On This Day In Broadcasting

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March

DATE YEAR COUNTRY EVENT
1 1936 UK King Edward VIII broadcast his first message to the Empire.
1969 UK HRH The Prince of Wales made his first broadcast on BBC Radio 4.
1972 UK The Selkirk 625-line transmitter began carrying BBC1 and Border Television.
1978 Ireland RTÉ opened its first UHF television transmitter at Cairn Hill in Co. Longford, to fill a large gap of poor reception in the Midlands. The transmitter is the most powerful in Ireland, radiating each channel with a power of 800kW. At the time of its opening, there was only one channel, but tests for the second channel were carried out.
1989 UK The BBC issued comprehensive new guidelines for producers.
2 1923 UK The BBC began broadcasting morning radio programmes.
3 1966 UK The Postmaster General authorised the introduction of a colour television service on BBC2 from late 1967.
1968 UK TWW broadcast its last day of programmes.
4 1968 UK Wales and the West of England began receiving temporary ITV services, (ITS), from the St Hilary (ITS-SWW), Arfon, Moel-y-Parc, Presely and Bala (ITSW) transmitters.
5 1927 UK The ban on broadcasting controversial material was lifted.
6 1923 UK The BBC radio transmitter for Glasgow (5SC) opened.
1949 UK The first "Billy Cotton's Band Show" was broadcast on the BBC Home Service.
7 1966 UK The BBC 405-line transmitter at Cambridge opened on channel 2.
1968 UK BBC2 broadcast the first ever news programme in colour.
8 1965 UK The BBC 405-line transmitter at Scarborough opened on channel 1.
9 1930 UK The BBC regional radio scheme began.
1964 UK The BBC 405-line transmitter at Holyhead opened on channel 4.
11 1991 Worldwide BBC World television news service began.
14 1952 UK The BBC 405-line television transmitter at Kirk O'Shotts opened on channel 3.
1966 UK The BBC 405-line transmitter at Skriaig opened on channel 3.
1968 UK BBC Radio Stoke-on-Trent opened.
15 1965 UK The BBC 405-line transmitters at Carmarthen and Newry opened on channels 1 and 4 respectively.
18 1940 Finland The BBC Finnish radio service began.
1963 UK The BBC 405-line transmitter at Ballachulish opened on channel 2.
1967 UK The BBC2 transmitter at Divis opened.
19 1969 UK At 1706, during the networked programme "Discotheque", the Emley Moor television mast, carrying Yorkshire Television and BBC2, collapsed, putting YTV completely off the air and causing BBC2 to disappear in most of Yorkshire. YTV service was restored using a temporary mast, but coverage was poor in some areas until the completion of the permanent replacement mast. BBC2 was restored later. An investigation later revealed similar faults at Winter Hill and Belmont.
1973 UK The Beacon Hill UHF transmitter began carrying BBC1 and Westward Television.
21 1959 UK BBC television broadcast the first edition of "Whicker's World".
22 1942 Europe Broadcasting of daily news in Morse code for the resistance, in multiple languages including English, began.
23 1969 UK Following the restoration of Yorkshire Television from Emley Moor, a relay opened in Sheffield on channel 6, at the same site as the BBC channel 1 transmitter. Intended only as a temporary fill-in, the transmitter was retained until the 1980s.
26 1923 UK Daily weather forecasts began on BBC radio.
1960 UK The Grand National was televised for the first time.
1965 UK The ITA 405-line television transmitter at Richmond Hill opened, carrying Border Television on channel 8.
27 1956 UK The world's first television transmitter, BBC Alexandra Palace, closed.
1960 UK and France Colour television transmitted between Paris and London for the first time.
28 1924 UK BBC Plymouth (5PY) radio transmitter opened.
1956 UK The BBC 405-line transmitter at Crystal Palace opened on channel 1, replacing Alexandra Palace.
1993 UK The BBC rebranded its fifth national radio service, Radio 5, as Radio 5 Live, a rolling news and sport service.
29 1949 UK The BBC television service broadcast golf for the first time.
30 1952 Belgium The BBC Belgian radio service closed.
1997 UK The last national analogue television service, Channel 5, began broadcasting at 1800, from 33 transmitters.
31 1930 UK 30-line television pictures and sound were transmitted experimentally from Brookmans Park after the radio service closed down.