BBC Third Programme: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:59, 22 July 2023

Revision as of 22:15, 3 August 2023

Line 4:

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}

{{Infobox radio network

| name = BBC Third Programme

| logoimage = BBC Broadcasting House = 532073098.jpg

| logo_size image_size = 220

| image_alt = A photograph of Broadcasting House showing the art deco styling of the main facade was made from Portland stone.

| logo_alt =

| caption = The Third Programme headquarters was at [[Broadcasting House]] in [[London]] .

| logo caption =

| collapsiblecountry = [[United = Kingdom]]

| image headquarters = BBC [[Broadcasting House]], [[London]], 532073098.jpg[[England]]

| radio_stations = 647 [[kHz]], 1547 kHz

| image_size = 220

| logo_alt owner = [[BBC]]

| image_alt = A photograph of Broadcasting House showing the art deco styling of the main facade was made from Portland stone

| launch_date = {{Start date and age|1946|09|29|df=y}}

| caption = The Third Programme headquarters was at [[Broadcasting House]] in [[London]]

| dissolved = {{End date and age|1967|09|29|df=y}}

| country = [[United Kingdom]]

| headquarters language = [[BroadcastingEnglish House]], [[London]], [[Englandlanguage|English]]

| radio_stations replaced_by = 647 [[kHzBBC Radio 3]]; 1547 kHz

| owner = [[BBC]]

| launch_date = {{Start date and age|1946|09|29|df=y}}

| dissolved = {{End date and age|1967|09|29|df=y}}

| language = [[English language|English]]

| replaced_by = [[BBC Radio 3]]

}}

The '''BBC Third Programme''' was a national radio station produced and broadcast from 1946 until 1967, when it was replaced by [[BBC Radio 3|Radio 3]]. It first went on the air on 29 September 1946 and became one of the leading cultural and intellectual forces in [[Great Britain|Britain]], playing an important role in disseminating the arts, playing mainly [[classical music]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Hewison |first=Robert |year=1995 |title=Culture and Consensus: England, Art and Politics Since 1940 |publisher=[[Methuen Publishing]] |___location=London |isbn=0-413-69060-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NHDbCQAAQBAJ |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2020}} It was the [[BBC]]'s third national radio network, the other two being the [[BBC Home Service|Home Service]] (mainly speech-based) and the [[BBC Light Programme|Light Programme]], principally devoted to [[light entertainment]] and [[light music|music]].

==History==

{{Further|Timeline of BBC Radio 3}}

When it started in 1946, the Third Programme broadcast for six hours each evening from 6.00pm00 pm to midnight, although its output was cut to just 24 hours a week from October 1957, with the early part of weekday evenings being given over to educational programming (known as "Network Three"). The frequencies were also used during daytime hours to broadcast complete ball-by-ball commentary on [[Test cricket|test match cricket]], under the title ''[[Test Match Special]]".

The Third's existence was controversial from the beginning, partly because of perceived "elitism" – it was sometimes criticised for broadcasting programmes of "two [[Academia|dons]] talking" – and also for the cost of its output relative to a small listener [[reach (advertising)|reach]]. Its existence was against the corporation's founding principles, as [[John Reith, 1st Baron Reith|Reith]] himself had during his time at the BBC been against segmenting audiences by splitting programming genres across different networks. From the start, though, it had prominent supporters: the [[Secretary of State for Education and Skills|Education Secretary]] in the [[Clement Attlee|Attlee]] government, [[Ellen Wilkinson]], spoke rather optimistically of creating a "third programme nation". When it faced those 1957 cuts, the Third Programme Defence Society was formed and its leaders included [[T. S. Eliot]], [[Albert Camus]], and [[Laurence Olivier|Sir Laurence Olivier]].

This situation continued until the launch on 22 March 1965 of the BBC Music Programme, which began regular daily broadcasts of [[classical music]] (with some interruptions for live sports coverage) on the Network Three / Third Programme frequencies between 7.00am00 am and 6.30pm30 pm on weekdays, 8.00am00 am and 12.30pm30 pm on Saturdays, and 8.00am00 am and 5.00pm00 pm on Sundays. The Third Programme continued as a distinct evening service, and this continued to be the case for a short while after the inception of [[BBC Radio 3|Radio 3]] on 30 September 1967, before all the elements of the BBC's "third network" were finally absorbed into Radio 3 with rebranding effect from Saturday 4 April 1970.

==Output and programming==