November sees a number of broadcasters celebrate major milestones and anniversaries, with special presentation on some channels.
UK Gold, S4C, Channel 4 all reach major milestones this week, with a number of other TV channels celebrate their launch anniversaries.
UK Gold
1st November 1992 saw the launch of UK Gold, then with schedule consisting of shows from the BBC and Thames Television archives and golden retriever Goldie. Since then, the channel has become plain ‘Gold’ and focused on original and archive comedy.
To mark the occasion, Gold has brought back a golden retriever as part of the channel’s special presentation.
Meanwhile, UKTV used the occasion to commission a survey to identify the funniest sitcom moments of all time. The top three:
- Only Fools and Horses – Del Boy falls through bar
- Vicar of Dibley – Geraldine falls into a puddle
- Dad’s Army – “Don’t Tell Him Pike”
For UKTV, it’s a double anniversary, as the beginning of November marks 25 years since it became a network of channels. UKTV began life as a multi-channel broadcaster with the debut of UK Horizons, UK Arena and UK Style. UKTV’s channel portfolio has changed considerably since then. It currently boasts of four free-to-air channels, three pay channels and one on-demand service.
S4C
At 6pm on 1st November 1982, Wales received its fourth channel: S4C. The first programme to be broadcast on S4C was Superted. As part of the celebrations five episodes of Superted will be shown during the anniversary month. In addition, a special edition of Plant y Sianel will follow the journey of a group of people who share a birthday with the channel and who have grown up with S4C as an integral part of their lives.
There will also be a Noson Gomedi: Dathlu’r 40 (comedy evening) full of fun and laughter looking at some of the channel’s gems over the decades. One of the highlights will be the Gogglebocs Cymru series, which is a Welsh version of the popular Gogglebox format, with comedian Tudur Owen taking the helm with the voiceover we will get to know families and groups of friends throughout Wales and beyond.
ITV3 and ITV4
Classic drama and soap channel ITV3 launched on 1st November 2004. Originally due to launch on Freeview and cable only, it arrived on Sky just hours before its 9pm launch. A last minute deal saw G+, a joint venture between ITV and Sky, axed mid programme to free up the slot.
ITV4 launched a year later on 1st November 2005. At first, the channel was only available after 6pm, with its daytime slot on Freeview used by the ITV News Channel. Targeting a mostly male audience, the channel took over sports coverage duties from ITV2, with live Champions League on its first week on air.
Channel 4
On 2nd November, Channel 4 celebrates its 40th. This is how the channel launched:
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To mark the occasion, Channel 4 has invited Paul Coia, the first Channel 4 continuity announcer who introduced Channel 4’s first ever programme – Countdown – to return and introduce the show once again. Countdown itself will be presented by four guest presenters during the month: They are Baroness Floella Benjamin, Sir Trevor McDonald, Reverend Richard Coles and Moira Stuart.
More milestones
The above anniversaries come just after the BBC’s 100th and Freeview’s 20 year milestone.
And there are more to come: On the 2nd November 1936, the BBC launched its first regular television service, following initial test transmissions. BBC television was suspended during World War II, before returning in 1946. The first transmitter at Alexandra Palace had a coverage radius of 25 miles, severely limiting who could watch on one of the few TV sets in circulation. Coverage expanded across the UK following the war, but it wasn’t until the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II before television became mainstream.
November is also the 25th anniversary of the launch of BBC News 24, now the BBC News Channel.
Back on the 9th November 2017, the channel celebrated its 20th with a special segment fronted by Huw Edwards, featuring an interview with the then BBC Director-General Tony Hall. But with major changes to BBC News afoot, there are doubts if the BBC will want to mark the 25th anniversary at all.
The BBC is working towards effectively replacing the channel with a UK simulcast of the current BBC World News channel next April. The proposals indicate the channel would continue to be called ‘BBC News’, but would relay current World News programmes, except during simulcasts of news programmes on BBC One and BBC Two.
Iain Hatton