Electronic Media
Television
The history of the BBC: the first TV era
The British Broadcasting Company started daily transmissions on November
14th 1922, by which time more than one million ten-shilling (50p) licences had
been issued. In 1927 the company was restructured as a public corporation― the
BBC that we know today― by its founding father, John (later Lord) Reith, but by
this time an even newer technology was being developed ―television.
In 1923 the Scotsman John Logie Baird began developing a system by
which television would be made possible. Baird wasn’t the only one developing
this new system at that time; indeed, Earl Ferdinand Braun had invented the first
commercial cathode ray tube as early as 1897. But it was Baird who developed the
disc-scanning equipment that made television possible. In 1926 Baird enlisted the
aid of Selfridges in London to put on public demonstrations of his equipment.
In May of 1934 the British government appointed a committee, under the
guidance of Lord Selsdon, to begin enquiries into the viability of setting up a
public television service, with recommendations as to the conditions under which
such a service could be offered. The results of the Selsdon’s Report were issued as
a single Government White Paper in January of the following year. The BBC was
to be entrusted with the development of television, which had to transmit a
definition of not less than 240 lines with a minimum of 25 pictures per second.
The committee proposed that the two new high definition systems (Baird’s
240 line and Marconi-EMI’s 405 line) would be chosen to alternate transmissions
by the BBC over a set period, until it was decided which was the better. Looking
for a suitable site for the new service, the BBC chose Alexandra Palace in
Haringey, Greater London. Its position, high on a hill, made it the ideal place to
place a transmitter that would cover all of London and many of its surrounding
counties.
Sanctioned with the monumental task of bringing high-definition
broadcasting to the British public as a regular service was Director of Radio
Outside Broadcasting, Gerald Cox, now appointed the BBC’s Director of
Television. Cox’s first task was to assemble a team of experts and then summon
them to a meeting where a plan of strategy could be worked out. In front of camera
was to be experienced Movietone News commentator, Leslie Mitchell, and female
announcers Jasmine Bligh and Elizabeth Cowell were chosen from thousands of
hopefuls who had applied for the job. According to popular legend Cox assembled
his staff and told them that since none of them knew a thing about television
broadcasting, he was going to give them ample time to find out. They were given
four months to study the new medium and do all the experimenting they needed in
order to get it «right on the night».
• «Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It is with great pleasure that I
introduce you to the magic of television…» – with those words Leslie Mitchell
introduced Britain’s first high-definition public television programme from
Radiolympia. The date was 26th August 1936.
On November 2nd 1936 the world’s first regular high definition service
began transmitting to the 100 or so TV sets available in Britain.
The BBC began transmitting from Alexandra Palace for two hours every
day (except Sunday’s). A copy of the Radio Times dated October 30th reveals the
opening day line-up. According to the publication, on this particular week the
Baird System was being used.
The range of the service offered by the BBC covered a radius of
approximately 40 miles from Muswell Hill, although that was by no means a rigid
limit. Some people reported picking up pictures from beyond that range although it
seemed to depend on a mixture of freak conditions and which transmission system
was being used at the time.
On May 12th 1937 cameras were sent to cover the Coronation of King
George V1. Following this, viewers got their first chance to witness a major
sporting event when the Wimbledon Tennis Championships were first broadcast on
June 21st, 1937, with a match between Bunny Austin and George Rogers. By 1939
programmes were being broadcast seven days a week.
Then on 1st September 1939 the screens went blank. Viewers waited for an
announcement but none came. Britain and the BBC were about to go to war, and
the first television era had come to an end.
Answer the following questions.
1. When was the BBC organized?
2. What kind of events did it transmit?
3. What were the two new high definition systems?
4. Do you know how it’s functioning now?
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