BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, primetime drama and entertainment, and live BBC Sport events.
"BBC1" redirects here. For the BBC radio stations, see BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra. For other uses, see Bbc1 (disambiguation).Country
United Kingdom
- United Kingdom
- Isle of Man
- Channel Islands
Broadcasting House, London, United Kingdom
2 November 1936
- BBC Television Service (2 November 1936 – 7 October 1960)
- BBC TV (8 October 1960 – 19 April 1964)
- BBC1 (20 April 1964 – 3 October 1997)
BBC One on BBC iPlayer (UK only)
Channel 1 (SD)
Channel 101 (HD)
The channel was launched on 2 November 1936 under the name BBC Television Service, which was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution.[b] It was renamed BBC TV in 1960 and used this name until the launch of the second BBC channel, BBC2, in 1964. The main channel then became known as BBC1. The channel adopted the current spelling of BBC One in 1997.
The channel's annual budget for 2012–2013 was £1.14 billion.[1] It is funded by the television licence fee together with the BBC's other domestic television stations and shows uninterrupted programming without commercial advertising. The television channel had the highest reach share of any broadcaster in the United Kingdom as at 2019,[2] ahead of its traditional rival for ratings leadership ITV.[3] In 2013, a major global study of the BBC by the Populus polling organisation found BBC One to be rated the highest-quality TV channel in the world, with BBC Two coming in third place.[4]
Sister channels[edit]
BBC One +1[edit]
On 8 October 2013, the BBC announced plans to launch a one-hour time shift of the channel, named BBC One +1.[73] The channel would have replaced BBC Three in 2016. However, on 30 June 2015, the BBC Trust rejected the plans for a BBC One +1 channel as they stated that it would be at the expense of commercial rivals.[74]
Regional variations[edit]
BBC One has individual continuity and opt-outs for Scotland,[111] Wales[112] and Northern Ireland.[113] Each variant maintains the BBC One logo with the addition of the constituent country name beneath it.
In England,[114] each region has an individual regional news and current affairs programme opt-out as well as a limited amount of continuity. UK Today, a news programme, was shown nationally to digital viewers in place of regional programmes when they were unavailable to broadcast on analogue television. The programme was discontinued in 2002 and replaced by a transmission of BBC London News until all BBC regions were made available digitally.
BBC One Scotland has the greatest level of variation from the generic channel, owing to BBC Scotland scheduling Scottish programming on the main BBC Scotland channel, rather than on BBC Two. BBC One Scotland variations include the soap opera River City and the football programme Sportscene, the inclusion of which causes programming to be displaced or replaced.
BBC One Wales was considered a separate channel by the BBC as early as its launch in the mid-1960s, appearing as BBC Wales.[115]
Availability outside the UK[edit]
BBC One (Northern Ireland) is widely available in Ireland on cable and satellite television. BBC One (especially the London feed) is also available on cable and IPTV in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Monaco and Liechtenstein. The channel is registered to broadcast within the European Union/EEA through the Luxembourgish Broadcasting Regulator – ALIA.[116][117]
On 27 March 2013 it was offered by British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) to members of HM Forces and their families around the world, replacing the BFBS1 TV channel, which already carried a selection of BBC One programmes.[118]
All feeds of BBC One in both SD and HD are broadcast unencrypted on the Astra 2E and 2G satellites, allowing viewing across Belgium, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and parts of France, Germany and Spain.[119][120]
Accessibility[edit]
The BBC announced in May 2008 that it had achieved its aim for all programming to have subtitles for viewers with hearing difficulties.[121][122] The BBC also offers audio description on some popular BBC One programmes[123] for visually impaired viewers. The percentage of the BBC's total television output with audio description available is 10%, having been increased from 8% in 2008.[124]