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The world's first scheduled, high-definition (as then defined; meaning 240-line) television programmes were broadcast on 2 November 1936 by the British Broadcasting Corporation. They had been preceded by a number of low-definition BBC test broadcasts, as well as a 180-line Deutscher Fernseh Rundfunk service, from Berlin, since March 1935.

Background

The British Broadcasting Corporation, already an established radio broadcaster since the mid-1920s,^[1]^[2] began making experimental television broadcasts in 1929.^[3] Low definition (30-line) television transmissions under government license commenced in August 1936.^[4]

The BBC Television Service officially launched on 2 November 1936.^[5]^[6] This is often described as the world's first regular high definition television service.^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^{[nb 1]} Programming included short ad-hoc performances by musicians, with the duration limited as "lookers in" (as viewers were called) were found to experience eye strain through looking at the small screens then in use.^[11]^[12]

Line-up

The BBC's official publication, The Radio Times, listed the opening one-hour schedule – the first ever, on a dedicated TV channel – starting at 3 pm, as:^[5]

3:00 – Opening of the BBC Television Service
3:15 – Interval; time, weather
3:20 – British Movietone News
3:30 – Variety
4:00 – Close

From 9 pm to 10 pm, pre-recorded films and more news were screened.^[5] The films included Television Comes to London, a pre-made fifteen-minute documentary about the launch, shot on 35mm film.^[11] It was the BBC's first television documentary.^[11]

Opening

The first person heard and seen was the announcer, Leslie Mitchell.^[11]

According to advance publicity in The Radio Times, the opening was then to be:^[13]

by Major the Right Hon. G.C. Tryon, M.P., H.M. Postmaster-General
Mr. R.C. Norman (Chairman of the BBC) and the Right Hon. the Lord Selsdon, K.B.E. (Chairman of the Television Advisory Committee) will also speak.

Variety

The Radio Times billed the Variety performers as:^[5]

Adele Dixon – Musical Comedy Star
Buck and Bubbles – Comedians and Dancers
The Lai Founs – Chinese Jugglers

however, in the event The Lai Founs did not appear.^[11]

Dixon performed a specially commissioned song, "Television", written by James Dyrenforth and Kenneth Leslie-Smith.^[11] The event made Buck and Bubbles (Buck Washington and John W. Bubbles) the first black people to appear on television.^[11]

The musicians were billed as The BBC Television Orchestra, led by Boris Pecker and conducted by Hyam Greenbaum.^[5] The producer was listed as Dallas Bower.^[5]

Technology

The broadcast was made from a converted wing of Alexandra Palace ("Ally Pally") in London,^[5] using the 240-line Baird intermediate film system,^[11] on the VHF band.

BBC television initially used two systems on alternate weeks: the Baird system and the 405-line Marconi-EMI system. The decision to use the Baird system for the first week was made on a coin toss.^[11] The use of the two formats made the BBC's service the world's first regular high-definition television service; it broadcast from Monday to Saturday between 15:00 and 16:00, and 21:00 and 22:00.^[14]

Alexandra Palace housed two studios (one for each system), various scenery stores, make-up areas, dressing rooms, offices, and the transmitter itself.

Notes

^ The first regular electronic television service in Germany began in Berlin on 22 March 1935, as Deutscher Fernseh Rundfunk. Broadcasting from the Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow, it used a 180-line system, and was on air for 90 minutes, three times a week.

References

^ "100 years of radio since Marconi's big breakthrough". Ofcom. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
^ Linfoot, Matthew. "History of the BBC: The origins of BBC Local Radio". bbc.com. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
^ "History of the BBC: 1920s". bbc.com. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
^ "A new service: 1935-36". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Variety". The Radio Times. No. 683. 30 October 193. p. 88. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
^ "Opening Night: November 1936". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
^ Burns, R. W. (1998). Television: An International History of the Formative Years. IET. ISBN 978-0-85296-914-4.
^ Burns, R. W. (1986). British Television: The Formative Years. IET. ISBN 978-0-86341-079-6.
^ Newcomb, Horace (2014). Encyclopedia of Television. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-19472-7.
^ "The History of Television (or, How Did This Get So Big?)". www.cs.cornell.edu. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Television's Opening Night: How the Box Was Born (Documentary). BBC Four. 19 May 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
^ laurence marcus. "THE HISTORY OF THE BBC: THE FIRST TV ERA". Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
^ "Variety". The Radio Times. No. 683. 30 October 1936. p. 88. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
^ Burns, R.W. (1998). Television: An International History of the Formative Years. London: The Institution of Electrical Engineers. p. ix. ISBN 978-0-85296-914-4.

External links

First regular hi-definition television service – BBC page.

[11] The first regular electronic television service in Germany began in Berlin on 22 March 1935, as Deutscher Fernseh Rundfunk. Broadcasting from the Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow, it used a 180-line system, and was on air for 90 minutes, three times a week.

[1] "100 years of radio since Marconi's big breakthrough". Ofcom. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.

[2] Linfoot, Matthew. "History of the BBC: The origins of BBC Local Radio". bbc.com. Retrieved 18 September 2022.

[3] "History of the BBC: 1920s". bbc.com. Retrieved 18 September 2022.

[4] "A new service: 1935-36". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 9 October 2023.

[RT-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Variety". The Radio Times. No. 683. 30 October 193. p. 88. Retrieved 7 June 2020.

[6] "Opening Night: November 1936". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 9 October 2023.

[7] Burns, R. W. (1998). Television: An International History of the Formative Years. IET. ISBN 978-0-85296-914-4.

[8] Burns, R. W. (1986). British Television: The Formative Years. IET. ISBN 978-0-86341-079-6.

[9] Newcomb, Horace (2014). Encyclopedia of Television. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-19472-7.

[10] "The History of Television (or, How Did This Get So Big?)". www.cs.cornell.edu. Retrieved 9 October 2023.

[BBC-TON-12] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Television's Opening Night: How the Box Was Born (Documentary). BBC Four. 19 May 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.

[13] urence marcus. "THE HISTORY OF THE BBC: THE FIRST TV ERA". Archived from the original on 13 August 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2015.

[RT-open-14] "Variety". The Radio Times. No. 683. 30 October 1936. p. 88. Retrieved 7 June 2020.

[15] Burns, R.W. (1998). Television: An International History of the Formative Years. London: The Institution of Electrical Engineers. p. ix. ISBN 978-0-85296-914-4.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

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[6]

[7]

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[9]

[10]

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
-The first scheduled, high-definition (240-line) [[television]] programmes were broadcast on 2 November 1936 by the [[British Broadcasting  Corporation]]. They had been preceded by a number of low-definition test broadcasts.
+The world's first scheduled, high-definition (as then defined; meaning 240-line) television programmes were broadcast on 2 November 1936 by the [[British Broadcasting Corporation]]. They had been preceded by a number of low-definition BBC test broadcasts, as well as a 180-line [[Deutscher Fernseh Rundfunk]] service, from Berlin, since March 1935.
 == Background ==
+[[File:Alexandra palace plaque.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Blue plaque]] at [[Alexandra Palace]] ]]
-The [[British Broadcasting  Corporation]], already an established radio broadaster, began making low definition (30-line) test television transmissions under government licence in August 1936. These included short ad-hoc performances by musicians, with the duration limited as "lookers in" (as viewers were called) were found to experience eye strain through looking at the small screens then in use.<ref name="BBC-TON">{{Cite episode |title=Television's Opening Night: How the Box Was Born |series=&nbsp; |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0817s4g |accessdate=7 June 2020 |network=[[BBC Television]] |date=19 May 2020 |transcript= |transcripturl= }}</ref>
+The [[British Broadcasting Corporation]], already an established radio broadcaster since the mid-1920s,<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 June 2020 |title=100 years of radio since Marconi's big breakthrough |url=https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/features-and-news/100-years-of-radio |access-date=17 November 2020 |website=Ofcom}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Linfoot |first=Matthew |title=History of the BBC: The origins of BBC Local Radio |url=https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/research/local-radio |access-date=18 September 2022 |website=bbc.com}}</ref> began making [[History of television#United Kingdom|experimental television broadcasts]] in 1929.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of the BBC: 1920s |url=https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/timelines/1920s |access-date=18 September 2022 |website=bbc.com |language=en}}</ref> Low definition (30-line) television transmissions under government license commenced in August 1936.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A new service: 1935-36 |url=https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/100-voices/birth-of-tv/a-new-service/ |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en}}</ref>
-The first regular electronic [[Television in Germany|television service in Germany]] began in [[Berlin]] on March 22, 1935, as [[Deutscher Fernseh Rundfunk]].
+The [[BBC Television|BBC Television Service]] officially launched on 2 November 1936.<ref name="RT">{{Cite news |date=30 October 193 |title=Variety |page=88 |work=[[The Radio Times]] |issue=683 |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/68aba19c259d4c37ae285afae2798390 |access-date=7 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Opening Night: November 1936 |url=https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/100-voices/birth-of-tv/bbc.com/historyofthebbc/100-voices/birth-of-tv/opening-night/ |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en}}</ref> This is often described as the world's first regular high definition television service.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Burns |first=R. W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gZcwhVyiMqsC&pg=PA576 |title=Television: An International History of the Formative Years |date=1998 |publisher=IET |isbn=978-0-85296-914-4 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Burns |first=R. W. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7v7FTnT1wE4C&pg=PR9 |title=British Television: The Formative Years |date=1986 |publisher=IET |isbn=978-0-86341-079-6 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Newcomb |first=Horace |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NUXIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA322 |title=Encyclopedia of Television |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-135-19472-7 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The History of Television (or, How Did This Get So Big?) |url=https://www.cs.cornell.edu/~pjs54/Teaching/AutomaticLifestyle-S02/Projects/Vlku/history.html |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=www.cs.cornell.edu}}</ref>{{Refn|The first regular electronic television service in Germany began in Berlin on 22 March 1935, as Deutscher Fernseh Rundfunk. Broadcasting from the Fernsehsender Paul Nipkow, it used a 180-line system, and was on air for 90 minutes, three times a week.|group=nb}} Programming included short ad-hoc performances by musicians, with the duration limited as "lookers in" (as viewers were called) were found to experience eye strain through looking at the small screens then in use.<ref name="BBC-TON">{{Cite AV media |title=Television's Opening Night: How the Box Was Born |type=Documentary |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0817s4g |access-date=7 June 2020 |publisher=[[BBC Four]] |date=19 May 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=laurence marcus |title=THE HISTORY OF THE BBC: THE FIRST TV ERA |url=http://www.teletronic.co.uk/tvera.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813233820/http://www.teletronic.co.uk/tvera.htm |archive-date=August 13, 2011 |access-date=December 11, 2015}}</ref>
-== Broadcast ==
-[[File:Alexandra palace plaque.jpg|thumb||upright|[[Blue plaque]] at [[Alexandra Palace]] ]]
-The [[BBC Television|BBC Television Service]] officially launched on 2 November 1936 from a converted wing of [[Alexandra Palace]] ("Ally Pally") in London.<ref name="RT">{{Cite news |issue=683 |page=88 |title=Variety |work=[[The Radio Times]] |accessdate=7 June 2020 |date=30 October 193 |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/68aba19c259d4c37ae285afae2798390}}</ref>
-<ref name=historybbc>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/100-voices/birth-of-tv/ally-pally |title=History of the BBC |publisher=BBC}}</ref>
 == Line-up ==
-The BBC's official publication, ''[[The Radio Times]]'', listed the opening one-hour schedule - the first ever, on a dedicated TV channel – starting at 3pm, as:<ref name="RT" />
+The BBC's official publication, ''[[The Radio Times]]'', listed the opening one-hour schedule – the first ever, on a dedicated TV channel – starting at 3&nbsp;pm, as:<ref name="RT" />
-* 3:00 - Opening of the BBC Television Service
+* 3:00 – Opening of the BBC Television Service
-* 3:15 - Interval; time, weather
+* 3:15 – Interval; time, weather
-* 3:20 - [[British Movietone News]]
+* 3:20 – [[British Movietone News]]
-* 3:30 - Variety
+* 3:30 – Variety
-* 4:00 - Close
+* 4:00 – Close
-From 9pm to 10pm, pre-recorded films and more news were screened.<ref name="RT" /> The films included ''Television Comes to London'', a pre-made fifteen-minute documentary about the launch, shot on [[35mm film]].<ref name="BBC-TON" /> It was the BBC's first [[television documentary]].<ref name="BBC-TON" />
+From 9&nbsp;pm to 10&nbsp;pm, pre-recorded films and more news were screened.<ref name="RT" /> The films included ''Television Comes to London'', a pre-made fifteen-minute documentary about the launch, shot on [[35 mm movie film|35mm film]].<ref name="BBC-TON" /> It was the BBC's first television documentary.<ref name="BBC-TON" />
 === Opening ===
@@ Line 30: / Line 26: @@
 The first person heard and seen was the [[continuity announcer|announcer]], [[Leslie Mitchell (broadcaster)|Leslie Mitchell]].<ref name="BBC-TON" />
-According to advance publicity in ''The Radio Times'', the opening was then to be:<ref name="RT-open">{{Cite news |issue=683 |pages=88 |title=Variety |work=[[The Radio Times]] |accessdate=7 June 2020 |date=30 October 1936 |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/68aba19c259d4c37ae285afae2798390}}</ref>
+According to advance publicity in ''The Radio Times'', the opening was then to be:<ref name="RT-open">{{Cite news |issue=683 |pages=88 |title=Variety |work=[[The Radio Times]] |access-date=7 June 2020 |date=30 October 1936 |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/68aba19c259d4c37ae285afae2798390}}</ref>
 {{quote|by Major the Right Hon. [[George Tryon, 1st Baron Tryon|G.C. Tryon]], M.P., H.M. Postmaster-General {{pb}}Mr. [[Ronald Collet Norman|R.C. Norman]] (Chairman of the BBC) and the Right Hon. [[William Mitchell-Thomson, 1st Baron Selsdon|the Lord Selsdon]], K.B.E. (Chairman of the Television Advisory Committee) will also speak.}}
@@ Line 38: / Line 34: @@
 ''The Radio Times'' billed the ''Variety'' performers as:<ref name="RT" />
-* [[Adele Dixon]] - Musical Comedy Star
+* [[Adele Dixon]] – Musical Comedy Star
-* Buck and Bubbles - Comedians and Dancers
+* Buck and Bubbles – Comedians and Dancers
-* The Lai Founs - Chinese Jugglers
+* The Lai Founs – Chinese Jugglers
 however, in the event The Lai Founs did not appear.<ref name="BBC-TON" />
@@ Line 46: / Line 42: @@
 Dixon performed a specially commissioned song, "Television", written by [[James Dyrenforth]] and [[Kenneth Leslie-Smith]].<ref name="BBC-TON" /> The event made Buck and Bubbles ([[Buck Washington]] and [[John W. Bubbles]]) the first black people to appear on television.<ref name="BBC-TON" />
-The musicians were billed as The BBC Television Orchestra, led by [[Boris Pecker (musician)|Boris Pecker]] and conducted by [[Hyam Greenbaum]].<ref name="RT" /> The producer was listed as [[Dallas Bower]].<ref name="RT" />
+The musicians were billed as [[The BBC Television Orchestra]], led by [[Boris Pecker (musician)|Boris Pecker]] and conducted by [[Hyam Greenbaum]].<ref name="RT" /> The producer was listed as [[Dallas Bower]].<ref name="RT" />
 == Technology ==
-The broadcast was made using the 240-line Baird [[intermediate film system]],<ref name="BBC-TON" /> on the [[VHF]] band.
+The broadcast was made from a converted wing of [[Alexandra Palace]] ("Ally Pally") in London,<ref name="RT" /> using the 240-line Baird [[intermediate film system]],<ref name="BBC-TON" /> on the [[VHF]] band.
-BBC television initially used two systems on alternate weeks: the Baird system and the the [[405-line]] Marconi-EMI system. The decision to use the Baird system for the first week was made on a [[coin toss]].<ref name="BBC-TON" /> The use of the two formats made the BBC's service the world's first regular high-definition television service; it broadcast from Monday to Saturday between 15:00 and 16:00, and 21:00 and 22:00.<ref>{{cite book|first=R.W.|last=Burns|title=Television: An International History of the Formative Years|location=London|publisher=The Institution of Electrical Engineers|year=1998|page=ix|isbn=978-0-85296-914-4}}</ref>
+BBC television initially used two systems on alternate weeks: the Baird system and the [[405-line]] Marconi-EMI system. The decision to use the Baird system for the first week was made on a [[coin toss]].<ref name="BBC-TON" /> The use of the two formats made the BBC's service the world's first regular high-definition television service; it broadcast from Monday to Saturday between 15:00 and 16:00, and 21:00 and 22:00.<ref>{{cite book|first=R.W.|last=Burns|title=Television: An International History of the Formative Years|location=London|publisher=The Institution of Electrical Engineers|year=1998|page=ix|isbn=978-0-85296-914-4}}</ref>
 Alexandra Palace housed two studios (one for each system), various scenery stores, make-up areas, dressing rooms, offices, and the transmitter itself.
+== Notes ==
+{{Reflist|group=nb}}
 == References ==
@@ Line 61: / Line 60: @@
 == External links ==
-* [https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/november/first-regular-television-service First regular hi-definition television service] - BBC page.
+* [https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/november/first-regular-television-service First regular hi-definition television service] – BBC page.
+{{BBC}}
+[[Category:History of television in the United Kingdom]]
 [[Category:November 1936 events]]
 [[Category:1936 in television]]