BBC Points West

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BBC Points West
Points West titles.jpg
Title card used since April 2022
Theme music composer David Lowe
Country of originEngland, United Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Producers BBC News
BBC West
Production locations Broadcasting House, Bristol, England
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time30 minutes
(main 6:30pm programme)
Original release
Network BBC One West
ReleaseSeptember 1957 (1957-09) –
present

BBC Points West is the BBC's regional TV news programme for the West of England, covering Bristol, the majority of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, northern, eastern and parts of western and southern Somerset, and northern parts of Dorset.

Contents

History

BBC television news from Bristol began on 30 September 1957 with a five-minute bulletin on weeknights [1] serving what would later become the BBC's South, West and South West regions of England. The first bulletin, which survives as a telerecording, was presented by actress Armine Sandford – the first woman to regularly present a BBC television news bulletin. [2]

The launch of the BBC's regional TV bulletins came ahead of the rival ITV services provided by TWW, which began in January 1958, and Southern Television, which launched the following August.

Around this time, the West Region bulletins were obliged to share a ten-minute timeslot with news bulletins for Wales as the Wenvoe transmitter on the outskirts of Cardiff was serving viewers in both South Wales and the West Country.

This arrangement continued even after separate bulletins for the South and South West regions were introduced in 1961. Thus, when the newly launched Points West was given a ten-minute slot on 17 September 1962, it shared its slot with Wales Today .

The launch of a dedicated BBC Wales television station in February 1964 finally allowed Points West to become a full-length regional news programme broadcast only to the West of England. This was more than seven years before a similar regional news service would be introduced by HTV West.

Between June 1991 and May 2000, the programme was known as BBC News West before reverting back to its original title.

Notable presenters and reporters

Former presenters and reporters

See also

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References

  1. ↑ [The West of England's first television news bulletin], 5PY Heritage, Youtube
  2. ↑ 5PY Heritage - Segue
  3. ↑ "Son completes book that TV presenter dad began". Worcester News. 30 January 2010. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 "BBC Programme Index". genome.ch.bbc.co.uk. 28 March 1983. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  5. ↑ "BBC - Pointswest - Points West Extra". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
  6. ↑ Bristol 600 - BBC Points West John Craven report from 1973 , retrieved 10 January 2024
  7. ↑ Prospero: The newspaper for BBC pensioners (2013, February) Obituaries: Points West Presenter. https://downloads.bbc.co.uk/mypension/en/prospero_february_2013.pdf
  8. ↑ "BBC - Radio 4 - PM reporters". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 January 2024.
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