BBC One

BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship channel and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, primetime drama and entertainment, and live BBC Sport events.

BBC One
Logo used since 2021
CountryUnited Kingdom
Broadcast area
NetworkBBC Television
HeadquartersLondon
Programming
Language(s)English
Picture format1080i/1080p[lower-alpha 1] HDTV
(downscaled to 576i for the SDTV feed)
2160p UHDTV (ongoing trials, available on BBC iPlayer for certain programmes only)
Ownership
OwnerBBC
Sister channels
History
Launched2 November 1936; 86 years ago (1936-11-02)
Former names
  • BBC Television Service (2 November 1936 – 8 October 1960)
  • BBC TV (8 October 1960 – 20 April 1964)
  • BBC1 (20 April 1964 – 4 October 1997)
Links
WebcastBBC One on BBC iPlayer (UK only)
WebsiteBBC One
Availability
Terrestrial
Freeview
  • Channel 1 (SD)
  • Channel 101 (HD)

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.[lower-alpha 2] It was renamed BBC TV in 1960 and used this name until the launch of the second BBC channel, BBC2, in 1964. The main channel then became known as BBC1. The channel adopted the current spelling of BBC One in 1997.

The channel's annual budget for 2012–2013 was £1.14 billion.[1] It is funded by the television licence fee together with the BBC's other domestic television stations and shows uninterrupted programming without commercial advertising. The television channel had the highest reach share of any broadcaster in the United Kingdom as at 2019,[2] ahead of its traditional rival for ratings leadership ITV.[3] In 2013, a major global study of the BBC by the Populus polling organisation found BBC One to be rated the highest-quality TV channel in the world, with BBC Two coming in third place.[4]


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