Radio and the internet radio

BBC Radio broadcasts five national services to the United Kingdom plus regional services in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

There are:

Radio 1: pop and rock music;

Radio 2: light music, entertainment and sport;

Radio 3: classical music, drama and documentaries;

Radio 4: news, documentaries, drama and entertainment and educational programmes for schools and adults;

Radio 5: sport, educational programmes and children's programmes.

There are also thirty-two BBC Local Radio stations and a number of independent local stations. Many radio stations now also broadcast on the Internet. There is advertising on the independent commercial channels.

The External Service of the BBC broadcasts over 700 hours of programmes a week in thirty-seven languages. It is estimated that over 120 million people listen to the service.

The internet

By the end of the 1990s the Internet and world-wide web had become increasingly important as a contributor to education, entertainment and information. Now many news agencies, newspapers and magazines have their online versions, which makes the information easier to access. In 2000 over a third of all people in Britain used e-mail. With rapid developments in technology the figures for use at home, in school and at work will continue to rise. The Internet is already critical to almost all areas of business and communication.

Telivision in great britain

By the end of the 1990s there were five channels on British TV: BBC1 and BBC2 plus three independent channels: ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. Independent channels get their income from advertisements. The BBC's revenue comes from licence fees, payable by everybody who has a television, plus some additional funds from Parliament. Both the BBC and ITV sell programmes overseas.

The first television broadcasts began in 1936. Commercial television consists of fifteen ITV programme providing programmes in fourteen different regions. An increasing number of programmes are now made by independent production companies.

Channels are generally expected to provide programmes which do not overlap with other channel's productions and there is a Broadcasting Standards Council which is designed to make sure that unsuitable programmes are not shown.

During the 1980s and 1990s cable and satellite TV both played an increasing role in the media in Britain.

In the future, digital technology and market forces offer new possibilities and the likelihood of further deregulation and commercialisation of TV

In the way people in Britain have spent leisure time in recent years has been the increase in the amount of time spent watching television.

Television viewing is less popular in summer than in winter and more popular with old people than with any other age group. Viewing also varies according to social class, with professional and managerial classes. On average, women watch more than men.

However, not everyone agrees that more TV means better TV and it has been argued that the standard of programmes may drop in the future with companies concentrating on making programmes with a mass appeal.