Television in the United Kingdom

Television is something the United Kingdom has done to a high standard over the years, with many British Television shows becoming popular across the world in their original format, and adapted versions too.

I previously did a blog post about TV Viewing Options in the United Kingdom.
Originally things were not too far removed from what was depicted in the movie National Lampoon’s European Vacation, with 2 channels from the BBC (the state broadcaster), and commercially owned rival ITV.

They were eventually joined on the old analogue terrestrial TV transmitter network by Channel 4 and Channel 5.
If you wanted more channels than that, then back in the 1980’s and 1990’s the only other option was an analogue satelite dish and subscription from either BSB or Sky, both of which eventually merged to create a monopoly as “BSkyB” (British Sky Broadcasting).
In the late 1990’s Digital Satelite TV was introduced to the United Kingdom in the form of “Sky Digital”, with a Digital Cable TV rival in the form of Virgin Media.

Also introduced was Digital Terrestrial TV in the form of Freeview, broadcast from upgraded transmitters. Some local areas faster than others. The final switchover was completed in Autumn 2012.

Another arrival was FreeSat, a free-to-air Satelite TV service based on Freeview as an alternative to Sky.

We also have an extensive selection of major streaming services available to watch.