BBC chronology

This chronology is indicative only. There's a separate, more general communications and media timeline.

     beginnings

1922 British Broadcasting Company formed

1922 John Reith appointer General Manager

1922 first UK broadcast orchestral concert, regular news bulletin, dance music and play written for radio (The Truth About Father Christmas)

1923 first UK outside broadcast (broadcast from Covent Garden)

1923 first daily weather forecast

1924 first Big Ben daily time signal, royal broadcast and UK disk jockey programme

1923 first relay from France and from US

1927 British Broadcasting Corporation replaces the Company

1928 experimental television transmissions

1929 The Listener first published

1930 BBC acquired news agency tape machines and began editing the news bulletins

1930 first UK experimental television play: The Man with the Flower in his Mouth

1930 BBC Symphony Orchestra established

1932 first UK shortwave service

1933 first BBC female announcer

1936 start of BBC television service (world's first regular high definition service)

1937 Wimbledon tennis televised for first time

1938 first BBC foreign language service begins (Arabic)

1938 FA Cup Final first televised

1938 Reith leaves BBC

     War years

1939 television broadcasting suspended for defence reasons

1942 first daily news bulletin in Morse code transmitted for resistance in Continent

1946 radio licence increased to 1 Pound, with combined television and radio licence at 2 Pounds

1946 first UK children's television programme

1948 Olympic Games televised from Wembley televised

1949 first television weather forecast

1950 first live television from Continent

1952 television coverage 81% of UK

1953 first television broadcast of coronation

     rise of commercial tv

1954 Television Act establishes Independent Television Authority (ITA)

1955 start of UK colour television test transmissions

1955 start of independent (ie UK commercial) television

1955 television available to 91% of UK population

1957 television for UK schools starts

1958 Ampex video-recording equipment used by BBC for first time

1960 first female BBC television newsreader

1962 first live television from US by satellite

1962 start of experimental stereo radio broadcasts

1964 Radio 1 introduced (existing BBC networks renamed Radios 2, 3 and 4)

1969 Armstrong's landing on moon televised

1971 Open University programs began on radio and television

1971 Reith dies

1974 start of regular CEEFAX (teletext) service starts

     in search of a mission

1986 BBC Enterprises established

1988 BBC External Services renamed BBC World Service

1990 BBC Subscription Television Ltd created as a separate company within BBC Enterprises.



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