BBC Two

BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the United Kingdom. It became the third UK channel in 1964 and the first channel to be broadcast in Colour UHF and in 625 lines. 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 channels, it is funded by the television licence, and is therefore commercial-free. It is a comparatively well funded public service network, regularly attaining a much higher audience share than most current public service networks worldwide.

Launch
British television at the time of BBC2's launch consisted of two channels: the BBC Television Service and the ITV network made up of smaller regional companies. Both channels had existed in a state of competition since ITV's launch in 1955, and both had aimed for a populist approach in response. The 1962 Pilkington Report on the future of broadcasting noticed this, and that ITV lacked any serious programming. It therefore decided that Britain's third television station should be awarded to the BBC.

The animated adverts featured the campaign mascots "Hullabaloo", a mother kangaroo, and "Custard", her joey. Prior to, and several years after, the channel's formal launch, the channel broadcast 'Trade Test Transmissions', short films made externally by companies such as Shell and BP, which served to enable engineers to test reception, but became cult viewing.

The channel was scheduled to begin at 19:20 on 20 April 1964 and show an evening of light entertainment, starting with the comedy show The Alberts, a performance from Soviet comedian Arkady Raikin, and a production of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate, culminating with a fireworks display. However, at around 18:45 a huge power failure, originating from a fire at Battersea Power Station, caused Television Centre, and indeed much of west London, to lose all power. BBC1 was able to continue broadcasting via its facilities at Alexandra Palace, but all attempts to show the scheduled programmes on the new channel failed. Associated-Rediffusion, the London weekday ITV franchise-holder, offered to transmit on the BBC's behalf, but their gesture was rejected. At 22:00 BBC2 had no choice but to concede defeat and postpone programming until the following morning. As the BBC's news centre at Alexandra Palace was unaffected, they did in fact broadcast brief bulletins on BBC2 that evening, beginning with an announcement by the newsreader Gerald Priestland at around 19:25 There was believed to be no recording made of this bulletin, but a videotape was discovered in early 2003.

By 11:00 on 21 April, power had been restored to the studios and programming began, thus making Play School the first programme to be shown officially on the channel. The launch schedule, postponed from the night before, was then successfully shown that evening, albeit with minor changes. In reference to the power cut, the transmission opened with a shot of a lit candle which was then sarcastically blown out by presenter Denis Tuohy.

To establish the new channel's identity and draw viewers to it, the BBC decided that a widely promoted, lavish series would be essential in its earliest days. The production chosen was The Forsyte Saga (1967), a no-expense-spared adaptation of the novels by John Galsworthy, featuring well-established actors Kenneth More and Eric Porter. Critically for the future of the fledgling channel, the BBC's gamble was hugely successful, with an average of six million viewers tuning in per episode: a feat made more prominent by the fact that only 9 million were able to receive the channel at the time.

Unlike BBC1 and ITV, BBC2 was broadcast only on the 625 line UHF system, so was not available to viewers still using sets on the 405-line VHF system. This created a market for dual standard receivers which could switch between the two systems. The early technical problems, which included being unable to transmit US-recorded videotapes due to a lack of system conversion from the US NTSC system, were resolved by a committee headed by James Redmond.

Technological advancements
The new 625 line system had one noticeable advantage: the bandwidth was sufficient for colour broadcasts and indeed on 1 July 1967, BBC2 became the first channel in Europe to begin regular broadcasts in colour, using the PAL system. The thirteen part series Civilisation (1969) was created as a celebration of two millennia of western art and culture to showpiece the new colour technology. BBC1 and ITV later joined BBC2 on 625-line UHF band, but continued to simulcast on 405-line VHF until 1985. BBC1 and ITV simultaneously introduced PAL colour on UHF on 15 November 1969, although they both had broadcast some programmes in colour "unofficially" since at least late 1968.

In 1979, the station adopted the first computer generated channel identification (ident) in Britain, with its use of the double striped, orange '2' logo. The ident, created in house by BBC engineers, lasted a number of years and heralded the start of computer generated logos.

As the switch to digital-only terrestrial transmission progresses, BBC Two is (in each region in turn) the first analogue TV channel to be replaced with the BBC multiplex, at first, four then two weeks ahead of the other four channels. This is required for those relay transmitters that have no current Freeview giving viewers time to purchase the equipment, unless they have already selected a satellite or cable service.

BBC Two was channel of the year in 2007 and again in 2012.

Operation
The channel controllers have been:


 * 1964–1965: Michael Peacock
 * 1965–1969: David Attenborough
 * 1969–1974: Robin Scott
 * 1974–1978: Aubrey Singer
 * 1978–1982: Brian Wenham
 * 1982–1987: Graeme MacDonald
 * 1987–1992: Alan Yentob
 * 1992–1996: Michael Jackson
 * 1996–1999: Mark Thompson
 * 1999–2004: Jane Root
 * 2004–2008: Roly Keating
 * 2008–present: Janice Hadlow

The channel forms part of the BBC Vision executive group, and is answerable to the head of that department, and to the BBC Trust.

Presentation
BBC Two maintained a distinctively different identity up until the corporate unification in the late 1980s and early 1990s. For example, from 1986-1991 whilst BBC1 would refer to itself on-screen as that name, BBC2 would use only the word 'TWO' on its idents. The BBC name was rarely used, in stark contrast to the branding world of today.

1979-1986
In 1979, BBC2 adopted the world’s first computer-generated ident, with the logo being drawn live every time it was played. This version of the 2 had orange double lines either side and the 2 itelf was orange double lined. This stripy 2 had been used on promotions and holding slides for years prior to its launch, and now it was part of a bigger branding package. For the first few years of the ident, it would be accompanied by a fanfare as it scrolled onto the screen. There were versions of the ident where the ident scrolled on, scrolled off and remained static. The clock used alongside this high tec 3D ident, was anything but. The old clock filmed from the NODD room survived, with a new 2D logo and sporting black and orange colours. However, in 1980, BBC2 got its own electronic clock including 3D legend and centre dot.

1986-1991
At Easter 1986 the computer-generated ’2′ was replaced by the word ‘TWO’ in red, green and blue on a white background. The ident was shown in three different ways. The word 'TWO' would either fade in, fade out or remain static on-screen.

1991-1997
A survey carried out by the BBC in 1990 found that the BBC Two presentation launched in 1985 gave the channel a ‘worthy but dull’ image. Then-controller Alan Yentob saw a major change of identity was necessary. Branding agency Lambie-Nairn were commissioned, and on 16 February 1991, the new custom ’2′ — and the signature colour, viridian — were unveiled on BBC Two, in idents that would successfully change public perception, and become world famous. The ’2′ always appeared in the same shape, in various forms; the earliest idents of 1991 featured solely inanimate ’2′ figures of different material in each, but also made use of camera angle tricks and properties such as refraction to achieve various effects. In later years it was given character, taking the form of a remote-controlled car, a rubber duck, a Dalek and a toy dog among many others. The expansive set of idents from 1991 to 2001 — lasting over a decade — are generally regarded as the best idents ever produced for a television channel; they ended in November 2001. The BBC corporate logo was updated within the idents in October 1997, though the idents moved away from the original viridan colour scheme in these latter years.

A 1995 episode of the BBC series How Do They Do That? dedicated a 5 minute segment to investigating how the iconic 2s were devised, produced and interpreted by the audience.

1997-2001
On 4 October 1997, a new corporate logo was introduced across the BBC, also involving the rebranding of BBC1 and BBC2 to BBC One and BBC Two. Whilst new idents debuted on BBC One, its sister channel simply added the logo to much of its existing presentation, retired some of its original idents, and phased in new ones – gradually moving away from its veridian scheme.

2001-2007
In 2001 the BBC gave branding agency Lambie-Nairn a daunting brief: create a new BBC Two presentation package to replace the immensely popular Big 2 idents which had been in service since February 1991. From Paint to Steam, Cars to Dogs, Swans to bug Zappers the Big 2s had it all. Whatever the programme there was an ident more than suitable for introducing it (often the preceding ident was better than the programme itself!). Alas, after 10 years of loyal service, the BBC concluded that the much-loved idents were becoming too out of touch with BBC Two’s new ‘lighter’ schedule. And so in the early hours of Monday 19th November, the curtain came down on the 1991-2001 era as the Big 2s touchingly bowed out the way they came in all those years ago, with Paint. For now at least it was our last look at the viridian colour scheme which had defined BBC Two for over a decade; from that morning Two was going to look very different. With little fanfare the new 2s signed on for their first day of service at 6.00am. Fish was the first ident to be shown, accompanied by a simple ‘This is BBC Two’ announcement. From now on the 2 would remain the same colour (ivory) and its antics would always take place in a yellow studio. The BBC Two logo was consigned to a purple box, a look which would soon be copied by the other BBC channels. The trail style remained largely unchanged; programme titles and schedule information were now left-aligned and wrote in a lighter variant of the Gills Sans typeface and the BBC Two box, which remained on screen throughout the trail, was placed in the bottom right corner of the screen. However, the real gems of the new package were the menus. A look at Now, Next and Later would appear on the left of the screen whilst in the top right corner an animated robot 2 could be seen. Sadly these menus quickly fell out of use and with no stings/animations to use BBC Two presentation quickly lost the variety it had once been famous for.

In contrast to the Big 2s which launched with 11 idents, the Yellow 2s launched with a mere 4 idents. The continuity manager was reported to have complained about the lack of choice available on their launch day. Idents were steadily added to bolster the package with Drip being the first new recruit in February 2002.

2007-2009
BBC Two’s latest style of presentation was introduced on 18 February 2007, designed by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO and produced by Red Bee Media. The figure 2 – which has been altered from Lambie-Nairn’s original ’2′ design for the first time in 16 years – became a ‘window on the world’. The first ident broadcast from this set was "Cappuccino Scoop". Additionally, the plum coloured box previously used for the BBC Two logo was changed to a deep aqua colour, along with a font change from Gill Sans to Avenir across the channel.

2009-present
In October 2008, insiders on TV Forum revealed that BBC Two were planning to modify their presentation. As part of a round of tweaks, the Cappuccino, Chase, Tent and Mirror A idents were to be axed. A new version of the Sunroof ident was broadcast at 8am on 1st October 2008. The teal box was nowhere to be seen, apparently succeeded by a BBC logo positioned in the bottom right corner of the screen. However the following junction at 11am saw the box mysteriously reappear. Save for an erroneous midnight playout of Seascape presented in the same format as the 6am ident, no sign of any new presentation was seen for the remainder of the day or the days that followed.