BBC Prime
| BBC Prime | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Launched | 30 January 1995 |
| Closed | 11 November 2009 |
| Owned by | BBC |
| Picture format | 576i |
| Slogan | Great British Entertainment |
| Country | UK |
| Broadcast area | Europe, the Middle East |
| Replaced | BBC World Service Television |
| Replaced by | BBC Entertainment |
| Website |
www.bbcentertainment.com (BBC Entertainment) |
BBC Prime was the BBC's general entertainment TV channel in Europe and the Middle East from 30 January 1995 until 11 November 2009, when it was replaced by BBC Entertainment.
BBC Prime was launched at 19:00 GMT on Thursday, 26 January 1995 when the former BBC World Service Television was split into two separate television stations:
The channel broadcast drama, comedy and lifestyle programmes which it repeated on a monthly basis. Once, it allocated six hours per day for educational programmes from BBC Learning (shown in the European small hours); this practice was abandoned in August 2006 "with the intention of improving the relevance and appeal of the channel to the widest audience". It also included a special children's strand, using the CBBC brand and idents, by the name of CBBC on BBC Prime, or CBBC Prime.
When it first launched, BBC Prime also carried programming from the former ITV company Thames Television, as BBC Worldwide had a joint venture, known as European Channel Management, with Thames's parent company, Pearson and Cox Communications. However, this was dissolved in 1998. Owing to rights issues, much of the programming on BBC Prime was from the Corporation's archive.
The channel's emphasis on archive programming caused considerable annoyance to many British expatriate viewers, who had much preferred the mix of BBC One and Two previously offered by BBC TV Europe and BBC World Service Television. However, the BBC has defended the inclusion of older programmes in the schedule, on the grounds that "for the majority of our viewers, this is the first chance to see these programmes, and often the only way to view them". Consequently, many people in mainland Europe bought viewing cards to receive full broadcasts of BBC One and Two from the UK, when they became available on satellite in 1998. This prompted GBC in Gibraltar to end terrestrial retransmission of BBC Prime in 1999. Even after the BBC switched to broadcasting unencrypted on a satellite with a much weaker signal, many people in Spain and elsewhere could still receive these signals, particularly those who already had large satellite dishes.
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