A timeline of notable events relating to BBC Television News.
1930s 1936 2 November – The BBC opens the world's first regular high-definition television service from Alexandra Palace. Television news coverage consists of cinema newsreels from British Movietone News and sound-only news bulletins from BBC Radio.
1937 12 May – First use of its TV outside broadcast van to cover the procession that followed the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
1938 No events.
1939 1 September – The BBC Television Service is suspended, owing to the imminent outbreak of the Second World War.
1940s 1940 to 1945 Television is closed for the duration of the Second World War.
1946 7 June – BBC Television broadcasts resume. BBC Radio bulletins start being simulcast on television with a still picture of Big Ben.
1947 9 November – The first use of telerecording of an outside broadcast, the Service of Remembrance from the Cenotaph is televised live and a telerecording shown that evening. 20 November – The wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh is televised by the BBC. It is watched by an estimated 400,000 viewers.
1948 5 January – The first edition of Television Newsreel is broadcast. The weeknight programme, broadcast at 7:30pm runs for fifteen minutes.
1949 No events.
1950s 1950 23 April – The first edition of Children's Newsreel is broadcast.1950s British TV Milestones Whirligig 50s British TV
1951 A Sunday version of Television Newsreel, Newsreel Review of the Week, is launched.
1952 No events.
1953 2 June – The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey is televised by the BBC and watched live by an estimated audience of 20 million people in the United Kingdom. 11 November – The first edition of Panorama is presented by Daily Mail reporter Pat Murphy. Panorama is the world's longest-running current affairs programme and retains a peak-time slot to this day.
1954 5 July – BBC newsreader Richard Baker reads the first televised BBC News bulletin which replaces Television Newsreel. 7 October – BBC Television covers a party political conference for the first time when it broadcasts from the Conservative Party Conference in Blackpool.
1955 September – Kenneth Kendall becomes the BBC's first in-vision newsreader, followed by Richard Baker and Robert Dougall.
1956 No events.
1957 18 February – The first episode of Tonight is broadcast. 30 August – BBC Scotland launches a weekday five-minute news bulletin and a Saturday teatime sports round-up. They launch one day before the start of broadcasting by Scottish television which provided its own regional news service from the outset. September – The first broadcasts of regional news bulletins on the BBC take place and bulletins also start being broadcast in Wales and Northern Ireland. 30 September – Regional television news bulletins for the north of England begin from Piccadilly's studio N in Manchester.
1958 28 October – The BBC televises the State Opening of Parliament for the first time.
1959 The BBC North East and Cumbria region is created with localised bulletins from Newcastle-upon-Tyne aired for the first time. Previously, the area was part of a pan-Northern region based in Manchester.
1960s
1960 No events.
1961 September – The final edition of Children's Newsreel is broadcast.
1962 17 September – BBC Wales launches Wales Today. The programme is seen by viewers in both Wales and the west of England until February 1964 when the BBC Wales and BBC West regions are created.
1963 22 November – At 7.05pm, between Points of View and Tonight, BBC TV broadcasts a newsflash about the shooting of American president John F. Kennedy. Tonight is later interrupted at 7.26pm for another newsflash, which later announced the death of the American president. For the next nineteen minutes, viewers saw revolving globe ident, punctuated by four brief bulletins. BBC TV then resumed normal programming at 7.50pm. A tribute programme to the late president, presented by Ian Trethowan is shown later in the evening. The newsflashes are presented by stand-in John Roberts, because regular newscasters Richard Baker, Robert Dougall and Kenneth Kendall are at the annual dinner and ball of the Guild of Television Producers and Directors.
1964 20 April – BBC2 beings broadcasting and BBC News launches a new news programme for the channel called Newsroom. 26 April – Another new news programme for BBC2 is launched called News Review. The programme is a summary of the week's news with subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing.
1965 18 June – Tonight is broadcast on BBC1 for the final time.
1966 5 April – The Money Programme makes its debut on BBC2. It continued to air until 2010.
1967 No events.
1968 7 March – Newsroom on BBC2 becomes the first UK news programme to be transmitted in colour.History of the BBC – key dates page 5 BBC Heritage 1960s. 25 March – BBC regional television from Leeds begins and the first edition of Look North is broadcast. Previously, the Yorkshire area had been part of a wider North region based in Manchester. 1 April – The first edition of BBC Scotland's Reporting Scotland is broadcast.
1969 9 September – The first edition of Nationwide is broadcast on BBC1. 19–20 September – BBC News relocates from Alexandra Palace in North London to BBC Television Centre in West London.
1970s 1970 BBC News appoints its first political editor with Hardiman Scott being the first person to take on the role. 14 September – Robert Dougall presents the first edition of the BBC Nine O'Clock News. The programme was launched in response to ITN's News at Ten.
1971 No events.
1972 4 April – The first edition of Newsround is broadcast, presented by John Craven. 29 December – The final edition of BBC2's news programme Newsroom is broadcast. It is replaced by a five-minute news summary.
1973 2 January – A new late evening extended news bulletin News Extra begins broadcasting on BBC2.
1974 7 January – A two-minute mid-afternoon regional news summary is broadcast on BBC1 for the first time. It is transmitted immediately before the start of the afternoon's children's programmes. 23 September – Teletext service Ceefax goes live.
1975 1 September Tonight returns to BBC1 after thirteen years off air. The new programme airs as a late evening news and analysis programme.BBC Genome Project – BBC1 listings 1 September 1975 BBC2's late evening news bulletin is renamed Newsnight.
1976 17 September – The original incarnation of Newsnight is broadcast for the final time. It is replaced three days later with a shorter bulletin called Late Night News on 2.
1977 No events.
1978 No events.
1979 5 July – The final edition of Tonight is broadcast on BBC1.BBC Genome Project – BBC1 listings 5 July 1979 25 September – The first edition of Question Time is broadcast on BBC1.
1980s 1980 28 January – Newsnight is launched on BBC2.Andrew Billen "Flagship sails on" , New Statesman, 7 February 2000 March – The first in-vision Ceefax transmissions are broadcast.
1981 29 July – The Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer is produced by BBC Television & Radio with an audience of 750 million viewers and listeners in over 60 countries. 4 September – The final edition of Midday News is broadcast. 7 September – News After Noon is launched as a 30-minute lunchtime news programme, replacing the much shorter Midday News.A clip of the opening of the first edition of News After Noon
1982 BBC News provides extensive coverage of the Falklands War with newsflashes supplemented by additional and extended news bulletins, including weekend editions of Newsnight. 1 November – The first edition of Welsh-language news bulletin Newyddion is broadcast on the first night of broadcasting of Wales' new fourth channel S4C.
1983 17 January – Breakfast Time, the UK's first national breakfast television service is launched. News bulletins and summaries are broadcast every 15 minutes.BBC Programme Index - BBC One 17 January 1983 5 August – The final edition of Nationwide is broadcast.BBC Programme Index - BBC One 5 August 1983 24 October – Sixty Minutes launches as the new evening news programme to replace Nationwide.
1984 27 July – The final edition of Sixty Minutes is broadcast. 30 July – BBC1's teatime news programme reverts to its original name of Evening News and to its original broadcast time of 5:40pm. The regional news programmes follow, broadcasting for 20 minutes from 5:55pm. This is a stop-gap measure and continues for five weeks. 4–12 August – The BBC's coverage of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games sees Breakfast Time being given over to Olympic Games highlights, and this includes weekend editions. News summaries are broadcast on the hour and this is the first time that the BBC has broadcast a full service of pre-lunchtime news bulletins at the weekend.BBC Genome Project – BBC1 listings 4 August 1984 3 September – BBC1's teatime news hour is relaunched and now runs from 6pm until 7pm. A new 30-minute long news programme the Six O'Clock News is launched and this is followed by a longer regional news magazine which is expanded to 25 minutes. 18 November – The BBC launches its first Sunday lunchtime political interview show called This Week, Next Week. December – BBC1 stops broadcasting a late night news summary.
1985 23 January – Television coverage of proceedings in the House of Lords begins.BC Genome Project – BBC1 listings 23 January 1985 30 August – The weekday lunchtime Financial Report, broadcast on BBC1 in London and the south east, is broadcast for the final time ahead of the launch of a lunchtime regional news bulletin for viewers in the BBC South East region. 22 December – Having been broadcast every Sunday teatime since the launch of BBC2 in 1964, News Review is broadcast for the final time.
1986 4 January – The first edition of NewsView is broadcast on BBC2. The new Saturday early evening programme lasts 40 minutes and combines the day's news with a look back at the week's news. 6 January – A regional news bulletin is broadcast after the Nine O'Clock News for the first time. It had originally been planned to appear the previous September to co-inside with last year's relaunch of the Nine O'Clock News.The mystery of the delayed launch for the new BBC regional news slot 8 May – The BBC broadcasts live coverage of the local election results for the first time. The coverage airs until approximately 2.30am on both BBC1 and BBC Radio 4. BBC1's coverage is branded as a ‘Newsnight Special’.BBC Programme Index BBC One 8 May 1986 9 June – The BBC launches its first parliamentary review programme when the first edition of The Lords This Week (renamed The Week in the Lords later in 1986) is shown on BBC2. 17 October – BBC2 broadcasts a teatime news summary with subtitles for the last time. For the past three years this bulletin which had been broadcast at around 5:25pm, had been the first programme of the day (apart from educational programmes and sports coverage). 24 October – Ahead of the launch of the BBC's new daytime service, News After Noon is broadcast for the final time. 27 October BBC1 starts a full daytime television service. Among the new programmes is a new lunchtime news bulletin, the One O'Clock News. The programme continues to this day. The weekday mid-afternoon regional news summary moves to BBC2. 10 November – Breakfast Time is relaunched with a more formal news and current affairs format. 8 December – Six weeks after launching its daytime service, BBC TV starts broadcasting hourly news summaries. Morning bulletins are shown on BBC1 and early afternoon summaries (at 2pm, 3pm and 3:50pm) are shown on BBC2. Each bulletin is followed by a weather forecast.
1987 No events.
1988