BBC World Service Television
Encyclopedia
BBC World Service Television, often abbreviated to WSTV, was the name given to two of the BBC
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...
's international satellite television
Satellite television
Satellite television is television programming delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by an outdoor antenna, usually a parabolic mirror generally referred to as a satellite dish, and as far as household usage is concerned, a satellite receiver either in the form of an...
channels between 1991 and 1995. It was the BBC's first foray into worldwide television broadcasting. In Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, it was the successor to BBC TV Europe
BBC TV Europe
BBC TV Europe was a BBC subscription-funded television service founded in 1987 serving continental Europe. It was available on satellite and cable....
, replacing it on 11 March 1991, with minor differences in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, BBC WSTV was a 24-hour news and information service, a precursor to BBC World News, launched in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
on 11 March 1991.
Unlike BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
, it was not funded by the British government with a grant-in-aid; instead, it was funded by commercial advertising. Commercials were inserted locally by the cable or satellite providers. In the years that followed, the BBC would insert news headlines and other updates to fill the gaps, known as the break fillers.
Europe
In EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, BBC WSTV replaced BBC TV Europe
BBC TV Europe
BBC TV Europe was a BBC subscription-funded television service founded in 1987 serving continental Europe. It was available on satellite and cable....
on 11 March 1991 as the BBC's subscription-funded entertainment service. Like BBC TV Europe, it was a mix of BBC1
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 BBC2
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...
, but showed specially commissioned World Service News bulletins in place of the BBC's domestic ones. The BBC World Service News studio looked like the BBC's domestic news, though with different graphics and on-screen logo.
Outside Europe
Outside EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, BBC WSTV was the name of the 24-hour news, information and current affairs service, launched in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
on 11 March 1991, on STAR TV
STAR TV
Satellite Television Asia Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. It is headquartered in Hong Kong, with regional offices in mainland China, Taiwan....
, available from Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
to South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
on AsiaSat
AsiaSat
Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. is a commercial operator of communication spacecraft. AsiaSat is based in Hong Kong with two major shareholders, CITIC and General Electric.-Satellites:...
. Competing against CNN International
CNN International
CNN International is an international English language television network that carries news, current affairs, politics, opinions, and business programming worldwide. CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations. It is owned by Time Warner, and is affiliated with CNN, which is mainly...
, it showed current affairs and documentary programming from 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...
, in addition to BBC World Service News.
Following STAR TV
STAR TV (Asia)
Satellite Television Asian Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.In 2009, News Corporation restructured STAR Asia into four units – STAR India, STAR Greater China, STAR Select and Fox International Channels....
acquisition by Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
a owner by News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
, BBC World Service Television was removed from the satellite beam that broadcast into Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in 1991, although it could still be received in the rest of Asia, particularly India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. STAR TV
STAR TV (Asia)
Satellite Television Asian Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.In 2009, News Corporation restructured STAR Asia into four units – STAR India, STAR Greater China, STAR Select and Fox International Channels....
is based in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
via based satellite and cable operator, will buy 20 percent of the national network BBC World Service Television giving it a firmer foothold in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
first most populous country at a time when the British international news television advertising market is booming. STAR TV
STAR TV (Asia)
Satellite Television Asian Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.In 2009, News Corporation restructured STAR Asia into four units – STAR India, STAR Greater China, STAR Select and Fox International Channels....
pay television services are already available on cable and satellite in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.
Some WSTV programming was also carried in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
on M-Net
M-Net
M-Net is a subscription-funded television channel in South Africa, established in 1986 by Naspers....
, and in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
on CBC Newsworld.
Presentation
The channel from 1991 until c.1994 used the presentation device of a rotating world: the Computer Originated WorldComputer Originated World
The Computer Originated World was the method of creating the BBC1 symbol that was used between February 1985 and February 1991. It was later used by the international, commercial television service BBC World Service Television from it's launch until c.1994.-Launch:The Computer Originated World...
, which had previously been used on 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...
between 1985 and 1991. The world symbol remained the same, however the legend at the bottom was altered to a BBC logo with an italic 'World Service' beneath. Promotional style and static programme captions mirrored that of BBC1 and 2 at the time and featured the globe symbol above a small BBC logo in the top left corner of promotions and on captions. The sidebar of captions featured a vague wispy line style, similar to that used by WSTV bulletins. The channel also used a break bumoer featuring the globe, and a promo bumper featuring the COW globe split into lines to the side and bottom.
Around the time of the relaunch, BBC WSTV adopted a variation of the flag look later to be used by BBC World, which only featured a BBC logo.
The channel had a permanent DOG
Digital on-screen graphic
A digital on-screen graphic is a watermark-like station logo that many television broadcasters overlay over a portion of the screen-area of their programs to identify the channel...
of the BBC logo in the top right corner of the screen.
Rebranding and reorganisation
On the 26 January 1995 at 20.00 CETCentral European Time
Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
, the channel was split into two new services: News, information and current affairs programming was re-branded BBC World while the entertainment programming became BBC Prime
BBC Prime
BBC Prime was the BBC's general entertainment TV channel in Europe and the Middle East from 30 January 1995 until 11 November 2009, when it was replaced by BBC Entertainment.-Launch:...
, which remained subscription-funded.
The re-brand had been long expected by many, due to the demand of more news bulletins on the channel, while still including many of the BBC productions that viewers, especially those previously served by BBC TV Europe, enjoyed so much. It was also becoming apparent that the name 'BBC World Service Television' was unwieldy on the channel. This was shown in examples such as the weather, which used the general style of italicised lettering in line with and under the BBC logo, and which used the title BBC World Service Television Weather
External links
- BBC World Service Television idents at Transdiffusion
- BBC World Service Television idents including past BBC World at TV World - Videos are no longer available
- TVARK BBC World Service Television