BBC Questions

1. What does 'BBC' stand for?
2. How many television channels do the BBC have?
3. How is the BBC funded?
4. What is your favourite BBC channel? Why?
5. What year was the BBC founded?
6. If you could improve how the BBC is run, what would you do differently?
7. How do you think the British public benefit from having the BBC?
8. Name three programmes shown on a BBC channel?
9. Do you think we should pay for the BBC?
10. How much time do you spend watching/listening to the BBC?

Research on the BBC

The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), founded by Lord John Charles Walsham Reith began as just a radio broadcasting company, attaining their first broadcasting place in 1932. It was one of the only two companies in Europe to do this at the time.

In 1936m the BBC decided to expand further and delve into the world of television. However they had to stop due to the second world war taking place that year. Ten years later (1946) they started broadcasting once again, beginning with children's television. In 1967 the BBC began using colour in their programmes.

Since then we have developed over time with loads of range of media that has come from the BBC, we even have television on demand online from the BBC. 

Here are some facts on the BBC.

• The BBC do not advertise, unless for the government (for example, informing Britain on to switch from analog television to digital) or to promote shows aired on one of their channels. However, on some BBC programmes they have introduced product placement.
• Channels: BBC 1, BBC 2, BBC 3, BBC 4, CBBC, Cbeebies, BBC Parliament, BBC News, BBC Alba.
• The purpose of the BBC is to inform, entertain and educate the British public. They entertain viewers with such shows as Eastenders, The Office and The Voice. They inform the public by broadcasting news updates 24 hours a day on BBC News and three times per day on BBC 1. The BBC educate the public by featuring various documentaries, and providing revision material for students and those wanting to educate themselves further on their website.
• The BBC gets its funding by license fees which everyone with a TV has to pay. This is called a TV license. This means that the BBC has to be unbiased and show both sides to every story, as it is technically run by the people and the government. It cannot be seen to be supporting a particular side to something.
• The key areas that the BBC operates in are mainly all areas of Great Britain. However the BBC also has been broadcasted in such countries as Australia, America and the Caribbean. 
• But as they say, nobody is perfect, and the BBC have most definitely been involved in a few scandals that make people and newspapers (mainly the Daily Mail) angry. Because we pay for the company to run, certain members of the public expect it to be perfect at all times. 
• The biggest scandal to date that has involved the BBC has been the recent Jimmy Saville case. He was an infamous children's TV presenter who sexually abused hundreds of children with nothing being said or done until he was deceased.