BBC Choice
Encyclopedia
BBC Choice was a BBC
TV station which launched on 23 September 1998 and closed on 9 February 2003. It was the first British
TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital
format, and was the first new channel from the BBC since BBC Two
launched in 1964. It was the BBC's second non-terrestrial channel launch (following on from the BBC News channel in 1997).
BBC Choice initially broadcast from 5pm nightly; this later switched to 7pm. The 7pm starts carried over into its successor BBC Three. BBC Choice also aired children's programmes, initially at weekends and subsequently daily during the daytime; this duty transferred to CBBC Channel
and CBeebies
in February 2002.
and ONdigital had not yet launched. Instead, the launch was broadcast online over the internet. The main format of the channel was a mix of BBC One and Two programming as well as original programming such as "Backstage", which took viewers on a tour of the BBC every episode. The channel was presented as an alternative to the normal BBC One
and BBC Two
schedules. This was reflected in its original on-screen presentation which featured groups of threes.
, Paddington
, Simon and the Witch
, Ivor the Engine
, Jonny Briggs
, Pigeon Street
, The Family Ness and Bitsa
. This continued until February 2002, when the CBBC
and CBeebies
channels launched, with the CBBC Channel
taking up BBC Choice's daytime broadcast bandwidth, but occupying a separate EPG position.
", presented by Christopher Price
, evolved out of News 24's "Zero 30" and became the channel's flagship show.
, which would be a continuation of the "youth" aspect of the new BBC Choice. But the government delayed approving the relaunch, which formed part of wider plans to reshape the BBC's digital provision, plans which also included the proposed BBC Four
, two children's channels and five digital radio stations. Whilst BBC Three was delayed, the other proposals gained the approval of Parliament and the new channels went on air in 2002, meaning BBC Four launched prior to BBC Three. From October 2001, BBC Choice began screening a significant amount of new, young-skewing programming, the kind of content that had been earmarked for BBC Three.
The BBC submitted a revised proposal for the new channel raised the target age range to 25-34 and increased the amount of factual and arts programming, with a nightly 15-minute news programme - it was hoped these changes would better illustrate how BBC Three would differ from rivals such as E4, ITV2
and Sky1. This new proposal for BBC Three was given the go-ahead in September 2002, with a set of public-service conditions laid down and a launch date of 9 February 2003 set. The final night of BBC Choice was given over entirely to previews of the new channel.
with this option was two months after the launch of the channel, showing Stressed Eric
, with Naked Video
as the Digital Teletext option. Its single-show programming was mainly concerned with celebrities, including documentary profiles and the nightly entertainment magazine Liquid News
. EastEnders Revealed was the only show from the original 1998 channel lineup to survive and outlive the entire life of the channel itself, transferring to its successor, BBC Three.
replay) to circa midnight nightly. At the time the BBC's digital offering included the national variants of BBC One (England, Scotland, Wales, NI) and a single nationwide BBC Two.
The regional variations of Choice were discontinued in 2001 in favour of introducing regional opt-outs on BBC Two
to digital services; in some cases, such as BBC 2W
in Wales, analogue and digital versions of BBC Two were separately scheduled, but by 2010 all differences between the analogue and digital variants of BBC Two had ceased, and there is now one version of the channel in each area, broadcasting on analogue (until switchoff) and digital platforms. The English regional variants of BBC One
were made available digitally from 2003.
Since the cessation of the BBC Choice splits, all BBC digital TV channels (including Choice's successor BBC Three
) have operated as UK-wide services with no regional opt-out functionality.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
TV station which launched on 23 September 1998 and closed on 9 February 2003. It was the first British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
TV channel to broadcast exclusively in digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
format, and was the first new channel from the BBC since BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
launched in 1964. It was the BBC's second non-terrestrial channel launch (following on from the BBC News channel in 1997).
BBC Choice initially broadcast from 5pm nightly; this later switched to 7pm. The 7pm starts carried over into its successor BBC Three. BBC Choice also aired children's programmes, initially at weekends and subsequently daily during the daytime; this duty transferred to CBBC Channel
CBBC Channel
CBBC is a BBC television channel aimed at 6 to 12 year olds. It complements the CBBC programming that continues to air on BBC One and BBC Two. Launched on 11 February 2002, it broadcasts from 7am to 7pm on Freeview, cable, IPTV and digital satellite, occupying the same bandwidth as, but a different...
and CBeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
in February 2002.
Launch
When BBC Choice launched, no digital TV receivers were available to the general public as Sky DigitalSky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
and ONdigital had not yet launched. Instead, the launch was broadcast online over the internet. The main format of the channel was a mix of BBC One and Two programming as well as original programming such as "Backstage", which took viewers on a tour of the BBC every episode. The channel was presented as an alternative to the normal BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
and BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
schedules. This was reflected in its original on-screen presentation which featured groups of threes.
Children's programming
Starting a month after Choice's launch, the BBC's children's programming took up most of the channel's daytime hours. The stand broadcasted from 6am to 5pm under the name of CBBC Choice. It was to fill the gap of broadcasting space not used when BBC Choice was off air. In the early years of BBC Choice, the strand would air on weekend afternoons, and included strands like 'Dog & Dinosaur', 'The Crew Room', 'L&K Replay' and 'Re:Peter'. Later, this was supplanted with a daily CBBC on Choice strand, running from 6am to 7pm every day, featuring a loop of programmes aimed at young children, with presentation links pre-recorded by a CBBC presenter. It included repeats of archive shows rarely seen on the main channels, such as Mr BennMr Benn
Mr Benn is a character created by David McKee who appears in several children's books, and an animated television series of the same name transmitted by the BBC in 1971 and 1972. Whether in a book, or on television, Mr Benn's adventures take on a similar pattern...
, Paddington
Paddington Bear
Paddington Bear is a fictional character in children's literature. He appeared on 13 October 1958 and was subsequently featured in several books, most recently in 2008, written by Michael Bond and first illustrated by Peggy Fortnum....
, Simon and the Witch
Simon and the Witch
Simon and the Witch is the name of a children's book by Margaret Stuart Barry, published by Collins, illustrated by Linda Birch. It is also generally used as the name of the series which follows on. Simon is a very sensible young schoolboy who has a friend who is a real witch...
, Ivor the Engine
Ivor the Engine
Ivor the Engine is a British children's animation by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin's Smallfilms company. It is a children's television series relating the adventures of a small green locomotive who lived in the "top left-hand corner of Wales" and worked for The Merioneth and Llantisilly Railway...
, Jonny Briggs
Jonny Briggs
Jonny Briggs is a Children's BBC television programme first broadcast in 1985. It revolves around the exploits of a young boy, the eponymous hero, his pet dog, Razzle, and his eccentric family members: Mam and Dad, older sister Rita and older brothers Albert and Humph . Another older sister is...
, Pigeon Street
Pigeon Street
Pigeon Street was an animated children's television series originally shown on the BBC in 1981 as part of its 'See-saw' strand for pre-schoolers. There were two series with eight and five episodes respectively, each programme lasting fifteen minutes...
, The Family Ness and Bitsa
Bitsa
Bitsa was a British television programme broadcast from 1991 to 1996 on BBC 1. It involved creative arts and "makes" very much like later show SMart. It was repeated for a time on the now defunct digital channel BBC Choice....
. This continued until February 2002, when the CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
and CBeebies
CBeebies
CBeebies is the brand used by the BBC for programming aimed at children 6 years and under. It is used as a themed strand in the UK on terrestrial television, as a separate free-to-air domestic British channel and used for international varients supported by advertising, subscription or both...
channels launched, with the CBBC Channel
CBBC Channel
CBBC is a BBC television channel aimed at 6 to 12 year olds. It complements the CBBC programming that continues to air on BBC One and BBC Two. Launched on 11 February 2002, it broadcasts from 7am to 7pm on Freeview, cable, IPTV and digital satellite, occupying the same bandwidth as, but a different...
taking up BBC Choice's daytime broadcast bandwidth, but occupying a separate EPG position.
Post-2000 retooling
In June 2000, the BBC radically changed its digital channel formats. The initial format had seen BBC Choice target a similar mixed audience to BBC One and Two with a general entertainment skew, with BBC Knowledge focusing on educational and informative programming. From 2000 both Knowledge and Choice became targeted to more specific audiences, with Knowledge moving to a broader documentary and culture mix and Choice focusing on developing a stronger relationship with the young adult audience, an audience the BBC had historically had difficulty in reaching. BBC Choice abandoned many of its original programmes such as Backstage, and aimed at younger people, with most of the early part of the schedules being made up of fifteen-minute programmes under the banner of "Refreshing TV" or "Micro TV". Entertainment news magazine "Liquid NewsLiquid News
Liquid News was the daily round up of entertainment news for BBC Three running from 30th May 2000 to 1st April 2004. It was originally a vehicle for presenter Christopher Price...
", presented by Christopher Price
Christopher Price (broadcaster)
Christopher Nicholas Price was the original host of British celebrity news show Liquid News.-Early life and career:...
, evolved out of News 24's "Zero 30" and became the channel's flagship show.
Announcement of the end of BBC Choice
In August 2000, the BBC announced that it would replace BBC Choice as soon as possible with BBC ThreeBBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
, which would be a continuation of the "youth" aspect of the new BBC Choice. But the government delayed approving the relaunch, which formed part of wider plans to reshape the BBC's digital provision, plans which also included the proposed BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
, two children's channels and five digital radio stations. Whilst BBC Three was delayed, the other proposals gained the approval of Parliament and the new channels went on air in 2002, meaning BBC Four launched prior to BBC Three. From October 2001, BBC Choice began screening a significant amount of new, young-skewing programming, the kind of content that had been earmarked for BBC Three.
The BBC submitted a revised proposal for the new channel raised the target age range to 25-34 and increased the amount of factual and arts programming, with a nightly 15-minute news programme - it was hoped these changes would better illustrate how BBC Three would differ from rivals such as E4, ITV2
ITV2
ITV2 is a 24 hour, free-to-air entertainment television channel in the United Kingdom owned by ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998, and is available on digital television via satellite, cable, IPTV and terrestrial platforms. The channel has the...
and Sky1. This new proposal for BBC Three was given the go-ahead in September 2002, with a set of public-service conditions laid down and a launch date of 9 February 2003 set. The final night of BBC Choice was given over entirely to previews of the new channel.
Programming
Initially, the main attractions of BBC Choice were multi-broadcast TV shows, with the option to choose which programme you viewed. The first broadcast by the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
with this option was two months after the launch of the channel, showing Stressed Eric
Stressed Eric
Stressed Eric is a British/American/New Zealand cartoon series that was produced by Absolutely Productions for the BBC Two television channel in the United Kingdom and the Television New Zealand. The series revolves around Eric Feeble, a middle class man who is always stressed, because of his...
, with Naked Video
Naked Video
Naked Video was a BBC Scotland comedy series, broadcast between 1986 and 1991 on BBC2, the series was created by Colin Gilbert who also created A Kick Up the Eighties and Naked Radio.-Naked Radio:...
as the Digital Teletext option. Its single-show programming was mainly concerned with celebrities, including documentary profiles and the nightly entertainment magazine Liquid News
Liquid News
Liquid News was the daily round up of entertainment news for BBC Three running from 30th May 2000 to 1st April 2004. It was originally a vehicle for presenter Christopher Price...
. EastEnders Revealed was the only show from the original 1998 channel lineup to survive and outlive the entire life of the channel itself, transferring to its successor, BBC Three.
Regional variations
BBC Choice had regional variations for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland which were broadcast in place of the network BBC Choice service in their respective areas from 10.30pm (following the EastEndersEastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
replay) to circa midnight nightly. At the time the BBC's digital offering included the national variants of BBC One (England, Scotland, Wales, NI) and a single nationwide BBC Two.
The regional variations of Choice were discontinued in 2001 in favour of introducing regional opt-outs on BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
to digital services; in some cases, such as BBC 2W
BBC 2W
BBC 2W was a digital television channel run by the British Broadcasting Corporation in Wales until January 2009. It replaced the standard BBC Two broadcast on digital services in Wales — running on weekdays from 20:30 to 22:00. Launched on 5 November 2001, it had an initial reach of 1.1...
in Wales, analogue and digital versions of BBC Two were separately scheduled, but by 2010 all differences between the analogue and digital variants of BBC Two had ceased, and there is now one version of the channel in each area, broadcasting on analogue (until switchoff) and digital platforms. The English regional variants of BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
were made available digitally from 2003.
Since the cessation of the BBC Choice splits, all BBC digital TV channels (including Choice's successor BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...
) have operated as UK-wide services with no regional opt-out functionality.