BBC Cymru Wales (9 February 1964 – 5 September 1981) BBC Wales (6 September 1981 – 17 February 1985) BBC1 Wales (18 February 1985 – 15 February 1991) BBC Wales On 1 (16 February 1991 – 3 October 1997)
BBC One Wales is a Welsh free-to-air television channel owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales. It is the Welsh variation of the UK-wide BBC One network and is broadcast from Central Square in Cardiff.
Former BBC One Wales logo used from 2006 until 2021.
The first television signals in Wales came on 15 August 1952 from the newly constructed Wenvoe transmitter. The transmitter itself broadcast the national BBC Television service.[1] Programming either for Wales or in the Welsh language was initially restricted. In 1956, a newsreel was broadcast at 6pm on the Wenvoe and adjacent Holme Moss and Sutton Coldfield transmitters, Tele-Newyddion, at 6pm, which at the time was during the period of the Toddlers' Truce which restricted television broadcasts between 6 and 7pm. Some of the items included in the bulletin were from a few weeks prior to production and broadcast.[2] Wales would gain some significance when, in 1957, the BBC West region from Bristol was established including a daily five-minute news bulletin for Wales, followed five years later by the launch of the daily magazine programme, Wales Today.[1]
The channel was launched on February 9, 1964 as BBC Cymru Wales. The channel was carried in the Wenvoe transmitter on VHF Band III channel 13 (214.75 MHz).[3] The same transmitter had been carrying BBC West on channel 5 since 1952. In anticipation for the new service, a campaign with the slogan "Wales gets its very own TV service in 1964" aired, displaying the locations of the five transmitters to be used,[4] as well as a minute-long animated information film about how to retune in South Wales, and about the problem of mountains blocking signals, which was being remedied by new transmitters.[5] BBC Wales produced twelve hours per week of regional programming specifically for the new service, five in English and seven in Welsh. The service opted out from network BBC TV (BBC1 from April 1964) at more convenient times, with Welsh-language programming being promoted to new time slots.
In 1966, BBC Cymru Wales' new headquarters at Broadcasting House in Cardiff opened (up until then, BBC Cymru Wales used several buildings in the Cardiff area) and the first colour broadcast for Wales followed in 1970.[6] On 1 July 1969, the investiture of HRH the Prince of Wales was its largest outside coverage to date, with narration by Richard Baker and Emlyn Williams; its coverage amassed an estimated 500 million viewers around the world.[6]
In April 1970, BBC Cymru Wales started 625-line broadcasts on channel 44, starting colour broadcasts on 9 July the same year; the first program being a report on the Llangollen International Eisteddfod. Pobol y Cwm premiered on this channel in October 1974.[6] The 405-line service on channel 13 was shut down two years early, on 4 January 1983.[7]
With the launch of S4C in 1982, and the increase in the number of hours of Welsh-language programming per week from seven to ten as consequence, as well as the move of all Welsh programmes to the new service, the channel was simply renamed BBC Wales. The move was welcomed by English speakers, who had complained about the constant presence of programmes in a language they did not understand for years.[6]
BBC One Wales broadcasts around three hours of non-news programmes for Wales each week alongside six hours a week of national news for Wales from BBC Wales Today.
BBC One Wales branding is utilised between 6am and around 1am each day with live continuity handled by a team of national announcer/directors.
A high-definition simulcast of BBC One Wales launched on 29 January 2013 on Freeview, Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.[10] On 10 December 2013, BBC One Wales HD was swapped with the SD channel on Sky's EPG for HD subscribers.[11]
S4C is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience. S4C's headquarters are based in Carmarthen, at the University of Wales Trinity Saint David's creative and digital centre, Yr Egin. It also has regional offices in Caernarfon and Cardiff. As of 2024, S4C had an average of 118 employees. S4C is the fourth-oldest terrestrial television channel in Wales after BBC One, ITV and BBC Two.
Wales Television, known on screen as Teledu Cymru and often abbreviated to WWN, was the Welsh "Independent Television" contractor awarded the franchise area serving North and West Wales, from 1962. It began transmitting on 14 September 1962, and ceased on 26 January 1964 through financial failure; the franchise area was soon combined with the South Wales and West of England area, operated by TWW. TWW retained the Teledu Cymru name in the former WWN franchise area, as did successor Harlech during their emergency transitional franchise, only retiring the name when they were able to officially take over.
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Wales.
BBC Radio Cymru is a Welsh language radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts across Wales on FM, DAB, digital TV and BBC Sounds.
The Wenvoe transmitting station, officially known as Arqiva Wenvoe, is the main facility for broadcasting and telecommunications for South Wales and the West Country. It is situated close to the village of Wenvoe in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, in the UK.
BBC Wales Today is the BBC's national television news programme for Wales, broadcast on BBC One Wales from the headquarters of BBC Cymru Wales in Central Square, Cardiff. According to the BBC, it is the world's longest-running television news programme.
ITV News Wales at Six is the evening news programme broadcast and produced by ITV Cymru Wales.
Newyddion S4C is a Welsh-language news programme broadcast on S4C and produced by BBC Cymru Wales, covering national and international news stories from a Welsh perspective.
BBC West is one of the BBC's English Regions serving Bristol, the majority of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire; northern and eastern Somerset and north of Dorset.
BBC Two Wales is a Welsh free-to-air television channel owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales as a variation of the BBC Two network. It is broadcast from Central Square in Cardiff with live continuity provided by a team of announcer/directors. The channel opts out from the main BBC Two schedule.
Television in Wales began in 1952. Initially, all programmes were in English with occasional Welsh language programmes. In 1982 Welsh language channel S4C was launched. The digital switchover happened in 2009-2010 and S4C became an exclusively Welsh language channel.
ITV Wales and West, previously known as Harlech Television (HTV), was an ITV franchisee in the United Kingdom until 31 December 2013, licensed to broadcast by the regulator Ofcom.
The Llandrindod Wells transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility located on high ground about midway between Llandrindod Wells and Rhayader, in Powys, Wales. It was originally built by the BBC, entering service in 1961 transmitting the now-defunct 405-line VHF television system and the original three FM radio services.
The Llanidloes transmitting station is a broadcasting and telecommunications facility consisting of a self-supporting 23 m lattice mast erected on land that is itself about 245 m above sea level about 1 km to the west of the town of Llanidloes in Powys, Wales. It was originally built by the BBC, entering service just before Christmas 1966 transmitting the now-defunct 405-line VHF television system. Transmissions of the original three FM radio services began in February 1967.
ITV Cymru Wales is the ITV franchise for Wales. The new separate licence began on 1 January 2014, replacing the long-serving dual franchise region ITV Wales & West serving Wales and the West of England, which had previously used the branding "ITV Wales" within the Wales subregion.
LOCAL TV Cardiff is a local television station serving Cardiff and surrounding areas. The station is owned and operated by Local Television Limited and formed part of a group of eight Local TV channels.
This is a timeline of the history of ITV in Wales, including the current service ITV Cymru Wales. It does not include events that affect the whole UK network.
This is a timeline of the history of television in Wales. It does not include events that affect the whole UK.
This is a timeline of the history of regional news on the British television network ITV.
This is a timeline of the history of S4C, originally the fourth-oldest terrestrial television channel in Wales. Until 2010 it carried a mixture of Welsh language programmes and programmes from Channel 4 which was not broadcast on analogue TV in Wales. In 2010, Channel 4 became available in Wales on all platforms and S4C became a Welsh-language-only channel.
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