Image: BBC

British Television has become somewhat of an icon internationally. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is still to this day, something of a benchmark for the quality of television worldwide as it’s known for its high production values and standards that are upheld through most (although not all) of its content. However to simply assume that the Beeb is the only area of television that Brits are interested in or view is simply not true. Indeed there are hundreds of channels available in Britain on television but there are only five which make up what used to be known as the ‘terrestrial channels’ as these went out to every television in the country with use of an aerial. Today however, these channels are still called this even though Britain is in the midst of a digital switchover, region by region. Because of their legacy and history for being part of the main channels in the country, the channels still dominate the ratings despite competition from digital channels on the spectrum.

Before we begin to explore each of the terrestrial channels, it’s very important to note  that in Britain in order to watch television at all, you need to own a television license which costs £145.50 ($236.31) for a colour license and £49.00 ($79.58) for a black and white license. A television license in the United Kingdom allows one household to watch television through whichever medium they want. This can be through a television itself, the internet or through cable or satellite. However, if the television you choose to use is only being used for media that is pre-recorded, you do not need to possess a television license.

So where does this money go? Well it would be fair to assume that most of the money collected from television licenses goes to the UK Government, but it doesn’t. Almost all of the money goes to the BBC, which they use to produce its content, whether it be television, radio or even online content such as news. Because of this however, the BBC does not use advertising anywhere in its content. Overall, the total of the television licenses in the UK make up 75% of the BBC’s budget, the rest coming from its commercial wing BBC Worldwide, which sells the BBC’s content internationally for profit.

The BBC gets this money because it is the main UK public service broadcaster and because of this, the BBC has a remit to fulfil. This means that the BBC has to be stringent with its budget and show a wide variety of content given its audience in the country to most of the 60 million people who live in the UK. Therefore, the BBC comes under some scrutiny because of this. The license fee has become expensive and it’s argued by some that the BBC’s content is not suitable or up to scratch for the standards that the country now holds.

It is not just the BBC who is a public service broadcaster, however. Channel 4 is also a public service broadcaster and receives a small amount of the license fee in which to make programmes in the United Kingdom, however, this is is not as much as the BBC and therefore Channel 4 runs advertising on its output in order to garner enough revenue to stay afloat. Out of all the terrestrial channels, both of the BBC’s channels are arguably the biggest, due to their revenue streams.

So, what are the terrestrial channels in the UK? They are, as follows (where number denotes channel number on most televisions):

1) BBC One.
2) BBC Two.
3) ITV1.
4) Channel 4 (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland)/ S4C (Wales).
5) Channel 5 (formerly ‘Five’).

1 and 2) BBC One and BBC Two are the two channels in the UK that are run by the BBC. BBC One is more entertainment-based, in that most of its content is delivered to a wider, broader and bigger audience. This is where primetime drama’s are screened, important live sporting events such as Formula 1 racing, Wimbledon and certain football matches are shown (as well as some events that are deemed important enough that they can only be shown on terrestrial television) and news output.

BBC Two on the other hand is a more niche channel, where comedy and drama are shown that may not reach as wide an audience as on its sister channel BBC One. This channel is also used for programmes that may clash with breaking news events on BBC One or live events that require a larger audience.

3) ITV1 (ITV standing for Independent Television) launched in response to television becoming larger in the early 1950′s and for nearly 30 years, it was the UK’s only commercial broadcaster. ITV1 is not a public service broadcaster, so its role in the British television line up is one that tries to cover everything, whether it be live sport, drama, soaps, news and reality television. ITV1 however, includes advertising whereas none of the BBC’s channels, terrestrial or digital, carry advertising. In recent times, in the opinion of some, ITV’s content has become dumbed down due to the lack of comedy, high productions of crime drama’s and a large amount of reality television such as The X Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!.

4) Channel 4 broadcasts to most of the United Kingdom and is a public service broadcaster, so its output has to be broad and follow the same guidelines as the BBC. Channel 4′s coverage includes drama and comedy, but not as much live sport as ITV or BBC. In Wales however, S4C is broadcast in place of Channel 4. S4C is loosely the same as Channel 4 but is funded in part by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport through grants and advertising. Some of its content is produced by the BBC and is given to S4C free of charge. Because of its financial status and geographical location in Wales, S4C’s content has to be produced, in part, in Welsh.

5) Channel 5 launched in 1997 and became the last terrestrial broadcaster before the advent of digital television. Because of its place on the broadcasting spectrum, thousands missed the launch of the channel because their aerials could not pick up the signal necessary to view the channel. Today, the channel is now owned by media magnate Richard Desmond and most of their content is not made by themselves. Most of their schedule is dedicated to made-for-television films bought in from America as well as Hollywood films on a night.

This article only describes some of what can be read into about British television but it’s safe to assume that most of British television is not supplied solely by the BBC as might be thought internationally.