BBC Third Programme: Difference between revisions

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The '''BBC Third Programme''' was the third national radio network broadcast by the [[BBC]], has since become '''[[BBC Radio 3|Radio 3]]''', but was originally known (at least within the BBC) as '''C'''. The other two were the [[Home Service]] (mainly speech based) and the [[BBC Light Programme|Light Programme]], dedicated to light music, usually cover versions of popular music of the day played by the "in-house" BBC orchestras. The Home Service is now known as [[BBC Radio 4|Radio 4]] and the [[Light Programme]] is [[BBC Radio 2|Radio 2]]. After Thethe Thirddeath Programmeof continued[[Henry asWood a(conductor)|Sir separateHenry evening service onWood]] the sameBBC frequencystepped afterin theto inceptionsponsor ofhis Radio[[The 3 inProms|Promenade 1967concerts]], butcarrying wasthem absorbedlive intoevery Radionight 3on inthe AprilThird 1970Programme.

Initially it broadcast for 5 hours a night from 7pm to midnight, but were actually cut by an hour in [[1957]] for a few years, until the launch of the Music Programme, then from 7am to midnight (although with only the evening output branded as "Third Programme"). The Third Programme continued as a separate evening service on the same frequency after the inception of Radio 3 in 1967, but was absorbed into Radio 3 in April 1970. It was the first station to multifrequency on 909 kHz ([[Medium frequency|MF]]) and 90.0 to 92.5 MHz ([[FM radio|FM]]).

The Third Programme was dedicated to the discerning or "high-brow" listener providing serious classical music, concerts and plays as well as room for modern composers, and jazz. It was the first station to multifrequency on 909 kHz ([[Medium frequency|MF]]) and 90.0 to 92.5 MHz ([[FM radio|FM]]). It was the first channel to broadcast in [[stereo]] and in [[quadraphonic]] (matrix HJ) which enjoyed only short term success. A number of broadcasts were experimental for the engineering department and the listener, for instance one play consisted mainly of sound effects to be listened to wearing headphones only.

Its existence was controversial from the start, partly because of perceived "elitism"-it was sometimes criticised for programmes of "two dons talking" and also for the costs of output with a small listener [[Reach|reach]]. In actuality its existence went against Reithian principles, as [[John Reith, 1st Baron Reith|Reith]] himself had, during his time at the BBC, been againt segmenting audiences by splitting programming genres across different networks. From the first it did have some 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."

After the death of [[Henry Wood (conductor)|Sir Henry Wood]] the BBC stepped in to sponsor his [[The Proms|Promenade concerts]], carrying them live every night on the Third Programme. It initially broadcast for 5 hours a night from 7pm to midnight, then from 7am to midnight (although with only the evening output branded as "Third Programme"); now it broadcasts 24 hours a day, following the useful technique commenced in Milan of repeating the day's output late at night.

The network was dedicated to the discerning or "high-brow" listener providing serious classical music, concerts and plays as well as room for modern composers, and jazz. Speech formed a much higher proportion of output than the later Radio 3. Particularly notable in its drama productions were the radio plays of [[Samuel Beckett]] and the [[Hilda Tablet]] plays by [[Henry Reed]]. [[Martin Esslin]] was particularly associated with the networks productions of european drama.

The Third Programme is still much missed by older listeners, who often assert that its replacement by Radio 3 was a retrograde step.

To improve the quality of outside broadcasts over telephone lines the BBC designed a [[NICAM]] style digitisation technique called [[pulse code modulation]] running at a sample rate of 14,000 per second per channel. It later designed digital recording machines (transportable) sampling at the same rate. Following the shake up of radio frequencies in [[1978]] it moved to an inferior medium wave frequency, and left MW altogether in 1992, but retained its FM frequency. Radio 3 is renowned for its quality and quantity of [[chamber music]] output, tending to play pieces in its entirety rather than small parts of pieces. It is now available world wide on the [[Internet]] and is broadcast digitally throughout the [[United Kingdom|UK]].

==Some of its Announcers==

*[[Christopher Pemberton]]