Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It is publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is instead funded entirely by its own commercial activities, including publicity. It began its transmission in 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service in the United Kingdom. At the time, the only other channels were the licence-funded BBC One and BBC Two, and a single commercial broadcasting network ITV.
ITV is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network. It was launched in 1955 as Independent Television to provide competition and reduce the current monopoly to the then BBC Television. ITV is the oldest commercial network in the UK. Since the passing of the Broadcasting Act 1990, it has been legally known as Channel 3 to distinguish it from the other analogue channels at the time: BBC One, BBC Two, and Channel 4.
Regular television broadcasts in the United Kingdom started in 1936 as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection of free-to-air, free-to-view and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channels for consumers as well as on-demand content. There are six main channel owners who are responsible for most material viewed.
The Independent Television Commission (ITC) licensed and regulated commercial television services in the United Kingdom between 1 January 1991 and 28 December 2003.
The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.
The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) was the regulatory body in the United Kingdom for commercial television – and commercial and independent radio broadcasts. The IBA came into being when the Sound Broadcasting Act 1972 gave the Independent Television Authority responsibility for organising the new Independent Local Radio (ILR) stations. The Independent Television Commission formally replaced the IBA on 1 January 1991 in regulatory terms; however, the authority itself was not officially dissolved until 2003.
The Wave is an Independent Local Radio station based in Swansea, Wales, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Swansea, Neath Port Talbot and East Carmarthenshire.
A UK Restricted Service Licence, is typically granted to radio stations and television stations broadcasting within the UK to serve a local community or a special event. Licences are granted by the broadcasting authority Ofcom.
Digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom encompasses over 100 television, radio and interactive services broadcast via the United Kingdom's terrestrial television network and receivable with a standard television set. The majority of digital terrestrial television (DTT) services, including the five former analogue channels, are broadcast free-to-air, and a further selection of encrypted pay TV services are also available.
CGTN is a state-run foreign-language news channel based in Beijing, China. It is one of six channels provided by China Global Television Network, owned by the Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), under the control of the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Broadcast law and Electricity law is the field of law that pertains to broadcasting. These laws and regulations pertain to radio stations and TV stations, and are also considered to include closely related services like cable TV and cable radio, as well as satellite TV and satellite radio. Likewise, it also extends to broadcast networks.
In the United Kingdom, the roll-out of digital radio has been proceeding since engineering test transmissions were started by the BBC in 1990 followed by a public launch in September 1995. The UK currently has one of the world's biggest digital radio networks, with about 500 transmitters, three national DAB ensembles, one regional DAB ensemble, 48 local DAB ensembles and an increasing number of small-scale DAB ensembles broadcasting over 250 commercial and 34 BBC radio stations across the UK. In London there are already more than 100 different digital stations available. In addition to DAB and DAB+, radio stations are also broadcast on digital television platform as well as internet radio in the UK. Digital radio ensemble operators and stations need a broadcasting licence from the UK's media regulator Ofcom to broadcast.
The British media company Sky UK has incurred criticism over the years, much of it centred on overcharging, anti-competitive practices, and the business practices and undue political influence of its one-time majority owner News Corporation.
The Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed & Designated Events is a series of regulations issued originally by the Independent Television Commission (ITC) then by Ofcom when the latter assumed most of the ITC's responsibilities in 2003, which is designed to protect the availability of coverage of major sporting occasions on free-to-air terrestrial television in the United Kingdom.
London Live is a local television channel in London, England, which airs local news, current affairs, sports, arts, events, and entertainment. The channel launched in 2014 to serve the London area under the legislation for local television, and broadcasts on Freeview and Sky. The owner of London Live is Russian oligarch Evgeny Lebedev, who is also the chairman and owner of both Evening Standard Ltd and Independent Print Ltd.
China Global Television Network (CGTN) is the international division of state media outlet China Central Television (CCTV), headquartered in Beijing, China. CGTN broadcasts six news and general interest channels in five languages. CGTN is under the control of the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party.
This article covers cricket broadcasting rights. For a list of sports broadcasting rights by countries, see list of sports television broadcast contracts.
This is a timeline of the history of the British broadcaster Meridian Broadcasting. It has provided the ITV service for the South and South East of England since 1993.
GB News is a British free-to-air opinion-orientated news television and radio channel. The channel is available on Freeview, Freesat, Sky, YouView, Virgin Media and via the internet on Samsung TV Plus and YouTube. Since 4 January 2022, an audio simulcast of the station has been available on DAB+ radio.
