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| BBC Parliament 2022 logo.svg Logo used since 2022. | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | Most programming: 576i SDTV (upscaled to 1080i for the HDTV feed) Some programmes: 1080i HDTV[lower-alpha 1] (downscaled to 576i for the SDTV feed) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | BBC |
| Sister channels | BBC One BBC Two BBC Three BBC Four BBC News CBBC CBeebies BBC Scotland BBC Alba |
| History | |
| Launched | 23 September 1998 |
| Links | |
| Website | bbc |
| Availability | |
| Page Module:Infobox/styles.css has no content. | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Freeview | Channel 232 (SD) |
| Streaming media | |
| BBC iPlayer | Watch live (UK only) |
BBC Parliament is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel from the BBC that showcases parliamentary content from across the United Kingdom. It broadcasts live and recorded coverage of the House of Commons, House of Lords and Select Committees of the British Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the London Assembly, the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Welsh Senedd.
As of January 2022, the channel had a typical weekly peak of approximately 120,000 viewers, during Prime Minister's Questions,[1] representing a monthly reach of 5.41% of UK TV households and 0.06% overall share.[2] When the channel is not broadcasting parliamentary content, it simulcasts the BBC News channel.[3]
History[]
BBC Parliament logo used from 2008 to 2020.
BBC Parliament logo used from 2020 to 2023.
In 1991, United Artists Programming initiated a trial project to provide highlights of debates from Parliament in a programme called Yesterday in the Commons to cable networks across the UK.[4] The trial was deemed to be a success and this led to United Artists Cable launching a full time service, The Parliamentary Channel on 13 January 1992, to provide live and recorded coverage of the British Parliament. It also aired full live coverage of the September party conference season.[5]
In 1998 the channel was purchased by the BBC and was relaunched on 23 September 1998 as BBC Parliament. It now broadcasts on cable, satellite, and Freeview. This followed the launch three years earlier of a Digital Audio Broadcasting, from the Crystal Palace transmitting station, which had offered is a relay of events in Parliament.[6] This audio service became a relay of BBC Parliament when the channel launched, and continued until the DAB radio service was closed down on 14 November 2000.
Due to capacity limitations on the digital terrestrial television platform, now known as Freeview, from launch until 15 October 2002, the channel ran as "audio only". Then on digital terrestrial (now known as Freeview) from 14 October 2002 until 13 November 2006 the channel was only able to broadcast a quarter-screen picture. After receiving "thousands of angry and perplexed emails and letters",[7] not to mention questions asked by MPs in the House itself, the BBC eventually found the bandwidth to make the channel full-screen.[8] Viewers were advised to retune their TVs or set-top boxes to receive the full-screen version of BBC Parliament.
Until 2008, BBC Parliament was unique amongst the BBC channels in being broadcast using non-BBC facilities, with ITV's Millbank Studios in Westminster supplying the engineering and playout facilities. Production, editorial and journalism were, however, maintained by the BBC.
The previous idents, also based on a Big Ben clock motif ran from 2009 to 2016.[9] This replaced the channel's previous identity which was first introduced in 2002.[10]
BBC Parliament was taken off the air during the 2012 Summer Olympics on Freeview in post-digital switchover areas to enable BBC Three to broadcast 24 hours a day. The BBC had done the same during the 2008 Summer Olympics as it used the space to provide an additional BBC Red Button option for Freeview users.
BBC Parliament HD has been confirmed as launching from 20 October 2021 and rolling out across various platforms at different times right up to the end of 2022, the standard definition service will continue on Freeview. This has been the case since 10 December 2013 when BBC Three, BBC Four, BBC News, CBBC, and Cbeebies began high definition simulcasts.[11][12]
On 5 September 2016 BBC Two began broadcasting BBC Parliament during BBC Two's overnight downtime.[13] However this was short-lived and has subsequently been discontinued.
On 14 October 2016, the channel received a new look and new idents, its first revamp since 2009. The channel's current identity went live on Monday 10 October 2016 with refreshed music and idents based on clock workings, with colours and images derived from the flags and assemblies of the British home countries and the European Parliament.[14]
In July 2018, the BBC announced that the output on the channel was to be cut back, discontinuing all programming produced for the channel other than parliamentary coverage, and closing the channel entirely during summer months when Parliament and the devolved assemblies are not sitting.[15] The move has been criticised by many[16] including the former House of Commons Speaker John Bercow.[17] In October 2018, the BBC announced that it had shelved these plans.[18][19]
From 26 July until 31 August 2021, for the first time BBC Parliament simulcast the BBC News channel during a parliamentary recess.[20] This replaced the loop of highlights from the previous Parliamentary session. Starting to broadcast the BBC News Channel during the three major recesses was part of a range of cutbacks to the channel which saw the channel end its wider political coverage to focus only on live and recorded coverage from Westminster and the devolved chambers. Coverage of the House of Lords and Select committees was also reduced.[21][22][23] Also, as part of the channel's cessation of wider political coverage, coverage of party conferences the Sunday broadcasts of national political shows, coverage of American politics via a weekly simulcast of C-SPAN and a repeat of Question Time all finished. All archive programming stopped being shown on the channel and the bespoke highlights programmes The Day in Parliament and The Week in Parliament and all other programming made for the channel also ended at this point.
In April 2022, BBC Parliament began broadcasting in high-definition, initially only on the Virgin Media platform,[24] BBC Parliament in HD came to Sky and Freesat in February 2023.
Following the death of Elizabeth II, the channel broadcast continuous coverage of the four days of Queen Elizabeth's lying in state.[25]
See also[]
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- Legislative broadcaster
Notes[]
- ↑ 1080i on Virgin Media only.
References[]
- ↑ "Most viewed programmes". Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- ↑ "Weekly viewing summary (From Jan 2020) | BARB".
- ↑ BBC Programme Guide - BBC Parliament 26 July 2021
- ↑ TV Ark: The Parliamentary Channel
- ↑ "Broadcasting Select Committee Minutes of Evidence, 1997".
- ↑ Williams, Rhys (28 September 1995). "BBC switches on CD-quality radio". The Independent. Independent Print Limited. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ↑ "BBC NEWS – The Editors". Retrieved 30 April 2007.
- ↑ "BBC NEWS – Programmes – BBC Parliament – BBC Parliament goes full screen". BBC News. 13 November 2006. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
- ↑ "BBC – Press Office – BBC Parliament gets a fresh look". bbc.co.uk.
- ↑ "BBC NEWS – Programmes – BBC Parliament – BBC Parliament unveils a fresh new look". bbc.co.uk. 20 April 2009.
- ↑ O'malley, James (9 December 2013). "The BBC are launching five new HD channels… tomorrow!". techdigest.tv. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
- ↑ "Rolling out BBC One in high definition across England".
- ↑ "BBC Parliament coming to BBC2". Cableforum.co.uk. 27 August 2016. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
- ↑ "BBC Parliament – Launch of BBC Parliament's New Look". BBC.
- ↑ "BBC – BBC announces changes to political programming – Media Centre". bbc.co.uk.
- ↑ "Now is not the time for the BBC to be cutting back its political programmes". Archived from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
- ↑ Crerar, Pippa (18 September 2018). "Don't cut BBC Parliament, Bercow urges corporation". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 September 2023 – via www.theguardian.com.
- ↑ "BBC Parliament programme cuts reversed". BBC News. 10 October 2018.
- ↑ "Rolling out BBC One in high definition across England".
- ↑ BBC Programme Guide - BBC Parliament 26 July 2021
- ↑ Payne, Sebastian (14 July 2021). "BBC's political channel facing cuts as broadcaster makes savings". Financial Times. London. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021.
- ↑ Green, Alex (14 July 2021). "BBC announces replacement coverage after cuts to Parliament channel". Belfast Telegraph. Press Association.
- ↑ BBC Parliament relays BBC News Channel during recess
- ↑ "Virgin Media rolls out extra BBC HD channels". 12 April 2022.
- ↑ "BBC streaming Queen Elizabeth II lying in state". BBC News. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
External links[]
- BBC Parliament at BBC Online
Template:Parliamentary broadcasters
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