The History Of The Bbc

The History of the BBC

- The British Broadcasting Company, as the BBC was originally called, was formed in October 1922 by a group of leading radio manufacturers including the great radio pioneer, Guglielmo Marconi.

- Daily broadcasting by the BBC began from Marconi’s London studio on November 14. This was followed the next day by broadcasts from Birmingham and Manchester, and over the following months the transmitter network spread across the UK. By 1925 the BBC could be heard through most of the UK.

- The biggest influence on the early BBC was its general manager, John Reith, a Scottish engineer. The company had been formed with a commercial mission – to sell radio sets – but Reith had a higher purpose. He created an independent British broadcaster able to educate, inform and entertain the whole nation, free from political interference and commercial pressure.

- The BBC soon outgrew Savoy Hill its first home, and in 1932 it moved into the Broadcasting House, in Portland Place. It quickly became a city landmark and was described as "a new Tower of London"

- BBC broadcasted talks, plays, sport, children’s programme and classical music

- in November 1967 the first BBC local radio station opened in Leicester and within a few years there were 20 local stations.

- Colour television broadcasts began on BBC Two in 1967, followed by BBC One in 1969

- Then came BBC three and four as well

- The international channels are BBC world and BBC amerika

- There were lots of programme innovations, for example the Teletubbies, which wirst shown in the 90s, and the Weakest Link presented by Anne Robinson