An Introductory History of British Broadcasting ‘. a timely and provocative combination of historical narrative and social analysis. Crisell’s book provides an important historical and analytical introduc- tion to a subject which has long needed an overview of this kind.’ Sian Nicholas, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television ‘Absolutely excellent for an overview of British broadcasting history: detailed, systematic and written in an engaging style.’ Stephen Gordon, Sandwell College An Introductory History of British Broadcasting is a concise and accessible history of British radio and television. It begins with the birth of radio at the beginning of the twentieth century and discusses key moments in media history, from the first wireless broadcast in 1920 through to recent developments in digital broadcasting and the internet. Distinguishing broadcasting from other kinds of mass media, and evaluating the way in which audiences have experienced the medium, Andrew Crisell considers the nature and evolution of broadcasting, the growth of broadcasting institutions and the relation of broadcasting to a wider political and social context. This fully updated and expanded second edition includes: ■ The latest developments in digital broadcasting and the internet ■ Broadcasting in a multimedia era and its prospects for the future ■ The concept of public service broadcasting and its changing role in an era of interactivity, multiple channels and pay per view ■ An evaluation of recent political pressures on the BBC and ITV duopoly ■ A timeline of key broadcasting events and annotated advice on further reading Andrew Crisell is Professor of Broadcasting Studies at the University of Sunderland. He is the author of Understanding Radio, also published by Routledge. An Introductory History of British Broadcasting Second edition Andrew Crisell First published 1997 or hereafter invented, including by Routledge photocopying and recording, or in any 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE information storage or retrieval system, Simultaneously published in the USA without permission in writing from the and Canada by Routledge publishers. 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY British Library Cataloguing in 10001 Publication Data Reprinted 2001 A catalogue record for this book is Second edition published 2002 available from the British Library Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Library of Congress Cataloging in Francis Group Publication Data Crisell, Andrew This edition published in the Taylor and An introductory history of British Francis e-Library, 2005. broadcasting / Andrew Crisell. –2nd ed. p. cm. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s Includes bibliographical references and collection of thousands of eBooks please index. go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” 1. Broadcasting–Great Britain–History. I. Title. © 1997, 2002 Andrew Crisell HE8689.9.G7 C75 2002 384.54'0941–dc21 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or ISBN 0-203-99500-7 Master e-book ISBN utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known ISBN 0–415–24791–8 (hbk) ISBN 0–415–24792–6 (pbk) To Brian Kennett Contents Acknowledgements to the first edition xiii Acknowledgements to the second edition xv Preface to the second edition xvii Introduction xix Part I THE PHENOMENON OF BROADCASTING 1 Sources/further reading 10 1 THE BIRTH OF RADIO 13 The development of radio technology 14 The establishment of a public broadcasting service 17 The first programmes 20 Radio listeners and wireless receivers 22 Between the fire and the fire-brigade 24 Sources/further reading 26 2 THE BBC: FROM PRIVATE COMPANY TO NATIONAL INSTITUTION 27 Regional, national, global 28 Growing pains 30 Developments in radio news 32 Contents The cultural values of the BBC 33 Classical music programming 36 Popular music 37 Light entertainment 39 Educational, features and documentary programmes 41 Constructing the listener: the need for audience research 43 Sources/further reading 47 3 KEEPING THE SABBATH, WAGING A WAR AND BUILDING A PYRAMID 49 Breaches of the BBC’s monopoly 50 Trimming some sails 52 Two cheers for democracy 54 The Home Service and the Forces Programme 58 The sounds of war: news 60 The sounds of war: entertainment 62 Broadcasting in wartime: an assessment 65 Post-war reconstruction 67 Sources/further reading 69 4 THE GOLDEN AGE OF RADIO AND THE RISE OF TELEVISION 73 Listeners’ harvest 74 The early years of television 76 The BBC’s post-war television service 79 The Beveridge Report and its aftermath 82 The campaign for commercial television 84 Sources/further reading 86 5 TELEVISION: THE FIRST YEARS OF COMPETITION 89 The structure of commercial television 90 In the red, then in the pink 93 Technological developments in television 94 News and current affairs 97 Some other programming milestones 100 Television and advertising 104 ‘A licence to print your own money’ 108 Sources/further reading 109 viii Contents 6 PILKINGTON AND AFTER 111 Sir Hugh Greene: character and achievements 112 Public service broadcasting in an age of competition 113 The BBC’s case to Pilkington 115 The Pilkington Report: immediate impact and long-term effects 116 The birth and infancy of BBC 2 119 Three programme landmarks of the 1960s 122 Other developments in programmes and technology 126 Educational television 129 The ITV franchise awards, 1964 and 1967 130 From swinging sixties to sombre seventies 131 Sources/further reading 133 7 THE FALL AND RISE OF RADIO 135 The BBC’s dwindling audience 136 Technological developments in radio 137 Radio, records and rock 140 Pirates ahoy! 142 The Beeb strikes back 144 The launch of local radio 146 Broadcasting in the Seventies 147 Sources/further reading 149 8 MODERN TELEVISION (1): SOME CHARACTERISTICS AND TENDENCIES 151 Open the box 152 Words and pictures 153 Words versus pictures 155 Pictures rule OK! 158 Television and theatre 161 Television and genre 164 Sources/further reading 169 9 MODERN TELEVISION (2): SOCIAL IMPACTS AND INFLUENCES 171 From hatstand to arbiter 172 Television and politics before 1959 175 Television and politics since 1959 179 Television and the royal family 183 ix Contents Television and audiences 185 Sources/further reading 190 10 A GROWTH OF SIGHTS AND SOUNDS 193 ‘A peevish decade’ 194 The launch of independent local radio 196 Programme pageant 198 The Annan Committee 201 New ITV franchises and the arrival of breakfast television 204 The launch of Channel 4 206 Sources/further reading 209 Part II THE RISE OF THE ACTIVE AUDIENCE 211 Sources/further reading 217 11 CABLES, DISHES AND GOVERNMENT: THE DUOPOLY UNDER THREAT 219 Broadcasting technology, economics and politics in the 1980s 220 Developments in radio 223 Cable TV 227 Satellite TV 230 Government versus broadcasters 232 Moves against the duopoly (1): the Peacock Committee 233 Moves against the duopoly (2): Broadcasting in the 90s 235 Those TV times: new programmes, new trends 236 Sources/further reading 240 12 THE LAST AGE OF ANALOGUE 243 Background to the 1990 Broadcasting Act 244 The 1990 Broadcasting Act: details and aftermath 245 Radio: contrasting signals 247 The BBC hedges its bets 250 ITV: a changing landscape 253 Channel 4 at the crossroads 255 Sky without limit: the rise of satellite TV 256 Wiring up: cable TV 259 x Contents Everybody’s listing 260 Sources/further reading 260 13 THE DAWN OF THE DIGITAL ERA 263 Prestidigitation! 264 The BBC’s digital proposals 265 Digital terrestrial television: the commercial sector 266 Digital satellite television 267 Digital cable television 268 Digital radio 268 The internet 270 Sources/further reading 271 Part III FROM BROADCASTING TO MULTIMEDIA 273 14 FUTURE HISTORY: SOME SPECULATIONS 277 The viewing and listening experience 278 Interactivity and media convergence 284 Control, access and broadcasting content 288 Public service: enduring ideal or heroic red herring? 291 Sources/further reading 292 Timeline of British broadcasting 295 Bibliography 299 Index 311 xi Acknowledgements to the first edition MUST FIRST DECLARE my warm gratitude to Rebecca Barden, my editor Iat Routledge, whose support for the idea of a single-volume yet fairly comprehensive history of British broadcasting has never wavered during the vicissitudes of its composition. For many years before I thought of this book, as well as while writing it, I benefited greatly from discussions with Ken Stephinson of Stephinson Television, who combines experience of virtually every aspect of television production and a long record of distinguished programmes for both the BBC and ITV with a larger, philosophical view of broadcasting. I owe a similar debt to Marjorie Lofthouse, also of Stephinson Television: as well as being an experienced radio and TV broadcaster in her own right, she directed me to certain sources of information about the BBC. Another who was able to tell me much about the corporation was Jane Bywaters, who has spent many fruitful years there as a researcher in the field of television arts programming. For similar enlightenment about ITV I must express my warm thanks to David Thomasson of Yorkshire/Tyne Tees Television. A former student of mine, Anita Sharma, who is now a research assistant at the Open University, kindly briefed me about ITV’s educational programming and aspects of the 1990 Broadcasting Act. I am most grateful to two media consultants, Robert Palmer and Toby Syfret, who were generous with their time, first-hand knowledge and the printed materials at their disposal. Both directly and indirectly, they furnished me with much information about the recent history of independent, satellite and cable broadcasting and thus helped me to gain some perspective on the present state of the media. I owe a double debt to my brother-in-law, Tony Humphreys. Through his work in information technology at the Post Office, he kept me as abreast of the latest xiii Acknowledgements to the first edition developments in interactive television as my limited understanding would allow; and second, via telephone tutorials and with a patience verging on the saintly, he helped me to get to grips with a new computer and new software.