B (British) B (Broadcasting) C (Corporation)

BBC is one of the world's  most known public-service broadcaster with the headquarter in London. It is an oldest and biggest broadcasting company in the world, with 23.000 employees in total. Services are also available online and on video. Our network of correspondents provide impartial news, reports and analysis in 32 languages from locations around the world.

The 1920s saw the end of the amateur radio enthusiasts, and the beginning of a professional broadcast organisation. That was how BBC started - as small private, radio amateur owned establishment. In October 1922, a consortium of radio manufacturers formed the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) and the man who change the history of broadcasting in Britain was John Reith (1889 - 1971). 

Reith had no broadcasting experience when he replied to an advertisement in The Morning Post for a general manager for an as-yet unformed British Broadcasting Company in 1922. Even though he was confident that he can manage 'any company', he found very challenging to deal with Marconi patent and wireless manufacturers, copy-writers, artists, actors, musicians, composers and publishers on daily basis.

Experimental television broadcasts were started in 1932 using an electro mechanical 30-line system developed by John Logie Baird. Limited regular broadcasts using this system began in 1934. Radio was still very important, and early in the decade the world’s longest running radio soap opera was born - The Archers. BBC TV’s second big debut of the decade came in 1958, in the guise of a children’s programme; Blue Peter - still running to this day.

Today, BBC TV service include BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three (focusing on new talent and new technologies), BBC Four (drama, documentaries, music, international film, original programmes, comedy and current affairs), BBC News, BBC Parliament, CBBC, CBeebies (both children's channels), BBC Alba (Scottish Gaelic language) and BBC Red Button. Each of the services has a different programme and budget.

The BBC services are funded by the television licence fee and therefore show uninterrupted programming without commercial advertising. Even more, any sort of adverting the products is forbidden. For example, in the case of The Kinks' "Lola", the song was censored on BBC (1970) until the words "Coca-Cola" were replaced with "cherry cola" – no matter that the song actually talking about  a transvestite. 

Through its long history of broadcasting BBC gives us excellent programme, documentaries, drama, shows. One of them is music chart show "Top of the Pops", which was broadcast weekly from 1964 to 2006.

My personal favourites on BBC are documentaries on BBC Four and BBC television dramas and sitcoms - something that Brits definitely do the best! In some of the future posts I will tell more about my favourites, and for now let's just name few of them: "Doctor Who", "I, Claudius", "Pride and Prejudice", "Spooks", "Inspector George Gently", "Silent Witness", "Peaky Blinders", The Village", "Our Zoo", "Sherlock" (drama); "Citizen Khan", "Two Wrong Mans", "Only Fools And Horses", "The Two Ronnies", "Last of the Summer Wine", "Absolutely Fabulous", "Blackadder", "Keeping Up Appearances" (sitcoms).

It is possible to book BBC tour. For more info please visit 'Step inside the BBC: behind the scenes tours' website.