The Newsroom

BBC News nostalgia, including BBC World

Split from BBC News: Presenters, correspondent & rotas (April 2020)

This site closed in March 2021 and is now a read-only archive
IT
itsrobert Founding member
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLk_mezjsyg

I always thought BBC World launched in 1991. So what were these titles from 1987 for?


I can remember working in Turkey the day the week the Gulf War started, January 1991. There was the rudimentary BBC World TV service then , it just consisted of live or 'as seen live' BBC 1 and BBC 2 non copyright programmes (i.e. news,current affairs, and docs) Often the output would flick between 1 and 2 as if you were at home changing channel with your remote. Very basic stuff, but more useful (if you were a Brit abroad than what it's developed into). I can remember watching BBC Breakfast, the Nine O'clock News, and NewsNight on it. We all sat in the empty hotel bar, and watched John Major's Prime Ministerial Broadcast on the day the war started


Would that have been BBC TV Europe, then, I wonder?

You're right that it does seem like it started out with the intention of serving expats/holidaymakers - but it now seems to have turned into a channel to serve the foreign audience in English. Whenever I've been abroad and seen BBC World it's not been terribly 'useful'. Great for world news - but if you want to find out what's been going on in the UK, not so much. Certainly about 10-15 years ago BBC World would almost go out of their way not to cover UK stories. I believe they've got a bit better now - whether that's because of a greater amount of simulcasting with the BBC News Channel, or just the fact that a great many major stories have emanated from Britain lately, I'm not sure.

Contrast it to CNN International, however, which has gone the other way - you'd be lucky to get a non-US story on there now!
OM
OrmeMac
As much as I hate to admit it, I can kind of understand the thinking behind the BBC World name change. Back in the original BBC World days, the channel was a really good mixture of news, current affairs and lifestyle programming. But by 2008 it was pretty much exclusively devoted to news. Programmes like Top Gear, Holiday and documentaries like Great Railway Journeys were long gone by that point. So, changing the name to BBC World News - at least for me - was understandable. However, I think the two channel names should have been BBC World News and BBC News 24 from 2008. Dropping News 24 was a mistake.


When the News channels were 'Reithed' I was surprised that BBC World News didn't become BBC News World for more continuity of the 'BBC News' brand just as in the UK we have BBC News Scotland etc.
MA
Markymark
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLk_mezjsyg

I always thought BBC World launched in 1991. So what were these titles from 1987 for?


I can remember working in Turkey the day the week the Gulf War started, January 1991. There was the rudimentary BBC World TV service then , it just consisted of live or 'as seen live' BBC 1 and BBC 2 non copyright programmes (i.e. news,current affairs, and docs) Often the output would flick between 1 and 2 as if you were at home changing channel with your remote. Very basic stuff, but more useful (if you were a Brit abroad than what it's developed into). I can remember watching BBC Breakfast, the Nine O'clock News, and NewsNight on it. We all sat in the empty hotel bar, and watched John Major's Prime Ministerial Broadcast on the day the war started


Would that have been BBC TV Europe, then, I wonder?



Yes, it could have been. I was in Kuwait later that year, and remember the BBC World service, with the reused COW. It was still showing BBC Breakfast live etc, but kept opting out, sometimes mid sentence to show trailers and other stuff. Still quite a messy service, and the COW seemed to be used as holding image for (relatively) long periods. !
IS
Inspector Sands

I can remember working in Turkey the day the week the Gulf War started, January 1991. There was the rudimentary BBC World TV service then , it just consisted of live or 'as seen live' BBC 1 and BBC 2 non copyright programmes (i.e. news,current affairs, and docs) Often the output would flick between 1 and 2 as if you were at home changing channel with your remote. Very basic stuff, but more useful (if you were a Brit abroad than what it's developed into). I can remember watching BBC Breakfast, the Nine O'clock News, and NewsNight on it. We all sat in the empty hotel bar, and watched John Major's Prime Ministerial Broadcast on the day the war started


Would that have been BBC TV Europe, then, I wonder?

You're right that it does seem like it started out with the intention of serving expats/holidaymakers - but it now seems to have turned into a channel to serve the foreign audience in English. Whenever I've been abroad and seen BBC World it's not been terribly 'useful'. Great for world news - but if you want to find out what's been going on in the UK, not so much. Certainly about 10-15 years ago BBC World would almost go out of their way not to cover UK stories. I believe they've got a bit better now - whether that's because of a greater amount of simulcasting with the BBC News Channel, or just the fact that a great many major stories have emanated from Britain lately, I'm not sure.

BBC World, like The World Service has never been about UK news for those abroad, they're for an international audience.

The World Service used to do a round up of UK news, half hour a week I think.

World News and the News Channel do simulcast a lot but it tends to be the latter showing the former, overnight for example

BBC Europe was more an ex-pat service, simulcasting domestic output but that changed when it became BBC Prime
NL
Ne1L C
BBC Europe split into Prime And News in 1995
IS
Inspector Sands
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLk_mezjsyg

I always thought BBC World launched in 1991. So what were these titles from 1987 for? There is a description in the YouTube video but I'd much rather ask the experts on here.

It's almost certainly not a channel, as you say I don't think World Service TV started until the early 1990s. When it did it was named World Service

In the 80s the BBC (and ITN) were involved in all sorts of things, these were probably titles for some sort of syndicated bulletin, either on one of the early satellite stations or a foreign broadcaster, or even for use on planes?
NL
Ne1L C
ITN had world news for Superchannel in the 80’s and 90’s
NG
noggin Founding member
Wasn't it effectively two different channels at that point? I'm sure I've read somewhere that there was a European version which was essentially content from BBC1 and BBC2, with the occasional WSTV News bulletin thrown in? And I think that was preceded by something called BBC TV Europe. And then there was a separate WSTV channel in Asia. Then in 1995 BBC World became one channel, with BBC Prime showing the entertainment content that had previously been shown on WSTV.


There was a channel called BBC Europe (and before that it was informally known as 'BBC 1/2 Mix') which was encrypted and carried BBC One shows mainly, but when BBC One carried movies or US shows that the BBC didn't have rights for, it showed BBC Two content instead. It was encrypted on analogue satellite and quietly (well it seemed quietly) marketed to European viewers.

ISTR that BBC World Service Television Asia was carried on the same frequencies overnight after BBC One had closed down to carry a basic news service.

This was long before BBC World and BBC Prime launched.
NL
Ne1L C

I can remember working in Turkey the day the week the Gulf War started, January 1991. There was the rudimentary BBC World TV service then , it just consisted of live or 'as seen live' BBC 1 and BBC 2 non copyright programmes (i.e. news,current affairs, and docs) Often the output would flick between 1 and 2 as if you were at home changing channel with your remote. Very basic stuff, but more useful (if you were a Brit abroad than what it's developed into). I can remember watching BBC Breakfast, the Nine O'clock News, and NewsNight on it. We all sat in the empty hotel bar, and watched John Major's Prime Ministerial Broadcast on the day the war started


Would that have been BBC TV Europe, then, I wonder?

You're right that it does seem like it started out with the intention of serving expats/holidaymakers - but it now seems to have turned into a channel to serve the foreign audience in English. Whenever I've been abroad and seen BBC World it's not been terribly 'useful'. Great for world news - but if you want to find out what's been going on in the UK, not so much. Certainly about 10-15 years ago BBC World would almost go out of their way not to cover UK stories. I believe they've got a bit better now - whether that's because of a greater amount of simulcasting with the BBC News Channel, or just the fact that a great many major stories have emanated from Britain lately, I'm not sure.

BBC World, like The World Service has never been about UK news for those abroad, they're for an international audience.

The World Service used to do a round up of UK news, half hour a week I think.

World News and the News Channel do simulcast a lot but it tends to be the latter showing the former, overnight for example

BBC Europe was more an ex-pat service, simulcasting domestic output but that changed when it became BBC Prime



Did the feed just jump from BBC1 to 2 at odd moments or between programmes?
MA
Markymark

Would that have been BBC TV Europe, then, I wonder?

You're right that it does seem like it started out with the intention of serving expats/holidaymakers - but it now seems to have turned into a channel to serve the foreign audience in English. Whenever I've been abroad and seen BBC World it's not been terribly 'useful'. Great for world news - but if you want to find out what's been going on in the UK, not so much. Certainly about 10-15 years ago BBC World would almost go out of their way not to cover UK stories. I believe they've got a bit better now - whether that's because of a greater amount of simulcasting with the BBC News Channel, or just the fact that a great many major stories have emanated from Britain lately, I'm not sure.

BBC World, like The World Service has never been about UK news for those abroad, they're for an international audience.

The World Service used to do a round up of UK news, half hour a week I think.

World News and the News Channel do simulcast a lot but it tends to be the latter showing the former, overnight for example

BBC Europe was more an ex-pat service, simulcasting domestic output but that changed when it became BBC Prime



Did the feed just jump from BBC1 to 2 at odd moments or between programmes?


Normally during co incident junctions, as I said it was like changing channel yourself on your own telly
NL
Ne1L C
BBC World, like The World Service has never been about UK news for those abroad, they're for an international audience.

The World Service used to do a round up of UK news, half hour a week I think.

World News and the News Channel do simulcast a lot but it tends to be the latter showing the former, overnight for example

BBC Europe was more an ex-pat service, simulcasting domestic output but that changed when it became BBC Prime



Did the feed just jump from BBC1 to 2 at odd moments or between programmes?


Normally during co incident junctions, as I said it was like changing channel yourself on your own telly


Sorry didn't see that bit. Thanks Very Happy
KM
kman2020
You could be right. Or maybe Clive or Reeta will do the Six and Ten towards the end of the week, but need a couple of days off since they both presented Monday and Tuesday.


I'm pretty sure Sophie would have done the News at One instead if they wanted someone 'senior' in the building this morning, and Jane would have done the Special.


Hwu, Kate, Sophie and Mishal all have at some point presented rolling news on BBC News Channel and/or BBC World News.

Mishal was the main overnight presenter before joining Breakfast and is still an occasional relief presenter for BBC World News. She has also done stints in Washington and Singapore as a presenter.

Hwu presents an hour of news at 5pm, Kate and Sophie started as a news channel presenter, and Kate is still an occasional relief presenter for BBC News Channel and BBC World News


Not quite...

Mishal started out on World Business Report in about 2001, give or take, before taking over the 2000-0100 GMT shift when it was vacated by Philip Hayton. She didn't do overnights, per se - they were presented by Clarence Mitchell, Rageh Omaar, Heather McCarthy, Martine Croxall, Susan Osman, Deborah MacKenzie and Alastair Yates around that time. Mishal pretty quickly moved to Washington in around about late 2002 to launch the first Washington/London newscast with Adrian Finighan. Then it was on to Breakfast.


After Mishal's stint in Washington, but before she moved to Breakfast, she anchored BBC World News in the evenings from London. This was kind of an odd period, as the Washington co-presentation with Adrian Finighan was created for the distribution of that newscast to PBS Stations in the US. The same newscast continued with Mishal, but now she was in London and there wasn't a Washington anchor.

Eventually she moved on, and around 2004, the co-presentation from Washington and London (with Katty Kay and Mike Embley) re-started.

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