How does British TV work?

[Starfleet Engineer]

I have no idea how British television works and only have a few ideas and I don't know whether they are true or not. Is all British TV run by the government? Are there only BBC channels on British TV? I know there's a BBC 1, 2, 3 etc. I somehow got the idea that the most popular shows are on BBC 1 and that shows can move up from, say, BBC 3 to BBC 1 if they become more popular. Is any of this right? How does it work?

 

[JoeZhang]

Is all British TV run by the government?

No British TV is run by the government - except for maybe teacher TV - a specialist channel for school teachers (edit - no, not even that is run by the government).

Are there only BBC channels on British TV?

On terrestrial (free to air) TV - there is BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV, C4, Five plus S4C if you live in Wales. If you have cables or sat, there are 100s of additional channels, some you pay for, others you don't. All the usual sort of stuff - MTV, Movie channels, news channels etc.

I somehow got the idea that the most popular shows are on BBC 1 and that shows can move up from, say, BBC 3 to BBC 1 if they become more popular.

No - they generally move from BBC 3 (a cable/sat channel) to BBC 2 (a terrestrial channel).

In regards to ratings the big battle is generally between BBC 1 and ITV (which is actually a network of stations - with mostly national content and some regional content).

 

[Kegek]

I have no idea how British television works and only have a few ideas and I don't know whether they are true or not. Is all British TV run by the government?

Nope. I'm not British, but most of the channels I recieve are. There are non-government channels, like Sky (the provider of first-run TNG-DS9-VOY-ENT, as well as The Simpsons & Futurama), ITV, and, through cable, UK versions of American channels like Paramount Comedy, the Sci-Fi Channel, and FX (Dexter! Yaay! And Charlie Jade). I believe Sky is owned by everyone's favourite media mogul, Rupert Murdoch. There are British shows on many of these channels.

No idea how the rankings between BBC work, never really watched that.

 

[Starfleet Engineer]

If the BBC isn't government-run, who owns it?

 

[JoeZhang]

If the BBC isn't government-run, who owns it?

It's a public corporation paid for by a license fee - it is managed by a trust. The government has no control over it and no say over it's content.

 

[T J]

That you know of! Muhahaha!

 

[Temis the Vorta]

If the BBC isn't government-run, who owns it?

It's a public corporation paid for by a license fee - it is managed by a trust. The government has no control over it and no say over it's content.

Then what is their authority to demand a license fee from everyone who owns a TV? And isn't that fee enforced by law?

 

[wamdue]

well first off there is a database which lists every address with out a licence (& the ads for it are as creepy & bigbrothery as that sounds)

as for the beeb, yes it is funded by the licence fee, whilst ITV 1, C4 & five are based on licences bought from OFCOM, who do none of the regulation of TV, they are meant to do, and constantly let ITV get away with murder

meanwhile over on freeview, the free digital TV service we are getting, BBC, ITV, C4 & five have launched masses of spin-off channels (BBC 3 & 4,CBBC, Cbeebies & BBC News 24, ITV 2, 3 & 4,CITV, E4, More 4, FilmFour, five US & fiver) whilst the pay TV channels remain on pay TV, or launch crappy versions of themselves on freeview (TMF, Virgin 1 & Sky Three) the rest of freeview is shopping channels.

 

[James Cole]

I'm an American who studied for a master's degree in international studies in the UK in 2007. When I bought a USB dongle for my computer to watch TV, the store put my address into a computer database and I received a letter saying I needed to buy a "TV license" good for a year for 130 pounds or risk a 1000 pound fine. I ended up signing up for one online. I felt it was like paying the cable bill for the year all upfront.

I was pretty impressed by the TV offerings, compared to what is offered on US basic cable. I was able to pick up "Freeview" (which is like the US HDTV subchannels, only in standard definition) with an antenna and got over 50 channels and radio stations.

Aside from promoting other shows, all of the BBC channels were commercial free. And ITV and Channel 4 all had a lot less commercials than would be found on US network TV.

The British regulators are a lot more liberal about what is allowed on TV than in the US. The channels can do pretty much anything HBO can after 9 pm. One of my favorite shows was the comedy "Peep Show", which definitely couldn't be done as is in the US.

But at the same time their news channels and radio are a lot more regulated on political content and can't back a single point of view (like the Fairness Doctrine was here till Reagan abolished it in the 80s). So the Murdoch-owned Sky News Channel is much more tame than Fox News is here.

 

[Hermiod]

I have no idea how British television works and only have a few ideas and I don't know whether they are true or not. Is all British TV run by the government? Are there only BBC channels on British TV? I know there's a BBC 1, 2, 3 etc. I somehow got the idea that the most popular shows are on BBC 1 and that shows can move up from, say, BBC 3 to BBC 1 if they become more popular. Is any of this right? How does it work?

On analogue terrestrial TV we have BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, Channel 4 and Five. In theory, BBC1 and ITV1 are the mainstream channels, BBC2 and Channel 4 are "alternative" channels and Five, erm, they just spend the few quid they've got cramming CSI repeats in to every available space.

The BBC is not run by the government as such. It is paid for with a television licence fee but the BBC runs independently from the government. It is not state run television. Programming on the BBC is free from commercial interruptions. They are also not allowed to give products undue prominence, so no product placement. They are allowed to show products in a proper context, however. Jeremy Clarkson is allowed to say a new car is great and you should buy one in the context of reviewing that car.

We also have a digital terrestrial service called Freeview. The channels above are on this service plus other channels run by the same broadcasters and others. The BBC have BBC3, BBC4, BBC News 24, CBBC, CBeebies and BBC Parliament. ITV have ITV2, ITV3 and ITV4. Channel 4 have E4, Film Four and More4. Five have Five US and Fiver.

BBC3 is considered to be a more experimental channel. Programmes have quite small budgets but in return they are able to try newer things aimed typically at a younger audience. It's true that sometimes programming on this channel is popular enough that it gets a mainstream audience and sometimes they will move a show to BBC1 or BBC2. BBC3 also hosts "follow up" programming such as Doctor Who Confidential.

As I said, Freeview contains channels from all sorts of broadcasters, most of whom are commercial. Then we have our cable and satellite services which carry many, many more channels.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Just to follow up on some of the posts here.

The BBC don't collect the Licence Fee, the TV Licence Authority does. The BBC are run by Royal Charter, which basically means they're granted licence to broadcast by the government, but they are an independent public corporation.
Besides the BBC, there is also ITV, Channel 4 and Five.
ITV and Five are both commercial companies.
Channel 4 is publicly owned, not for profit. They have a government remit to push the boundaries, and offer an alternative point of view. They're also only a publishing broadcaster, they cannot producer their own shows, they have to buy a 100% of their output from the independent sector.

Sky are the major pay TV offering, but there are others. BT and Tiscalli (and soon Orange too) offer a digital terrestrial/IPTV vod service. Virgin Media offer cable.

There are 2 free to view multichannel offerings too, Freeview and Freesat.
Freeview transmits over the air, and had around 46 channels. Plus some radio channels, and a pay TV service, which downloads shows to your PVR over night, and works like video on demand.

Freesat has around 76 channels including 2 HD services, at the minute, which they're hoping to increase to around 200 by the end of the year.

Pretty much every channel but the BBC has commercials on them.

 

[diankra]

Just to follow up on some of the posts here.

The BBC don't collect the Licence Fee, the TV Licence Authority does. The BBC are run by Royal Charter, which basically means they're granted licence to broadcast by the government, but they are an independent public corporation.
Besides the BBC, there is also ITV, Channel 4 and Five.
ITV and Five are both commercial companies.
Channel 4 is publicly owned, not for profit. They have a government remit to push the boundaries, and offer an alternative point of view. They're also only a publishing broadcaster, they cannot producer their own shows, they have to buy a 100% of their output from the independent sector.

Sky are the major pay TV offering, but there are others. BT and Tiscalli (and soon Orange too) offer a digital terrestrial/IPTV vod service. Virgin Media offer cable.

There are 2 free to view multichannel offerings too, Freeview and Freesat.
Freeview transmits over the air, and had around 46 channels. Plus some radio channels, and a pay TV service, which downloads shows to your PVR over night, and works like video on demand.

Freesat has around 76 channels including 2 HD services, at the minute, which they're hoping to increase to around 200 by the end of the year.

Pretty much every channel but the BBC has commercials on them.

To get an idea of what the schedules are like, you could check http://www.radiotimes.com (hopefully it isn't UK only access) and click on the TV section, which'll give you a listings grid, starting with the main channels at the top and getting more and more obscure as you head down the screen...

 

[Bob The Skutter]

I forgot to say that most of the major players have catch up services, either streaming, or DRM'd download.

BBC have iPlayer where you can download, or stream pretty much all their home grown content for a week after broadcast, and once you've downloaded them they remain on your computer until you play them, for up to a month.
ITV have a streaming Catch Up service. Where you can stream their shows for up to a month (or sometimes until the end of the series/season)
Channel 4 have 4oD, you can either stream, or download most shows within a month of broadcast, they also have certain archive shows available for free download. They have other pay downloads too, some movies, or shows from other networks, FX, Nat Geo and Discovery all have channels on their download app.
Sky have Sky Player, which is a pay service for non-subscribers, and is either free or cheaper for subscribers.
BT is VOD anyway, and Virgin have a catch up/VOD service on their cable platform anyway.

ETA

For those wondering about the Licence Fee, here's a breakdown of where it goes.

• As of April 1 this year, the licence fee for a colour TV cost £135.50.
• It will rise to £151.50 over the next six years, going up by 3 per cent in each of the next two years, 2 per cent in each of the following three years, and up to 2 per cent in year six.
• The BBC provides eight interactive TV channels, 10 radio networks, more than 50 local TV and radio services, bbc.co.uk, and a new on-demand TV service, BBC iPlayer.
• Each household's colour TV licence cost £10.96 per month in 2006/2007.
• Of that, 49p is spent on the 240 bbc.co.uk websites.
• £7.54 goes on eight national TV channels, including BBC1, BBC2 and regional programmes.
• £1.17 goes on the 10 national radio stations, which cover music, news and sport.
• 75p covers the 40 local radio stations.
• £1.01 is the cost of broadcasting all TV and radio output, and the cost of collecting the licence fee from 25 million homes.
• The BBC employs 23,037 around the world, but around 5,000 of these are positions within the World Service, which is funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

 

[payndz201]

If the BBC isn't government-run, who owns it?

It's a public corporation paid for by a license fee - it is managed by a trust. The government has no control over it and no say over it's content.

Which is why no matter which party is in power, Labour or Conservative, they invariably accuse the BBC of being biased against them (read: questioning their decisions rather than mindlessly cheering their every action).

The licence fee is an annoyance, but to me it's worth it for Doctor Who, Top Gear, Have I Got News For You and News 24 alone. (And the BBC gets F1 back next year - no more ads! No more James Allen! And hopefully 'The Chain' back as the theme music!) It's cheaper than a Sky subscription while having a better quality and variety of programming, too.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

If the BBC isn't government-run, who owns it?

It's a public corporation paid for by a license fee - it is managed by a trust. The government has no control over it and no say over it's content.

Which is why no matter which party is in power, Labour or Conservative, they invariably accuse the BBC of being biased against them (read: questioning their decisions rather than mindlessly cheering their every action).

The licence fee is an annoyance, but to me it's worth it for Doctor Who, Top Gear, Have I Got News For You and News 24 alone. (And the BBC gets F1 back next year - no more ads! No more James Allen! And hopefully 'The Chain' back as the theme music!) It's cheaper than a Sky subscription while having a better quality and variety of programming, too.

Unless you're looking for sport, that is most definitely true. Sky at it's cheapest (1 mix) package £192, Sky World £540 per year.
Sky is rubbish, there's eleventy billion channels, but they're all repeats, or rubbish, with the occasional good American import that keeps you subscribing even though you know it's not worth what you're paying. There was maybe 5 shows I watched, and maybe 3 I really cared about before I cancelled.

 

[Angel4576]

It's the sport that keeps me hooked in.

TV shows, I d/l anyway. Although the lead-time between US airings and Sky airings are a lot narrower than terrestrial, it's still too much for me.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

It's the sport that keeps me hooked in.

TV shows, I d/l anyway. Although the lead-time between US airings and Sky airings are a lot narrower than terrestrial, it's still too much for me.

I'm not entirely sure which I prefer though... When they don't show it till January, at least they don't have all those gaps in between episodes like the American's have. But If they're showing it same week, it means you don't have to wait, or waste bandwidth downloading it.
I believe BBC 2 are planning on showing Heroes season 3 right after the American broadcasts later this year, so it looks like terrestrial channels are cottoning on to the idea.

 

[Hermiod]

Unless you're looking for sport, that is most definitely true. Sky at it's cheapest (1 mix) package £192, Sky World £540 per year.
Sky is rubbish, there's eleventy billion channels, but they're all repeats, or rubbish, with the occasional good American import that keeps you subscribing even though you know it's not worth what you're paying. There was maybe 5 shows I watched, and maybe 3 I really cared about before I cancelled.

Live sport, specifically football, is the only reason I even have the means to receive broadcast television, be it via terrestrial, satellite or cable.

The BBC does make good programming but largely it's not programming aimed at me. There's Top Gear and that's it. I will defend the licence fee simply because it gives us BBC News 24 and programming unrestrained by commercial interests but even I have to admit that it's tough to defend it when I still have to pay more to watch what I want to watch.

They gave up on Star Trek and The Simpsons, so I had to pay to watch them on Sky (do not get me started on Channel 4). They lost 24 without a fight. They were simply too late with Heroes.

I admit, though, that I'm a lost cause. I'm close to giving up on television entirely. Most of what I watch has a permanent end date attached to it and very little on the horizon has any interest for me.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I believe BBC 2 are planning on showing Heroes season 3 right after the American broadcasts later this year, so it looks like terrestrial channels are cottoning on to the idea.

They have got to, or even more people watch the tv-shows they are interested in by different means - legal or illegal. Even where I live the time between the original airing of popular tv-shows in the USA and the local airing has decreased considerably, although all the shows are dubbed.

 

[Deckerd]

I believe BBC 2 are planning on showing Heroes season 3 right after the American broadcasts later this year, so it looks like terrestrial channels are cottoning on to the idea.

They have got to, or even more people watch the tv-shows they are interested in by different means - legal or illegal. Even where I live the time between the original airing of popular tv-shows in the USA and the local airing has decreased considerably, although all the shows are dubbed.

The Beeb have stayed on top of new broadcast media, by and large. The reason they don't get into bidding wars for popular programmes is mainly because they have a remit to commission their own, good quality programmes first and foremost. I think if Sky didn't have the deep pockets to outbid the public service broacasters on footie coverage, Sky wouldn't be anything like as popular as it is at present.