Tech Quiz Of The Week: The BBC’s Technology Journey
The BBC has pioneered television, radio and online – but what do you know about Auntie’s technology triumphs and its bloomers?
Ever since its inception in 1922, the BBC has led the country through numerous technological revolutions.
From the wireless and colour television to iPlayer and Ultra High Definition, the BBC’s innovation has helped deliver the array of services we have today from both it and its commercial rivals. The licence fee has even helped fund the rollout of superfast broadband
When the BBC was founded, radio was new, and it quickly adopted TV, which reached a widespread public in outside broadcasts such as the 1952 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. As media has developed, the BBC has continued to move with the times, and sometimes get ahead of them.
Tech and the BBC
The time-travelling Tardis from Doctor Who has yet to be produced in reality, and nor have the Infinite Improbability Drive or Babel Fish, from The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. But some of the BBC’s own work has seemed equally science-fictional when it appeared.
It faces political tension: as a global media player, it competes in areas where advertising is the norm, and is funded by a levy on TV users in the UK.
It has faced numerous battles with the government and is attempting to stay relevant in an era of unparalleled choice, but it is unarguably a national institution and arguably the most respected broadcaster in the world.
We salute the BBC, and its tech presence, but what do you know about the BBC’s technology journey?
