Home > Television > BBC BBC-2 News AUTHOR: Russ J Graham 15 June 2014 tbs.pm/3668 Getting people to buy new television sets and aerials in order to receive BBC-2 was an uphill battle. Despite the addition of colour to the network long before it came to BBC-1 and the ITV companies, BBC-2 just wasn’t enough to sell expensive new sets. The highbrow stuff remained front and centre, partially because it appealed to those with the spare cash to buy a 625-line (colour) set and a new UHF aerial, and partially because the BBC had long wanted to give the establishment what it wanted – a channel that, like radio’s Third Programme, they could be proud of without ever tuning into. Making BBC-2 seem young and exciting and new and special was what was needed. The highbrow network had 4 hours a night on air, but the BBC made the case that these 4 hours were crammed with stuff we, the viewers, were missing. Drama, music, celebrities, hobbies – all were here if you’d just go out and get a UHF set. A major thing was made not only of colour, but the fact that 625-lines was a better resolution than 405-lines on the two main channels. Alas, the new UHF transmitters were often woefully underpowered and people found that getting a good picture from a little signal was possible on VHF but not worth the trouble on UHF. Your comment Enter it below Your CommentYour Name Your Email Your Website (optional) Currently you have JavaScript disabled. In order to post comments, please make sure JavaScript and Cookies are enabled, and reload the page. Click here for instructions on how to enable JavaScript in your browser.
Your comment
Enter it below