THE HISTORY OF BRITISH BROADCASTING COMPANY 13
Running head: THE HISTORY OF BRITISH BROADCASTING COMPANY 1
The History of British Broadcasting Company
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Institution
The History of British Broadcasting Company
BBC came to existence in October 1922. The principal founders of the company include a group of wireless manufactures such as Marconi and some individuals –John Reith and Baron Reith. The broadcast-based its headquarters in London, the United Kingdom. The organization began broadcasting in November 1922. In essence, the company is one of the oldest broadcasting companies across the globe. Besides, the organization has employed a massive number of employees across the world hence making it the largest broadcast company in the world. The company has aired various films, for instance, Sarafina, Threads among others. The paper will, therefore, focus on expounding the transformation of the company in different decades specifically in the 1930s and 2000s.
The History of BBC in the 1930s
In March 1930 the company grouped the minor BBC radio stations that had been formed to form National and Regional Programs. The main objective of regrouping was to upsurge centralization of the broadcasting services. Furthermore, in July, the company began to experiment on television play. BBC aired the first play in the television called “The Man with the Flower in His Mouth” as an experiment (Potter, 2012). By the end of September, the number of radio licenses had skyrocketed to more than 12 million.
In 1931, the BBC carried out the first live broadcast outside the company. The possibility utilized the transmission of Derby. The activity demonstrated the outstanding transformation of the broadcasting and the advancements of the operation every year (Granger et al., 2017). Therefore, the management of the company acknowledged the individuals that it was not cumbersome to execute live transmission outside the broadcast.
BBC continued to transform even in 1932 where it first began radio broadcast. In May the same year, the company officially opened the Broadcasting House. In August the company began television broadcast from the Broadcast House. December was also a month that yielded some fruits regarding the advancement of the broadcast services. On 19 December the Empire Services launched shortwave broadcast. In the same month, King George delivered Christmas Day message. George becomes the first monarch to broadcast on the Empire Services.
In 1934, the BBC company introduced the utilization of the microphone called “Type A.” Since the market process of the microphone in the 1930s was extremely high, the company corroborated with the Marconi organization to create their own (Scannell, 2005). The microphone model became the classic microphone which was mainly used during dramas and films.
1936 became a year when the company opened television services. BBC became the first broadcasting company to use high definition television. Adele Dixon sang “The Magic Rays of Light” (Granger et al., 2017). Some of the broadcasters claimed that the invention of television is one of the time wasters and there is a need to utilize it effectively.
BBC hosted the first show for toddlers on April 24th, 1936. In May, the company had developed broadcasting services that allowed TV outside the broadcasting house. For the first time, BBC broadcasted tennis champions. On September 16th the company made the first live television broadcast. The organization broadcasted football match live. The advancement of television services became intriguing as the company made robust steps regarding the progress of broadcasting services.
On 3rd January 1938, the organization commenced broadcasting foreign-language. Arabic became the first language to be broadcast in the BBC. In April of the same year, the company broadcasted the FA Cup for the first time in history (Linfoot, 2011). Also, in September, the company commenced European radio services. Before World War II, the company had broadcasted in various languages, for instance, German, Italian and French. Effendi made BBC famous after his recruitment in the Egyptian radio station.
In 1939, there was the creation of BBC monitoring in which in the same year, the company was suspended. Monitoring services that came to existence aimed at controlling the contents that the company was broadcasting. This was the period where was political propaganda and the spread of fake news. Therefore, the country took a robust step to control the type and the nature of the contents broadcasted from the company so that it cannot lead to chaos and spread of fake news (Granger et al., 2017). The suspension took 20 minutes immediately after the programs of a cartoon. The period was the commencement of WWII. During the same year, the company merged both national and regional programs. The resultant merge was called Home Service.
Key Ideas in the 1930s
British Broadcasting Company made notable improvements after it was founded. The company made a huge benefit when it merged with different radio stations to form both national and regional services. Notably, the company made many adjustments and improvements. In essence, the utilization of technology made a notable improvement in a company.
Introduction of television services was the essential service that made the company famous. The organization was the first company to introduce television services in the world. Television expanded the coverage by a considerable percentage since people wanted to feel entertained (Potter, 2012). The invention of television complemented the radio services where individuals could no longer listen, but they could also see.
Another significant improvement in the BBC company is the use of other languages other than English. The period dictated the need to expand broadcast coverage. Typically, the company commenced entering different countries of different languages so that all people may receive news even if they speak other languages other than English (Gouyon, 2011). Furthermore, a technological improvement that made an exceptional change in the company is the development of microphone of a unique model. Type A model of microphones illustrated the utilization of technology to improve the company regarding broadcasting services.
The foundation of the BBC had both cons and pros. According to the history of the company, there are some benefits and disadvantages. The introduction of television became the best entertainment tool across the world. Ranging from cartoons, films, and music, the company broadcasted to make the individuals have fun. Besides, the organization went across the borders of the United Kingdom and extended its coverage services in different countries. The international transmission was one of the best benefits since it expanded its coverage so that it can reach more people (Scannell, 2005). Furthermore, the company gives attention to different listeners and viewers since it introduced different programs that fit different ages for instance cartoons for toddlers. Also, films and drams became programs that focused on entertaining mature people across the world.
On the other hand, BBC broadcasting services illustrated some cons according to the history of the company in the 1930s. In 1936 Isaac Shoenberg postulated that the invention of the television was one the time wasters if the users do not effectively utilize it (Potter, 2012). Therefore, BBC broadcast television broadcasting mainly had various programs that escalated fun hence may lead to addiction hence increasing time wastage. More so, due to the introduction of the control board that managed the contents of the company, it led to its suspension. Thus, demonstrating that the company may cover some unwanted content that may go against the moral and the rules of the land.
The History of BBC in the 2000s
BBC in 21st century illustrates the importance of technological advancement. The digitalization age revolutionized the broadcasting services to the extent that it led people to appreciate the utilization of technology. Therefore, the history of the BBC in the 2000s was the period of the digital revolution.
In 2000, the BBC led to the closing of Thames Valley. Consequently, the company launched both Radio Oxford and Berkshire as separate broadcasting stations. Both radio stations separated and became independent. In March the same year, the BBC led to the closure of GLR and launched London Live in the same month. At around 20th May, the company failed to broadcast Grandstand since it lost a high number of sports rights in the preceding years (Avery, 2016). The organization introduced news editions, for instance, BBC Breakfast, Nine O’clock news, and News at Ten.
The company went through numerous activities in 2001. In March, there was a bomb explosion outside the company. The bomb that exploded near the Television broadcasting center was attributed to being the Republican terrorists (Lindgren, 2012). The main motive of an explosion was as a result of the individuals who named Panorama as the key people who took part in the Omagh bomb. In September the two prominent newscasters, Kent and Sussex obtained their programs (Potter, 2012). Besides, the organization launched BBC London and eradicated the Newsroom South East and followed buy BBC 2W that was launched in November the same year.
In 2002, the company underwent some fundamental changes and introduced some programs. In February 2002, the company introduced Sports Extra that focused on broadcasting sports. Also, BBC launched two channels namely CBBC and CBeebies (Scannell, 2005). The introduction of the two channels increased the population coverage and increased the number of programs that the company used to air globally. At the beginning of the March, BBC eradicated the BBC Knowledge and introduced BBC Four. The organization launched several stations and channels for instance 6 Music, BBC7 and 1Xtra.
In 2003, BBC launched BBC Three and eliminated BBC Choice. Additionally, the company introduced BBC Two so that it can increase the coverage and range of programs. In December, the organization introduced News 24 (Avery, 2016). The station focused on the breaking news that reached the broadcasting company, and there is a need to tell the public.
2004 also became another year of transformation and the introduction of new stations and channels as a feature of the company’s expansion. Gavyn Davies and the general director of the broadcasting organization resigned and at the same time the publication of Hutton. After the resignation of Dyke, the Director General of BBC, Mark Byford took over the position (Potter, 2012).
Additionally, the organization introduced the News 24 to streamline news network. BBC yearned to improve the coverage of news across the world by launching many networks that will make it possible to broadcast news. In May, the board of directors held a meeting and appointed the new chairman after the resignation of Davies. Michael Grade became the new chairman of the BBC. Furthermore, there was the appointment of Mark Thompson as the Director-General due to the resignation of Byford (Crisell, 2002). In the same year, the company sold BBC technology, engineering segment to Siemens. The sale was a ten-year contract that existed an outsourcing strategy.
In 2005, the company reduced the number of employees to around 27000. The cut was due to the policies announced by Mark Thompson. Thus, the number of employees was supposed to reduce by around 3780 individuals (Scannell, 2005). The process took place in March so that the company may reduce the expenses in the form of salaries and wages so that it can have the capability to increase profitability. The situation occurred since the company had grown extensively across the world which had increased the number of employees that consequently increase the costs. Also, in March BCC announced the return of the “Doctor Who” after taking a break of six years. In May 23rd, the employees of the company joined a worldwide strike opposition staff cut. Most of the employees did not take their duties during the strike period to insist on the need to maintain the employees and reject the proposal of Thompson. In August the company agreed to sell the branding department to Creative Broadcast Services.
In 2006, BBC changed the name of GMR to Radio Manchester. The process was due to the promotion of branding and the creation of favorable names that suite the listeners. April became the last time that the company used Radio 4 UK. The company replaced the radio station with the news bulletin. Changes in the name mean that there was some management transformation so that it could improve the operation of the company. On May 27th the institution launched HDTV (Potter, 2012). The introduction of high revolution TV on BBC HD made a critical benefit to the viewers. Notably, the introduction made the images more manifest than before hence making the viewers enjoy programs effectively. The broadcast of “The One Show” was a modernized program which became popular in the 2000s and made some of the popular presenters to return to the station. Besides, the company gave some attention to the entertainment sector whereby it introduced BBC Entertainment and eliminated BBC Prime. The replacement was meant to increase entertainment in global markets. In October, BCC rebranded the global icon to “Circle Idents.” Still, in the same year, the organization made a tremendous transformation and adjustment. Due to the globalization and modernization of the world, the company decided to utilize the technology to transform the quarter screen into a full-screen format. The step taken by the company made it interesting to watch HD television hence enjoyable to watch the programs. The decision of screen increment was in response to the anger viewers who had demonstrated their nonsatisfaction due to the quarter screen format. Also, the extension of the screen was a pressure that originated from members of parliament after tough questions directed to them regarding the size of the screen.
Sill in 2006, Michael Grade resigned from his position as the chairmen of the BBC. The former chairman joined ITV as his favorite industry. After more than seven months of HD trial, the organization officially launched the HD channel at the beginning of December (Hajkowski, 2013). Furthermore, the broadcast commenced airing University courses related programs. The company trigged the expansion of the programs and increased the use of podcasts and DVDs hence eliminating the airing process.
In 2007, the BBC introduced new titles and Astons. Also, the “Grandstand” was aired for the last edition. The new year did not stop the company from improving its brands. In February, the organization launched Windows 2’S that was initially BBC 2 (Huggins, 2007). Notably, the BBC launched the most crucial channel for worldwide coverage. BBC Knowledge became the novel channel that covered the world; thus people could receive signals from around the world and enjoy the programs from the BBC channel. Finally, the BBC announced the introduction of the BBC iPlayer (Avery, 2016). The tool played the programs that were previously broadcasted. The launch of the iPlayer illustrated the use of new technology to improve the services of the company. Therefore, individuals could watch the programs that they missed through the utilization of the tool.
The BBC supported the EastEnders to celebrate 25 years of broadcasting in 2010. Besides, the BBC2 introduced the last episode of Working Lunch. During the same year, BBC launched the utilization of the HD in all the digital platforms (Avery, 2016). At the end of the year, BBC Switch went off the air. Furthermore, the company introduced the BBC Somerset. The station became one of the full-time stations that could air the programs continuously.
In 2013, BBC welcome the debut of the evening programs to replace other programs that used to take place at the same time. Mark Forrest broadcasted during that period in the evening and eliminated other programs except sports. According to the management of the company, the introduction of one program to replace other programs was a strategy to cut the cost that had escalated. During the evening, BCC used to host may programs hence having many hours to pay the presenters (Andrews et al., 2010). Still in the same year, 2013, BBC decided to include other channels to adopt HD. The company instructed and supported channels such as Wales, Scotland and BBC2 to use HD. Implementation of the program illustrated how the company has appreciated the digitalization era of 21st century. Additionally, the company welcomed 100 women for a debate and discussions in all its platforms – radio and televisions. 2013 became the best year for the feminists to explain themselves and ask for help if there is any (Haake, 2011). The main aim of the show was to encourage women across the world to develop their status and eliminate some barriers such as domestic barriers and abuse. The platform creates awareness among the women and encourage them to do what they are supposed to do in the world.
In 2017, a ten-year contact ended hence ending BBC Trust and introduced BBC Board. Additionally, BBC Radio 2 aired the program The Sunday Hour for the last time in 2018. In the same year, the company introduced 13 MW transmissions and announced the end of the BBC parliament (Madsen, 2005). Ultimately, in 2019, the company launched the BBC Scotland.
In conclusion, the history of the BBC demonstrated the importance of technology. Comparing the changes that took place in the 1930s and 2000 displays the role of digitalization. In the 1930s the company focused on launching various channels and stations. However, the 2000s illustrated the employment of technology to improve the operations and services in the company. In the 21st century, BBC focused on the improvement of quality view through the introduction of the HD across all the channels and expanding the screen from quarter to full screen. BBC as the media industry does have both advantages and disadvantages. The company benefits the society and individuals across the globe obtain news regarding economy, social and environmental aspects. Some of the news are warning for instance cautioning people to avoid their actions or location in case of disasters such as floods and volcanic eruption. Furthermore, BCC educates people on how to develop their economic status through trade and agriculture. Besides, BCC is one of the major entrainment industries that induces fun among people through music, comedy and drama. On the other hand, the company may escalate the spread of fake news hen e bringing hate and destroy peace. Moreover, the company may waste people’s time since most of the individuals may prefer to get entertainment for a long time. Finally, television can be addictive and can adversely affect health of a person such as eye problems and obesity.
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