Innovative, progressive and pioneering - the British Broadcasting Corporation has proved a powerful force in the 20th century - providing entertainment, education and information, and captivating millions of viewers and listeners at home and abroad.
Before the BBC
Guglielmo Marconi is credited with the discovery of radio in 1895, harnessing the achievements of earlier experimenters James Clerk Maxwell, Sir Oliver Lodge, and Heinrich Hertz.
Having failed to win support in his native Italy, he brought the technology to England where he was allowed to demonstrate the potential of radio waves as a means of wireless telegraphic communication.
By 1908 sea captains were using wireless signals to transmit Morse code, and in 1914, speech was transmitted for the first time. The Great War saw further advances. Commanders could talk to their troops in remote trenches, and even to aircraft flying overhead.
In 1920 Marconi invited opera star Dame Nellie Melba to perform at his works in Chelmsford, demonstrating the potential of wireless for the purpose of entertainment.
The authorities were reluctant to allow the chaotic radio free-for-all witnessed in America. There, hundreds of radio stations had been allowed to spring up, often operating on conflicting frequencies. None had a secure source of income, and 50% failed within a few years.
By 1921 pressure from the public was mounting. The UK hobbyists wanted their own service. It was also apparent that Government caution was holding back the British radio manufacturing industry.
Thus, in early 1922, the Post Office agreed first to the creation of experimental stations such as 2MT (Writtle Chelmsford) and 2LO (London), and then to the formation of the British Broadcasting company.
The Beginnings
The British Broadcasting Company, as the BBC was originally called, was formed in October 1922 by a group of leading wireless 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. Wireless quickly caught on as a medium of mass communication. By 1925 the BBC could be heard throughout most of the UK.
The biggest influence on the early BBC was its general manager, John Reith, a 33-year-old Scottish engineer. The company had been formed with a commercial mission – to sell radio sets – but Reith had a higher purpose. He envisaged an independent British broadcaster able to educate, inform and entertain the whole nation, free from political interference and commercial pressure.
Within a year the BBC had broadcast plays, concerts of popular and classical music, talks and variety programmes from its first home in Savoy Hill. But the powerful newspaper industry successfully kept the BBC out of the news business. Bulletins were prepared by the news agencies, and could only be broadcast after 7pm – so as not to upset newspaper sales.
Early Technology
The earliest radio receivers were home made crystal or ‘cat’s whisker’ sets, to which the listener would attach headphones. Amplifiers enabled group listening. Then battery-powered valve sets emerged, capable of picking up weak signals from overseas stations. By the Thirties many homes had mains power sets housed in polished wood or moulded Bakelite cabinets.
Editorial Independence
The General Strike of 1926 brought the BBC its first serious confrontation with the Government over editorial independence. With no regular newspapers being published, the country turned to the BBC for its news. Winston Churchill, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, urged the Government to take over the BBC, but Reith persuaded Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin that this would be against the national interest.
In 1927, the British Broadcasting Company became the British Broadcasting Corporation when it was granted its first Royal Charter and John Reith was knighted.
Developments
The BBC soon outgrew Savoy Hill, and in 1932 it moved into the world’s first purpose-built radio production centre, Broadcasting House, in Portland Place. It quickly became a city landmark and was described as "a new Tower of London".
Throughout the thirties, eminent figures, including writers, performers, actors and artists, were heard in talks, plays, sport and children's programmes. In the field of classical music, the BBC Symphony Orchestra was formed, and the first BBC commission (to composer Gustav Holst) was awarded.
Variety, as light entertainment was called, had millions of listeners. Band Waggon and ITMA had a huge following, but taste and decency became an issue early on for the BBC. Comedians overstepped the mark at their peril, and jokes about religion, drunkenness, and many other sensitive subjects were banned.
In 1932 the BBC broadened its horizons with the opening of the Empire Service, the forerunner of BBC World Service. On Christmas Day 1932, King George V gave the first royal broadcast to the Empire. It was scripted by the author Rudyard Kipling.
Television arrives
Against the instincts of John Reith, who never saw the value of television, the BBC was asked to test two rival television systems. Thus, on 2 November 1936 the BBC opened the world's first regular service of high-definition television from Alexandra Palace in North London. The home favourite was the Scottish inventor John Logie Baird, who had achieved a world first by transmitting a foggy image 11 years earlier. But his mechanical system proved a non-starter, and after just two months the US-backed electronic system developed by EMI-Marconi was formally adopted.
Like radio, the world's first regular high-definition television service developed rapidly between 1936 and 1939. Many ambitious outside broadcasts were made, including King George VI's coronation procession on May 12, 1937. This 'small miracle', as the press called it, was seen on television by only 10,000 people. Other important landmarks include the first Wimbledon coverage (June 1937) and the first FA Cup Final coverage (April 30, 1938).
Before the decade was out, Reith had stepped down, bored and restless. His last preoccupation, in anticipation of new hostilities in Europe, had been to set in place arrangements for wartime broadcasting.
Impact of the Second World War
With the television service closed for the duration, it was radio’s war and the BBC nearly lost it in the opening skirmishes. In the early ‘phoney war’ millions found Lord Haw Haw, the German propaganda weapon, significantly more entertaining than the austere fare of the BBC. Listeners complained about the new Home Service, which had replaced the National and Regional programme services, and there were too many organ recitals and public announcements.
As a result the BBC lightened its tone, with a new emphasis on morale-boosting entertainment. ITMA attracted 16 million listeners each week. Other popular comedy shows included Hi, Gang!, and Vera Lynn’s programme Sincerely Yours won her the title of 'Forces’ Sweetheart'.
Enhanced News Profile
In 1943, the BBC set up its War Reporting Unit. Its members underwent rigorous training in military survival techniques and were equipped with a new, light recording device developed by BBC engineers for use in the field of action. Distinguished BBC war correspondents, including Richard Dimbleby, Frank Gillard, Godfrey Talbot and Wynford Vaughan-Thomas, were able to bring back near-live war coverage to a nation desperate for news.
The BBC emerged from the war with an enhanced reputation for honesty and accuracy in its news broadcasts. Half the population regularly listened to the 9 o’clock news. By the end of the war, the BBC was broadcasting in 40 languages. Josef Goebbels, Hitler’s master of propaganda, is said to have admitted that BBC Radio had won the "intellectual invasion" of Europe.
Radio Diversity
Radio advanced enormously after World War II. In the austerity of postwar Britain, listeners enthusiastically welcomed having access to the great classical repertoire in music, drama, literature as well as the inaugural Reith lecture in 1948. There was populism too, in the form of Workers’ Playtime, Music While You Work and Desert Island Discs.
The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II
On June 2 1953, a single event changed the course of television history. An estimated 22 million TV viewers – many crowded into neighbours’ living rooms - saw the young Queen crowned. The television age had arrived. The event prompted many to buy their own sets, and it was evident that television would soon be as important as radio to UK audiences.
As television licence income grew, more ambitious programmes were possible, and a new crop of stars emerged, including David Attenborough (Zoo Quest 1954), Eamonn Andrews (This Is Your Life 1955) and Jack Warner (Dixon of Dock Green 1955). Drama successes like The Quatermass Experiment and the controversial adaptation of Nineteen Eighty Four became talking points all over the country.
Competition
BBC Radio launched a number of historic shows in the 50s including of The Archers, The Goon Show and Hancock's Half Hour. But the advent of ITV in September 1955 exposed BBC Television as dull and complacent. As the ITV transmitter network expanded, the BBC lost viewers at an alarming rate, and its share of the viewing audience fell to 28% in 1957.
However by the end of the decade the trend had been reversed. TV hits of the 50s included Panorama, The Sky At Night, Grandstand, Blue Peter and Jukebox Jury.
In the 50s the BBC was again in conflict with the government, as the country teetered on the brink of war in the Suez Crisis. Again there was talk of the government taking over the BBC because of what was seen to be an unpatriotic stance, but the BBC kept its nerve, and emerged with its reputation for independence
Technological Enhancement
There were two major technological breakthroughs this decade. In 1955, the introduction of VHF transformed sound broadcasting. It finally allowed listeners to enjoy clear reception, overcoming problems associated with the cluttering of the long and medium wavebands.
At the end of the decade, electronic video recording arrived, to transform television production. At last programmes could be recorded in advance at low cost, and live programmes, with all their imperfections, became rarer.
New Era Programming
The 1960s brought more up-to-date content that reflected the times and the expectations of audiences whose appetite had been whetted by the choice offered by ITV.
Thus the arrival of That Was The Week That Was in 1962 with David Frost, shook the British Establishment. More anarchic stars were waiting in the wings. A new radio programme, I’m Sorry I’ll Read That Again (1965) introduced John Cleese and the future Goodies, Bill Oddie and Tim Brooke-Taylor. Radio comedy flourished with new programmes such as Round the Horne, I’m Sorry I’ll Read that Again and Just a Minute. This was the decade of Dr Finlay’s Casebook (1962) and Maigret (1960), as well as notable long-running programmes such as Match of the Day, Man Alive, Nationwide and Animal Magic.
Viewers enjoyed the portrayal of a new breed of gritty policemen in Z Cars (1962), wept at the plight of the homeless in the Wednesday Play, Cathy Come Home (1966) and were riveted by The Forsyte Saga (1967). Doctor Who (1963), Top of the Pops (1964), Horizon (1964), Tomorrow’s World (1965) and Dr Kildare also attracted large audiences.
TV and Radio Expansion
BBC Television Centre in West London opened in June 1960. In the same year, an inquiry into the future of television and radio praised public service broadcasting and authorised the setting up of a second channel, BBC Two (launched in 1964). Radio 1 began in 1967 following the banning of pirate radio stations.
From the late Sixties, Radio listeners were able to enjoy more programmes broadcast in the superior sound of FM stereo. 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. Within ten years there would be 12 million colour licences in the UK.
The Sixties was also the decade when the monarchy first went public on television in The Royal Family (1969), when England won the World Cup (1966), and when Mary Whitehouse became a household name with her “Clean Up TV” campaign.
Documentary, Drama, Comedy
This was the ‘golden age’ of television. Income grew as more and more homes bought television licences and, more significantly, more switched to colour. As a result the schedules were able to offer greater depth and variety. Documentary highlights included programmes such as The Ascent of Man. The Family, a fly-on-the-wall series in 1974, could claim to be the first 'reality TV' programme.
I Claudius, Pennies from Heaven and Last of the Summer Wine reflect the variety of television drama. The BBC earned the description of 'The Theatre in the Living Room' when the televising of all of Shakespeare’s plays began in 1978 with Romeo and Juliet. This was a vintage period for outstanding new comedy such as Are You Being Served? (1973), The Good Life and Fawlty Towers (1975).
As well as entertaining and informing, the BBC addressed its educational remit. This decade saw the launch of 'the university of the airwaves', the BBC’s collaboration with the Open University.
In 1972 the CEEFAX text service was introduced after engineers developed the technique of transmitting digital data within analogue signals. Subtitling of programmes on CEEFAX began in 1979.
Radio Competition
Radio had its work cut out with competition from commercial stations such as LBC and Capital. The BBC responded with a raft of new radio programmes, including I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue and The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. The first phone-in programmes had a mixed reception, but many listeners welcomed the opportunity to put questions directly to politicians and celebrities in live programmes such as Radio 4’s It’s Your Line.
Broadcasting and Government
The BBC faced many challenges from the Government regarding programme output. The Annan Committee Report of 1977 criticised the BBC for 'loss of nerve' and 'organisational fog'. As a result of this report, the way was paved for the establishment of Channel 4 (1982).
1979 saw the BBC bring together all its commercial activities under BBC Enterprises Ltd. Now called BBC Worldwide, this commercial arm returns significant funds back to BBC programming through its sales of videos, books, audio and magazines.
Nation At War
This was a challenging decade for BBC correspondents who reported in depth on dramatic and often dangerous events from Northern Ireland, Tiananmen Square, the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
In Ethiopia, Michael Buerk alerted the world to a famine of Biblical proportions. It led the phenomenal Live Aid concert of 1985, which raised more than £60 million.
This was the decade of the Falklands War (1982), the miners’ strike (1984), the wedding of the Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer (1981), the arrival of EastEnders (February 1985) and Neighbours (October 1986).
TV and Radio Highlights
Important new television programmes included Newsnight (1980), Rough Justice, Timewatch (1982), Crimewatch (1984) and Watchdog (1985). EastEnders, the BBC’s response to Granada’s Coronation Street, quickly became the most watched BBC programme on television. It still regularly attracts over 12 million viewers. Breakfast Television, a new venture for the BBC presented by Frank Bough and Selina Scott, began in 1983 and this was followed three years later by daytime television.
Television coverage of the House of Lords began with a six-month experiment in 1985, and four years later cameras were allowed in the House of Commons for an experimental period. In 1990 the Commons voted in favour of allowing the cameras to stay.
Radio highlights ranged from the dramatisation of Lord of the Rings to In the Psychiatrist’s Chair.
More Technology
Home video recorders arrived in the Eighties, and gradually changed the way the nation regarded and used broadcasting. Other advances included satellite broadcasting. The BBC contemplated satellite, but judged the risks, and costs, to be too great.
Competition and Conflict
It was a decade of competitive pressure and political pressure on the BBC. Channel 4 went on air in 1982, more commercial radio stations opened, and satellite television services were launched.
And while the Thatcher government stopped short of privatising the BBC or introducing advertising, it pressed the organisation to challenge union power, and pursue greater efficiency. Director-General Alasdair Milne was fired, and his successor, Michael Checkland, responded by introducing a rudimentary internal market to drive efficiency. John Birt was hired from London Weekend Television to overhaul the current affairs department, deemed to be out of control.
In 80s were littered with political rows, the most spectacular of which concerned a current affairs programme, Real Lives, in 1985. The Home Secretary, Leon Brittan, concerned asked the BBC governors to stop the broadcast of an edition about extremists in Northern Ireland. The Board, quite exceptionally, viewed the programme before the planned transmission and demanded that changes were made. Staff went on strike over a decision that brought the Corporation’s tradition of political independence into question.
Technological Innovation and Internal Change
The arrival of digital technology and the Internet during this decade marked a new era in broadcasting. For the viewer, digital television offered more channels and wider interactivity; for the listener, digital radio provided CD-quality sound and flexibility of service. BBC Online, an Internet service which did not exist at the beginning of the 90s, was one of the leading websites in Europe by the end of 1999.
In the mid-90s, Director-General John Birt introduced Producer Choice, a full-blown internal market, which encouraged producers to choose between BBC suppliers and the outside market for their facilities. Resulting savings, along with the profits from the sale of the BBC transmitter network, enabled the BBC to meet the cost of the technological revolution.
Radio Expansion
Radio 5, the first new network for 23 years, opened in August 1990, offering sport and learning opportunities. The other networks strengthened their identity and audience focus with stations like Radio 1 undergoing modernisation. Radio 4 also underwent significant change, appealing to younger audiences in areas such as comedy and arts.
TV Diversity
In the face of growing competition, the BBC sought to offer a range of programmes that commercially funded broadcasters would not provide. It was this ‘Extending Choice’ mission that secured a new Charter in 1996. Many new series made an instant impact, including comedy shows such as One Foot in the Grave, Absolutely Fabulous and Have I Got News For You. The late Nineties saw a revival of costume drama, with the adaptation of Middlemarch and Pride and Prejudice. The end of the decade saw a number of groundbreaking science and natural history programmes – in particular, The Human Body and Walking with Dinosaurs.
The nation’s fascination with its Royal Family was never more evident than in the 90s. Huge audiences watched a Panorama interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, in which she spoke frankly about her crumbling marriage, and the expressions of grief at her death in 1997 took the BBC by surprise.
Other innovations in the 90s included the Teletubbies and Tweenies for children, and the launch of BBC News 24.
Advances in Television
The BBC opened the new millennium with the most ambitious programme in its history. Hundreds of outside broadcasts across the globe fed into BBC Television Centre, and a continuous programme lasting 28 hours was beamed back to viewers around the world. The show involved 60 nations, and was seen in over 80 countries worldwide.
Following ITV’s decision to drop News At Ten, the BBC’s evening bulletin moved to 10pm. After the turn of the millennium, a new enthusiasm for history programmes was evident, and programmes such as What the Romans/Victorians/Stewarts Did For Us followed Simon Schama’s epic History Of Britain series.
The Weakest Link presented by Anne Robinson was an instant success and the format was quickly exported to other countries. Landmark television such as Blue Planet and Walking with Beasts, as well as groundbreaking comedy such as The Office, pulled huge audiences. In children’s television Teletubbies was sold to over 75 countries and translated into 45 languages.
Digital expansion followed with the launch of BBC Four, Cbeebies, CBBC and BBC Three. Interactive television kicked off with coverage of Wimbledon 2001 and its success encouraged increased interactive activity in television programming.
In line with its public service remit, the BBC has led the way in encouraging digital take-up. When the terrestrial Ondigital service ran into difficulties, the BBC launched Freeview, enabling licence payers to move to digital without having to pay a subscription.
Radio
Radio too celebrated huge successes in The Century Speaks, which presented a vast oral history of the 20th century. History programmes and seasons included A Thousand Years of Spoken English, The Routes of English and This Sceptr’d Isle. Radio 4 itself made history when it devoted eight hours on Boxing Day to a reading of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
The arrival of digital services in 2002 marked the largest expansion of radio in the BBC’s History. Services such as 1Xtra, 5 Live, Sports Extra, 6 Music and Network 7 were launched and, by popular demand, World Service was made available to domestic listeners.
BBC and the Hutton Enquiry
In May 2003 the BBC became embroiled in a bitter row with Government. A report on the Today programme had suggested that the Government ‘sexed up’ the case for war with Iraq in a dossier of evidence about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The governors backed the report, rejecting demands from Prime Minister Tony Blair for a retraction. The row escalated over the following weeks, when editorial flaws became evident. In July both sides were stunned by the suicide of David Kelly, the government weapons advisor, who had been exposed as the source of the BBC report. The Hutton Inquiry followed, and on January 28 2004 chairman Gavyn Davies resigned when Lord Hutton’s findings were published. The following day the remaining governors accepted the resignation of director-general Greg Dyke.
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Like radio, the world's first regular high-definition television service developed rapidly between 1936 and 1939. Many ambitious outside broadcasts were made, including King George VI's coronation procession on May 12, 1937. This 'small miracle', as the press called it, was seen on television by only 10,000 people. Other important landmarks include the first Wimbledon coverage (June 1937) and the first FA Cup Final coverage (April 30, 1938). 
