First day of BBC television
The world's first scheduled, high-definition (as then defined; meaning 240-line) television programmes were broadcast on 2 November 1936 by the
Background
The
The BBC Television Service officially launched on 2 November 1936.[5][6] This is often described as the world's first regular high definition television service.[7][8][9][10][nb 1] Programming included short ad-hoc performances by musicians, with the duration limited as "lookers in" (as viewers were called) were found to experience eye strain through looking at the small screens then in use.[11][12]
Line-up
The BBC's official publication,
- 3:00 – Opening of the BBC Television Service
- 3:15 – Interval; time, weather
- 3:20 – British Movietone News
- 3:30 – Variety
- 4:00 – Close
From 9 pm to 10 pm, pre-recorded films and more news were screened.[5] The films included Television Comes to London, a pre-made fifteen-minute documentary about the launch, shot on 35mm film.[11] It was the BBC's first television documentary.[11]
Opening
The first person heard and seen was the
According to advance publicity in The Radio Times, the opening was then to be:[13]
by Major the Right Hon. G.C. Tryon, M.P., H.M. Postmaster-General
Mr. R.C. Norman (Chairman of the BBC) and the Right Hon. the Lord Selsdon, K.B.E. (Chairman of the Television Advisory Committee) will also speak.
Variety
The Radio Times billed the Variety performers as:[5]
- Adele Dixon – Musical Comedy Star
- Buck and Bubbles – Comedians and Dancers
- The Lai Founs – Chinese Jugglers
however, in the event The Lai Founs did not appear.[11]
Dixon performed a specially commissioned song, "Television", written by James Dyrenforth and Kenneth Leslie-Smith.[11] The event made Buck and Bubbles (Buck Washington and John W. Bubbles) the first black people to appear on television.[11]
The musicians were billed as
Technology
The broadcast was made from a converted wing of
BBC television initially used two systems on alternate weeks: the Baird system and the
Alexandra Palace housed two studios (one for each system), various scenery stores, make-up areas, dressing rooms, offices, and the transmitter itself.
Notes
- ^ The first regular electronic television service in Germany began in Berlin on 22 March 1935, as Deutscher Fernseh Rundfunk. Broadcasting from the Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow, it used a 180-line system, and was on air for 90 minutes, three times a week.
References
- ^ "100 years of radio since Marconi's big breakthrough". Ofcom. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
- ^ Linfoot, Matthew. "History of the BBC: The origins of BBC Local Radio". bbc.com. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "History of the BBC: 1920s". bbc.com. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ "A new service: 1935-36". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- ^ The Radio Times. No. 683. 30 October 193. p. 88. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ "Opening Night: November 1936". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-85296-914-4.
- ISBN 978-0-86341-079-6.
- ISBN 978-1-135-19472-7.
- ^ "The History of Television (or, How Did This Get So Big?)". www.cs.cornell.edu. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Television's Opening Night: How the Box Was Born (Documentary). BBC Four. 19 May 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ laurence marcus. "THE HISTORY OF THE BBC: THE FIRST TV ERA". Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
- The Radio Times. No. 683. 30 October 1936. p. 88. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-85296-914-4.
External links
- First regular hi-definition television service – BBC page.