BBC First

For the localised Australian version of BBC First, see BBC First (Australia).
Not to be confused with BBC One.
BBC First

BBC First logo
Launched 3 August 2014 (2014-08-03) (Australia)
16 May 2015 (2015-05-16) (Netherlands)
4 June 2015 (2015-06-04) (Belgium)
18 October 2015 (2015-10-18) (South Africa)
1 February 2016 (2016-02-01) (Middle East & North Africa)
4 April 2016 (2016-04-04) (Singapore)
1 October 2016 (2016-10-01) (Malaysia)
1 November 2016 (2016-11-01) (Hong Kong)
Owned by BBC Worldwide
Picture format 576i (16:9 SDTV)
1080i (16:9 HDTV)
Slogan Unmissable
Broadcast area Australia
Netherlands
Belgium
Africa
Middle East
Singapore
Malaysia
Sister channel(s) BBC Earth
BBC UKTV
BBC HD
BBC Lifestyle
BBC Entertainment
BBC World News
BBC Brit
CBeebies
Website BBC.com/first
BBC.com/bbcfirst
Availability
Satellite
Foxtel (Australia) Channel 117 (SD)
Channel 217 (HD)
DStv (Africa) Channel 119
OSN (Middle East & North Africa) Channel 215 (HD)
Cable
Foxtel (Australia) Channel 117 (SD)
Channel 217 (HD)
Telenet (Belgium) Channel 561 (Flanders)
Channel 741 (Brussels)
StarHub TV (Singapore) Channel 522 (HD)
Ziggo (Netherlands) Channel 22 (HD)
IPTV
Fetch TV (Australia) Channel 105 (HD)
KPN (Netherlands) Channel 23 (SD)
Channel 729 (HD)
Telfort (Netherlands) Channel 23
Channel 729 (HD)
XS4ALL (Netherlands) Channel 23
Channel 729 (HD)
Lijbrandt (Netherlands) Channel 116
HyppTV (Malaysia)[1] Channel 812 (HD) [1]
now TV (Hong Kong) Channel 503
Streaming media
Foxtel Go (Australia) Channel 117
Yelo TV Watch live (Belgium only)
StarHub Go (Singapore) Channel 522
HyppTV Everywhere (Malaysia) watch online (Malaysia only)
BBC Player Singapore (Singapore) watch online (Singapore only)

BBC First is an entertainment subscription television channel featuring comedy and drama programming. The channel is wholly owned and operated by BBC Worldwide. The channel began rolling out internationally in 2014, launching first in Australia.[2][3][4]

History

In October 2013, BBC announced that in 2014 they would rollout 3 new brands - BBC Earth, BBC First, and BBC Brit, with BBC First to be dedicated to comedy and drama programming.[5]

International roll-out

Australia

Main article: BBC First (Australia)

On 17 April 2013, it was announced that the BBC had forged a new exclusive deal with Australian subscription television provider Foxtel which would see a new channel launched that would feature comedy and drama content, with programming screening as close to their original UK transmission as possible.[3] It was later announced the new channel would be named BBC First, a new global brand that would roll out in 2014, with Australia being the first location to launch the new channel, on 3 August 2014.[4][4][6][7]

Netherlands

BBC First launched in the Netherlands on 16 May 2015, initially exclusively on the KPN IPTV service (Interactieve TV van KPN) on channel 23. The programme mix will be specifically for the Netherlands with more emphasis placed on drama and crime series. All programming is subtitled in Dutch.[8] KPN simultaneously withdrew BBC Three and BBC Four.

Belgium

The channel launched in Belgium on 4 June 2015.[9][10]

South Africa

The channel launched in South Africa on 18 October 2015.[11][12]

Middle East & North Africa

On the 7th of January 2016, BBC Worldwide and OSN (Orbit Showtime Network) have announced that they had forged a new and exclusive deal which would see the launch of BBC First HD on the first of February 2016. The new channel would broadcast to Middle East & North Africa and would feature comedy and drama content, with programming screening 48 hours after their UK premier.

Singapore

BBC First launched a Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD) service on StarHub TV Channel 522 on 4 April 2016.[13]

Malaysia

BBC First was launched as a Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD) service on HyppTV Channel 812 on October 1, 2016, 10 months after BBC Entertainment was dropped from the provider.[1] The channel's content is also available in the "VOD" tab in the HyppTV Everywhere app for iOS and Android.

Hong Kong

On 1 November 2016, BBC First launched as a Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD) service in Hong Kong. The channel replaced BBC On Demand and BBC Entertainment on Now TV.[14]

Programming blocks

There are BBC First programming blocks on the following channels:

Programming

Current programming

Original programming

Acquired programming

Not all content are available in all territories.

Future programming

References

  1. 1 2 3 "BBC First | Channels | BBC Asia | BBC Worldwide". Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  2. "BBC Worldwide and Foxtel unveil new channel name". BBC Worldwide. 18 October 2013. Retrieved 3 May 2014.
  3. 1 2 Knox, David (17 April 2013). "New BBC Drama channel headed to Foxtel". TV Tonight. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Knox, David (19 October 2013). "BBC First channel to launch on Foxtel in August". TV Tonight. Retrieved 3 February 2014.
  5. Middleton, Richard (18 October 2013). "BBCWW to scrap global iPlayer". C21 Media. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  6. Knox, David (26 May 2014). "BBC First to launch on August 3rd". TV Tonight. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  7. Knox, David (2 July 2014). "Foxtel Channel Changes". TV Tonight. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  8. "A First for Europe as BBC Worldwide's premium drama channel debuts in The Netherlands" (Press release). BBC Worldwide. 29 April 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  9. "BBC First to Launch in Belgium" (Press release). BBC Worldwide. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  10. "BBC First to launch in Belgium next month". TBI Europe. 2015-05-22.
  11. "BBC Worldwide launches BBC Brit, BBC Earth and BBC First in Africa" (Press release). BBC Worldwide. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  12. BBC First South Africa
  13. Premium British drama comes to Singapore with launch of BBC First, StarHub TV, 24 March 2016
  14. BBC First debuts in Hong Kong. BBC Worldwide. 1 November 2016.
  15. "BBC Worldwide and Sony Pictures Television Networks join forces to launch BBC First programme block on AXN Mystery in Japan" (Press release). BBC Worldwide. 20 April 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  16. Higgins, D (March 30, 2015). "APRIL on FOXTEL: Game Of Thrones, Mad Men, Wentworth, Deadline Gallipoli and 200+ other new shows". The Green Room. Foxtel. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  17. 1 2 Knox, David (27 March 2014). "Curtain up on BBC First". TV Tonight. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  18. "Contact BBC Worldwide". Retrieved December 1, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/2/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.