BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002[1] and shows a wide variety of programmes including arts, documentaries, music, international film and drama, and current affairs.[2] It is required by its licence to air at least 100 hours of new arts and music programmes, 110 hours of new factual programmes, and to premiere twenty foreign films each year.[3][4] The channel broadcasts daily from 7:00 pm to 4:00 am, timesharing with CBeebies (which starts at 6:00 am).[5]
"BBC4" redirects here. For the BBC radio stations, see BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 4 Extra.Country
- United Kingdom
- Isle of Man
- Channel Islands
London, England
English
2 March 2002
Channel 9 (SD; 24 in Scot)
Channel 106 (HD)
Watch live (UK only)
Watch live (Ireland only)
The channel direction is determined by the channel's remit, set by royal charter and the corporation's governing body (the BBC Board), and by the channel controller. In October 2013, following the departure of Richard Klein from the controllership, the management of the channel changed, with the role of Controller of BBC Four scrapped: from this point the Controller of BBC Two would have ultimate oversight of BBC Four as part of their role, absorbing some of the former duties of the Controller of BBC Four, but a new 'Channel Editor' post, reporting up to this controller, would be created to take day-to-day charge of Four. The controllers of BBC Four from 2002 to 2016 have been:
Channel Editors of BBC Four have been:
As of 2011, BBC Four had an annual budget of £54.3 million.[3]
On 20 January 2016, Kim Shillinglaw announced that she had decided to leave the BBC as the Controller of BBC Two and BBC Four. As a result of the reorganisation, the post of BBC Two and Four control had closed after her departure later that year.[29]
Availability outside the UK[edit]
BBC Four is widely available on cable, IPTV and digital satellite television in the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. The channel is registered to broadcast within the European Union/EEA through the Luxembourg Broadcasting Regulator – ALIA.[74][75]