 2021, and will then, in turn, sub-license terrestrial rights to
17125-513: 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
17262-640: 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,
17399-474: 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),
17536-504: 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
17673-575: 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,
17810-538: 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
17947-636: 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 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,
18084-400: 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:
18221-518: Was only available through the Red Button or online). Channel 4 then took over as the terrestrial home of NFL on British TV showing a Sunday Night game, the two London games and their first Super Bowl in 16 years in 2014 after last covering the Super Bowl in 1998. Absolute Radio took over the BBC Radio rights. The BBC currently holds no motorsport broadcasting rights In 2018, the BBC signed a deal to split
18358-415: Was recorded as part of the series, Roy Keane Plays The Pundit , but was never broadcast due to Keane's reported stinging attack on his fellow Manchester United players. Bower's role also comprised studio presentation, which included fans' phone-ins and special shows such as with Joel Glazer on his family buying Manchester United. His work as Head of Presentation made him responsible for all presenters and
18495-457: 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,
18632-479: 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
18769-548: Was won back after many years in 2001, when the BBC also gained rights to The Oaks , which had only ever previously been shown by ITV and Channel 4 (until 2001, the commercial broadcasters had always held the Epsom contract, but from 1960 to 1974, in 1977 and in 1979 the BBC had shown the Derby simultaneously with ITV, because it was a protected event which could not be exclusive to either channel). The most famous BBC TV racing broadcaster
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