The Newsroom

Happy 19th Birthday BBC News Channel (BBC News 24)

Celebrating 19 years of the BBC's first digital TV channel! (November 2016)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
DA
Davidjb Founding member
Happy 19th Birthday BBC News Channel (or BBC News 24 as was). 19 Years ago today at 17:30 the BBC launched it's first digital TV channel (albeit on analogue cable at the time). The first news bulletin broadcast at 18:00 from studio N9 at BBC Television Centre with Gavin Esler & Sarah Montague. The channel is a very different arrangement these days to back then & couldn't look more different. Always remember the first studio being described by someone as "a car crash in a shower room". Today has been a very busy news day but I thought this subject deserved it's own little topic.

https://youtu.be/1RGDUElqbjI
richard h and Willow7 gave kudos
BR
Brekkie
What did they show for the first half hour then?
DA
Davidjb Founding member
What did they show for the first half hour then?


Some program about the history of BBC News I think.
RN
Rolling News
What did they show for the first half hour then?

Basically a programme about the history of BBC News and what to expect on News 24.

https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=QZ50_W8_KcQ


In a way its a good job they dropped the '24' when they did since they only have less than 8 hours of UK rolling news a day now.
BR
Brekkie
Wouldn't be surprised though if the original channel ran on a much tighter budget than the half channel we have today.
DA
Davidjb Founding member
Wouldn't be surprised though if the original channel ran on a much tighter budget than the half channel we have today.


I'm not sure on that one but I remember that they spent quite a bit of money on the 1999 re-brand/re-launch.
LO
Londoner
The channel is a sad shadow of its former self.
RE
Rex
The channel is a sad shadow of its former self.

It's evident with the amount of World News simulcasts on the channel, and the axing of double headed presentation.

The BBC News Channel has really suffered quite a bit with the DQF cuts in full swing.
IS
Inspector Sands
Wouldn't be surprised though if the original channel ran on a much tighter budget than the half channel we have today.

Probably difficult to calculate. In those days it was very much a seperate entity. Now its become very much a core service and integrated into the rest of BBC News, I'd imagine it's individual budget is a lot smaller, but overall a lot more
KN
knack
Wouldn't be surprised though if the original channel ran on a much tighter budget than the half channel we have today.

Probably difficult to calculate. In those days it was very much a seperate entity. Now its become very much a core service and integrated into the rest of BBC News, I'd imagine it's individual budget is a lot smaller, but overall a lot more


I've had a look at several annual reports from the last 15 years and it's not immediately obvious how it compares due to changes in reporting.

Overall BBC News expenditure is not reported separately. Presently, BBC News channel content costs are broken down as follows: production costs, newsgathering costs, other costs. Presumably radio, nations/regions and programmes such as Newsnight have additional newsgathering costs. And then there's Global News and World Service.

Production costs for BBC News channel/24 were £23.5m in 2015, £30m in 2010 and £23m in 2005. 2000 was £48m but that will include newsgathering costs.
OM
Omnipresent
The sad thing is that the News Channel's biggest enemy has always been the BBC itself. There was a lot of internal hostility to it when it first launched and it's clear that James Harding considers the 1/6/10 bulletins a much greater priority.

At present the channel is just existing and like, BBC News Online, not moving forward anymore.
CH
chris
But the bulletins should have a greater priority. They get good ratings and are well respected.

Online of course should be moving forward, innovating, but contrary to what presentation geeks would like, news channels will I'm sure soon become a thing of the past.

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