BBC Wales

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BBC Wales

Headquarters	Llandaff, Cardiff
Broadcast area	Wales
TV Stations	BBC One Wales BBC 2W
Radio Stations in this area	BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Cymru
Websites	www.bbc.co.uk/wales

BBC Wales (Welsh: BBC Cymru) is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services.^[1]

Outside London, BBC Wales is the largest BBC television producer in the UK, partly due to its slate of Welsh language programmes. The BBC Wales television channel debuted on 1 February 1964 to much fanfare (short television promotions proclaimed: "Wales gets its very own TV service in 1964!") [1]. However the BBC had actually been producing television programmes in Wales since the mid-50s. The first tv production studios were established in a converted church (since demolished) in Broadway,Cardiff. The entrance was in Sapphire Street off Clifton Street. The first programmes were produced and transmitted live from in a tiny temporary studio - later to become part of the scenery-dock whilst two proper studios were created within the structure of the church. One was a medium-size drama and music studio and the other a discussion and news studio from which the daily Welsh language magazine "Heddiw" and the daily English Language news programme "Wales Today" were produced from 1962 on. In this pre-videotape era film was played into programmes from a telecine machine in Bristol or London until telecine was actually installed in Broadway. Film processing for news was carried out by a firm called Park Pictures in Cardiff until BBC processing was installed in Stacey Road.

Prior to 1964 BBC Wales had had to share its television channel with the West of England as the Wenvoe transmitter near Cardiff also served viewers in the West of England. The 20 minute slot for tv news at six each evening was therefore split between "Wales Today" and the West of England news programme "Points West". The establishment of the BBC Wales dedicated channel in February 1964 (transmitted from a new mast built alongside the main transmitter mast at Wenvoe) enabled a full length "Wales Today" to be broadcast for the first time along with other Welsh and English-language programming for Wales.

[edit] Overview

BBC Cymru Wales building in Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales.

BBC Wales produces television programming in English and Welsh both for the regional "opt out" sections of the BBC One and Two network feeds, and for the dedicated Welsh-language channel S4C.^[1] Perhaps its best-known Welsh-language programme is the soap opera Pobol y Cwm, which has run since 1974. BBC Wales also operates two radio stations: BBC Radio Wales in English and BBC Radio Cymru, which broadcasts in Welsh and is aimed at a younger audience. The regional television news programme Wales Today is the world's longest running daily television news programme - and was confirmed as such by Director General Michael Checkland in a speech to Cardiff Business Club. the Welsh language news service Newyddion for S4C, which combines international and UK news with regional news from Wales.

Another popular locally-screened programme is the drama series Belonging, which as of 2005 has run for six seasons since 1999. An English language programme, Belonging is produced in-house by the BBC Wales drama department and screened on BBC One during a regional "opt out" slot from the main national network feed. As with other such "opt outs", however, it is available to viewers elsewhere in the UK via the digital satellite platform.

As well as providing these dedicated services for Wales, BBC Wales also provides programming for the BBC's UK networks. In recent years, its drama output has been particularly successful, including the 2005 revival of the classic science-fiction series Doctor Who and its spin-off Torchwood (2006). In addition, BBC Wales commissions other drama output for the BBC network from independent producers, such as Life on Mars (2006–07). The BBC National Orchestra of Wales is currently based at Broadcasting House in Cardiff, though there are plans to move it to the Wales Millennium Centre, and performs regularly throughout Wales and internationally.

The BBC recently announced that they were going to concentrate on more programmes being made in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, instead of most of them being made in London where the BBC headquarters and main studios are.

[edit] Programming

[edit] Produced in-house by BBC Wales

For Wales

• Wales Today (1962–present)
• Week In Week Out (1964–present)
• Pobol y Cwm (1974–present)
• Belonging (1999–present)
• First Degree (2002)
• High Hopes (2002–present)

For the UK

• The District Nurse (1984–1987)
• Border Cafe
• He Knew He Was Right (2004)
• Doctor Who (2005–present)
• Doctor Who Confidential (2005–present)
• The Chatterley Affair (2006)
• Torchwood (2006-present)
• Torchwood Declassified (2006-present)
• The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007-present)

It was announced on 15 October 2008 that the BBC is to move the filming shows such as Casualty and Crimewatch to studios in Cardiff.^[2]

[edit] Commissioned from independent producers by BBC Wales

For the Wales

• Coal House (2007–2008)

For the UK

• Shakespeare: The Animated Tales (1992, 1994)
• Casanova (2005)
• The Girl in the Café (2005)
• Life on Mars (2006–2007)
• Wide Sargasso Sea (2006)
• This Life + 10 (2007)
• Ashes to Ashes (2008-present, spinoff of Life on Mars)
• Merlin (2008)
• The Wright Taste (2008)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

BBC portal

Wales portal

• BBC Wales at bbc.co.uk