Timeline of British TV
This is a breadth timeline to represent the wide development of British TV. Secondary information is used to a gigantic extent as I want to cover as many specific time periods as possible.
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Types of U.K. Television
Analogue Television
This is the original television technology which uses analog signals to transmit video and audio. Analog signals vary over a range of continuous values which means that electronic noise and interference may be introduced. This form of television can be wireless, or can distributed over a cable network as cable television. All broadcast systems used analog signals prior to the introduction of digital television. This system was originally broadcasted in black and white, however by the 1950s it was broadcast in colour. |
Terrestrial Television
This is a type of broadcasting in which the television signal is transmitted by radio waves from an earth-based transmitter of a television station to a TV-receiver with a receiving antenna. The term "terrestrial" was used to differentiate this specific type from the newer forms of satellite television. This was the first technology used for television broadcasting, and channels such as the BBC began broadcasting in 1929. By 1930, many radio stations had a regular schedule of TV programmes. Terrestrial became further widespread after World War II, following the introduction of electronic scan television technology, and there was no other form of broadcasting until the 1950s (with the creation of Cable TV). |
Satellite Television
A satellite television installation allows you to receive television and radio services through a satellite dish. The services are transmitted from an earth station to a set of geostationary devices. The signals are then returned to earth where they are picked up by a satellite dish. Space satellites are used to deliver signals. Satellite Television mainly uses two different frequencies to deliver signals, the Ku band, and the lower C band. Direct Broadcast Satellite Television uses the Ku band, and other analog systems use the lower C band. Although the Ku band is the dedicated channel for satellite TV, the C band can help signals withstand some interruptions, such as signal disruption from bad weather. |
Cable Television
Cable Television is a system in which television programmes are transmitted to the sets of subscribers by cable rather than by a broadcast signal. The main supplier of cable TV services in the UK is Virgin Media, and most cable TV is delivered today in the form of fibre-optic cables, which run underground. Cable TV is normally run with an internet service, and is mostly available in highly populated areas of the UK. Before, the main companies in cable TV were NTL and Tele-west. However these companies merged in 2007, and are now Virgin Media. The British cable systems deliver hundreds of channels to millions of paid subscribers while also delivering high-speed internet access. Cable television can broadcast both analog and digital signals, and consumers pay a subscription fee to their cable television provider in exchange for the services. |
Digital Television
This is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to earlier analog television technology which uses analog signals. This represented the first significant evolution in television technology since colour television in the 1950s. This transition from analog to digital broadcasting began in the late 1990s/early 2000s, and played a large role in the development of British Television. Digital Television's modernism can be recognised as it can transmit up to seven channels in the same bandwidth as a single analog channel. It is compatible with computers and the internet, and overall has superiority over analog channel in the following areas:
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Digital Terrestrial Television / Free View
This format of television is similar to that of analog terrestrial television, however television content is broadcasted by radio waves to consumer residences in a digital format rather than an analog format. This format has greatly replaced analog since its introduction in the mid-20th Century. The bandwidth usage of digital terrestrial television is much more efficient than that of analog terrestrial television, and the image format is of a much higher quality. DTTV is either received from a digital set-top box, a TV gateway, or an integrated tuner included with television sets. It is now globally recognised as the most common type of TV service across the world, and in the UK it is known as Freeview. With Freeview you can get up to 70 free-to-air standard channels, 15 HD channels, and around 30 radio services. TV transmitters send a signal digital TV signals through the air to an aerial, which is connected to a TV in one's home. An aerial is a rod or a wire which is needed to transmit signals for Digital Terrestrial Television. |
Digital Satellite Television
The overall basis and methods for this format of television is more or less the same, with a communications satellite transmitting the television content down to a satellite dish, allowing people to watch the television content. This is a highly effective evolution in British Television as it allows the practice of long-distance transmissions of media. Digital satellite TV presents images in a much higher resolution format, and like other digital formats, uses less bandwidth to transmit channels for an audience to view. Because digital television uses encoded signals, meaning that everything from the TV channels to the user interface is customisable. The major competitor to digital satellite TV is cable, however there is practically no contest between these two formats, as DSTV essentially surpasses the qualities of Cable TV in every way imaginable. |
Digital Cable Television
Digital cable is essentially the distribution of cable television using digital data and video compression, and this format in contrast to analog cable television was developed by General Instrument. By 2000, most cable companies offered digital features, and analog-based cable ended in 2010. During the mid-2000s, broadcast television converted to the HDTV (High Definition Television) standard, and this was incompatible with traditional analog cable. Digital cable systems also allowed cable internet access, and cable telephone services. Most digital cable signals are also encrypted, which highly reduced the risk of cable television privacy, a problem which was frequent with analog cable television. As mentioned frequently, the bandwidth usage of digital formats is much more efficient in comparison to that of analog formats, and the image resolution quality is also much higher, demonstrating clear justification as to why UK quickly transitioned to Digital Cable Television. |
Prominent UK Media
Sky
Sky UK Limited (rather than just Sky, as I must specify my work to UK media), is a British broadcast and telecommunications company which provides television and broadband internet services. as well as fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of Sky Group, and since 2018, has been part of Comcast. It is the UK's largest paid-TV broadcaster, with an estimated 12.7 million customers for its digital satellite services alone as of 2019. Sky's flagship products are Sky Q and Sky Glass (an internet-based service). It was formed as British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) in November 1990, and notably owned all the television broadcasting rights for the Premier League, as well as almost all of the domestic rights to Hollywood films. |
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the UK's first and oldest national broadcaster. Its headquarters are located at Broadcasting House in London, and BBC's the largest broadcaster in the world according to number of employees (BBC has over 22,000 people hired in total). The BBC was established under a royal charter, and its work is funded primarily by an annual television license fee. Essentially, BBC is government-funded, so it doesn't need to use advertisements as a form of acquiring funding. This funding is used for BBCs radio, TV, and online services within the regions of the UK. The British Broadcasting Company was introduced in December 1922, as a means of establishing a national broadcasting service to appeal to the British public. As of now the BBC operates seven television channels nationally and internationally, with BBC One and BBC Two being its flagship television channels. |
Advertisement in the UK
Advertisement in the UK is regulated and controlled by ASA (Advertising Standards Authority). ASA was established in 1962, and is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the UK. The ASA cannot officially enforce legislations, however its code of advertising practice is more or less reflected in official legislation. The way in which British advertising gets regulated is unique; regulation is made according to complaints sent to ASA, rather than regular assessments of advertisement across British media. When ASA receives a complaint on an advertisement, they will specify their regulation focus on that exact subject, meaning regulation of advertisement in the media is precise (and therefore more effective). Complaints on advertisement can range from scam or fraudulent ads, to ads which contain profane content. The ASA is funded not by the British government, rather its levy on the advertising industry. Tobacco and cigarettes were highly advertised in the past, however advertisement for these products by the 1950s had waned following the rising fear of cancer and other tobacco-related diseases. Until the late 70s, American products and companies such as General Motors and General Electric were highly advertised in the UK, but lost their control over British advertisement as the British used the popular American styles of advertisement and structured it into more locally popular subjects of focus (such as music and fashion). By the 1970s, environmentalism had risen to prominence as a major point of advertisement. A large era of British advertisement was dedicated to the World Wars, which consisted of propaganda in order to encourage the public to fight in the military. Other products such as OMO could be seen as prominent forms of UK Media, back when print advertisement was the main form of British advertisement.
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