The BBC Television Centre was the headquarters of BBC Television between 1960 and 2013. The first BBC staff moved into the Scenery Block in 1953, and the centre was officially opened on 29 June 1960. During the time of BBC residency, it was one of the most readily recognisable facilities of its type, having appeared as the backdrop for many BBC programmes. Parts of the building are Grade II listed, including the central ring and Studio 1. Studios 2 1nd 3 have also been retained.
Most of the BBC’s national television and radio news output also came from Television Centre.
It was announced on 21 September 2010 that the BBC would cease broadcasting from Television Centre in 2013.
These papers discuss the technical features of the BBC Television Centre from inception to disposal.
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The B.B.C. Television Centre and its |
| The B.B.C. Television Centre is the first television headquarters and programme production centre-built by the B.B.C. and one of the few buildings in the world constructed expressly for television programme origination. The Centre is at present equipped for producing about twenty hours of programme per week from four production studios and their ancillary areas, and for maintaining continuity of the network programme as a whole. The Centre is principally intended for the production of live programmes but has considerable facilities for the production and reproduction of programmes in recorded form. When completed the Centre will have some ten or eleven studios and will be capable of originating and handling programmes for two programme chains. The Centre includes facilities for all phases of work concerned with programme origination, including recording and standards conversion. It is initially equipped for black-and-white operation on 405-line standards, but has been designed so as to be ready for conversion to the requirements of other television standards and for colour. Arising from the large power requirement of television production, the Television Centre also contains a large amount of heavy power equipment.
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