Introduction to public
service televisionPublic service television started with
the BBC, but has now grown to include all the terrestrial broadcasters - the BBC,
ITV, Channel 4 (S4C in Wales), Five and Public Teletext. The
BBC is funded by the public through the licence fee that every household with
a television has to pay. The types of programmes it must produce and broadcast
and the audiences it must serve are described in various documents, including
the BBC's Charter. ITV, Channel 4, S4C, Five and Teletext
get most of their funding from advertising. However, in return for broadcasting
on the terrestrial network, which allows broadcasters to transmit their programmes
to as many people as possible, they have to provide certain types of public service
programming. The Communications Act suggests that public
service television should: - inform, educate and entertain;
- offer
something for everyone through a wide range of programmes across the five public
service television providers;
- be of a high standard, both in terms of
the content of the programmes and the way they are made;
- include drama,
comedy, music, feature films, news and current affairs (both national and international),
sports and leisure, educational programmes, science, religion and other beliefs,
social matters, programmes for children and young people;
- reflect the
different communities and cultural interests of the UK; and
- be made across
the UK, not just within London and the M25.
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