 | |
.svg) BBC West's area within the UK | |
| TV transmitters | Mendip |
|---|---|
| Radio stations | BBC Radio Bristol BBC Radio Gloucestershire BBC Radio Wiltshire BBC Radio Somerset |
| Headquarters | Broadcasting House, 31-33 Whiteladies Rd,Bristol BS8 2LR, |
| Area | Bristol Somerset Wiltshire (majority) Gloucestershire (majority) northernDorset |
| Nation | BBC English Regions |
| Regions | West |
Launch date | 1933 |
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|---|
Commercial subsidiaries |
Key properties in London |
Birmingham |
BBC West is one of theBBC's English Regions servingBristol,Somerset, the majority ofWiltshire andGloucestershire and north ofDorset.
BBC West's television service (broadcast onBBC One) consists of the flagship regional news serviceBBC Points West and a 30 minute political programmeSunday Politics.
The region has four local radio stations;BBC Radio Bristol,BBC Radio Gloucestershire,BBC Radio Somerset &BBC Radio Wiltshire. They broadcast local programming every weekday between 6 am and 2 pm. Bristol and Somerset share one programme between 2 pm and 6 pm with Gloucestershire and Wiltshire sharing another. All carry local news bulletins during shared afternoon programmes although one station per programme will play out a pre-recorded bulletin.
Evening weekday programmes are shared regionally across all four stations. A national late show from Manchester or London is then broadcast between 10 pm and 1 am.[1]
Weekend programmes are shared, regional or national apart from Saturday afternoon sport between 2 pm and 6 pm.
BBC West also produces online content for BBC News web pages and related social media platforms.
BBC West launched a regional television service from Bristol on 30 September 1957.[2] Initially broadcast from theWenvoe transmitter on the outskirts of Cardiff, the geographical nature of the Wenvoe signal meant the first regional news bulletins were broadcast to both Wales and the West of England, sharing a ten-minute timeslot withNews from Wales.[3]
Until December 1960, news bulletins from Bristol also served the south coast of England, which latterly received its ownregional programme. The weekday timeslot for regional news extended to 25 minutes in September 1962 – around this time, the West of England bulletin became known asPoints West while the Welsh bulletins received a more comprehensive relaunch asBBC Wales Today.[3]
The opening of a second signal from Wenvoe in February 1964 finally allowed the split of BBC television in Wales and the West.[4] A separateBBC Wales channel was launched while BBC West became a full regional opt-out service to the extent seen in other English regions, withPoints West becoming a full-length programme.[3]
Points West continued until 1991, when the service was renamedBBC News West. ThePoints West brand was revived on Monday 22 May 2000 with the launch of the BBC's generic regional news graphics and presentation.[5]
BBC West'sregional broadcasting centre is located on Whiteladies Road in theClifton area ofBristol with local radio studios and television bureaux also inBath,Gloucester,Swindon andTaunton.
The Bristol studios are the main base forPoints West,BBC Radio Bristol and various regional and, previously, network programmes. Network output is now made at other specially built facilities or does not use a studio. The site originally had two studios, A and B, which catered for all output - network programming was produced from Studio A andPoints West and other regional output from Studio B. Studio A was closed in 1991 as a cost-saving measure, and in 1996 the site was altered so that new gallery facilities were inserted into part of Studio A. The now smaller Studio A is now used forPoints West, while Studio B has been demolished.[6]
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51°27′40″N2°36′29″W / 51.4611°N 2.6080°W /51.4611; -2.6080
