When we say that it is the largest one in the world, we are not talking simply about audience and scope of its reach, but also the number of employees who are responsible for creating the content – as of this year, 35 402 people are responsible for the programming of the BBC network – two thirds of them are permanently employed, while the rest are on part-time contract.
The funding
Ever since the BBC was established in the 1920s, the main means of funding for the corporation were the so called broadcast license fees, which were collected from every household in the UK in possession of a device capable of receiving and recording television signals. Another major means of funding is of course selling the broadcasting rights of BBC programming to third parties around the world. Needless to say, this has become a major source of income for the corporation responsible for the production of hit TV shows like Doctor Who, Sherlock, Mad Dogs and so on and so forth.
But let us turn away from the present and focus our attention to the history and past of the BBC, because that is exactly where the origins of its success lie.
The whole story
1920 can be considered the birth year of the BBC. The first ever public broadcast was conducted on the waves emitted from the Marconi Factory in Chelmsford in June that same year, thanks to the sponsorship of the Daily Mail. The broadcast featured the talent of the then world-famous soprano opera-singer Dame Nellie Melba. This broadcast is considered to be a turning point in the attitudes of the public towards the potential of radio, but unfortunately, there was a long way to go still. The problem was with the government, and the military in particular, because public broadcast at that point of development of the broadcasting technology would create much problem with military transmissions and communications. Everything has already started however – by 1922 over a hundred requests for broadcasting license were submitted to the GPO. The British Broadcasting Company was established that same year but it run however into some financial difficulties quite soon.
The issue brought up the attention of the government. At that time the so called Sykes Commission, which was appointed to resolve the matter in the best way they can, which proved to be making the BBC a public run company. Well, bearing in mind the results that were produced, including the financing methods – despite opposition from certain members of the British society – the BBC proved to be a rather successful publically financed project. Even a Royal Charter was issued in order to legitimize the existence of the BBC.
The original goal of the BBC, as stated by its first general director, was to broadcast "All that is best in every department of human knowledge, endeavor and achievement.... The preservation of a high moral tone is obviously of paramount importance." Now this is a rather noble pursue, but when you come to think about it, the British public was faced, for a number of years, to listen to only high-brow radio broadcast, which was in its origin intended to run against the American method of radio programming, which aimed at attracting as large an audience as possible. The British and American methods clashed like only two extremes could, which was not good for the audience on either side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Either way, since the audience in the UK had no other alternative, the popularity of the BBC grew by the end of the 1930s. This prompted the opening of other, this time private owned, broadcasted companies by the end of the decade. The majority of the programming at that time was musical in nature, because the other program scripts were received were written primarily for stage and had little production value when it comes to radio. The new competition however, proved to be healthy both for the BBC and the broadcasting business in general.
Television comes into the big picture
The concept as well as the technology needed for television broadcasting were conceived in the UK, and more precisely in West London, where even today many of the facilities of the BBC are still located. It happened by the end of the 1920s, but it was not until the 1930s when the British Broadcasting Corporation began actual televised broadcasts that reached households all over the country – or at least those that had access to TV sets. One thing was certain – the way people got informed about current events, they learnt about the world and were being entertained was about to change. This happened fast. Soon, the USA picked up the trend and the first private television corporations were created. By the 1950s the BBC had an extensive catalogue of TV shows of all sorts. Along with the mass popularity of television, it was rather hard for the corporation to maintain its high moral integrity as of the quality of the programming, but it is still a rather indisputable fact that as far as television goes, even today, the BBC network channels still maintain the tradition of presenting their viewers with the best possible productions. Just have a look at some of the shows that are currently on the air and you are going to realize that this is precisely the fact, especially in comparison with many American networks:
- Doctor Who
- Tracey Ullman's Show
- Inspector George Gently
- Sherlock
- Last Tango in Halifax
- American Crime Story
- Have I Got News for You
- EastEnders
- The Graham Norton Show
- The Michael McIntyre Chat Show
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