BBC Television

BBC Television is a term with variable definition. As a matter of colloquial British idiom — and indeed past British law — it is that branch of the British Broadcasting Corporation which controls the so-called "free-to-air" and "free-to-digital" channels funded by television license: BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three, BBC Four, BBC HD, CBeebies, CBBC, BBC News Channel, and BBC Parliament. BBC Television can also be said to have a non-controlling interest, partially funded by the license fee, to the regional channels of S4C in Wales and BBC Alba in Scotland. Regional "flavours" of the BBC — like BBC Wales, BBC Scotland, BBC Northern Ireland and others — are not strictly channels of BBC Television, but rather regional divisions of the Corporation itself. However, as part of their functionality is the regional transmission of television programmes, they do have some capacity to alter programming on the main BBC networks, giving the appearance that they are, perhaps, channels in their own right.

By at least implication of the BBC website itself, however, the BBC consider the phrase "BBC Television" to also include networks at least nominally under the control of BBC Worldwide, as profits from BBC Worldwide do now go back into paying for the domestic public services. Channels included under this broader definition include: BBC America, BBC Canada, BBC Kids, BBC Prime, BBC Lifestyle, BBC Knowledge, BBC Food, Australia and New Zealand's UKTV, the British commercial UKTV, People+Arts, Animal Planet, and BBC Persian.

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