This is a list of events taking place in 2013 related to British television.
Events
January
Date
Event
4
The CBeebies block on BBC Two airs for the last time. The pre-school programming would in future air exclusively on their dedicated channel.
5–6
CITV celebrates its 30th anniversary with an "Old Skool" marathon of archive programming on the weekend.
5
In a poll conducted for the film channel Sky Movies 007 HD, a scene from Goldfinger in which James Bond is strapped to a table while a laser beam begins to cut it in half is voted as the best Bond movie moment.[1][2]
6
BBC One airs the last programme in its astronomy series The Sky at Night to be presented by Sir Patrick Moore, recorded shortly before his death in December 2012. He launched the series in 1957.[3]
Anne Wood, creator of Teletubbies criticises the BBC's decision to remove children's programming from its mainstream channels, accusing them of "ghettoising" children's television.[5]
14
ITV1 rebrands back to its original name, ITV, after 12 years, along with the introduction of a new logo on ITV plc-owned channels and online services.[6]
18
After nearly four years, Countdown is filmed at the Granada Studios in Manchester for the last time. Subsequent series are now filmed at MediaCityUK in Salford thus marking the second time that the show has relocated in its 30-year history.
20
The BBC issues an immediate apology after its digital channel CBeebies airs an episode of Tweenies from 2001 in which one of the main characters named Max dresses as Jimmy Savile to present a chart show.[7]
22
Broadcaster Stuart Hall is charged with one account of rape and 14 of indecent assault following a police investigation into historic allegations.[8]
Cable television provider Virgin Media announced it is to be acquired by Liberty Global for US$23.3 billion (£15 billion).[12]
8
The BBC Trust approves a twelve-month trial to make some BBC TV content available online through BBC iPlayer ahead of its scheduled television debut.[13]
ITV's This Morning apologises after "accidentally" showing a photograph of Kate Middleton in a bikini. The image was used while discussing a recent controversy involving pictures of the Duchess, but should have been blurred out.[14]
ITV drops the actor Michael Le Vell from Coronation Street pending the outcome of legal proceedings after police charge him with 19 child sex offences allegedly committed between 2001 and 2010.[16]
BBC journalists stage a one-day strike over compulsory redundancies.[18]
25
Telecommunications giant BT, which bought the rights to some Premier League matches in 2012, expands its investment in sports broadcasting with the purchase of ESPN's channels in Britain and Ireland.[19]
Coronation Street actor William Roache apologises after appearing to suggest victims of paedophiles were being punished for past sins in an interview for New Zealand's One News.[22]
It is reported that Channel 4 will screen a documentary The Murder Trial showing footage of the trial of Nat Fraser, who in 2012 was convicted of the murder of his estranged wife, Arlene.[23]
23
Granada Reports is broadcast from the Granada Studios at Quay Street for the last time.
24
ITV Granada broadcasts from the MediaCityUK studios for the first time.
Research published by the Archives of Disease in Childhood suggests that five-year-olds who watch more than three hours of television a day are more likely to develop antisocial behaviour than those who do not.[24]
29
BBC journalists stage a twelve-hour strike, disrupting television and radio news programmes.[25]
The BBC says that an edition of Panorama filmed secretly on a university study trip to North Korea will be broadcast, despite claims by the London School of Economics that students may have been put in danger.[29]
16
James Harding, former editor of The Times, is named as the new BBC Director of News. He replaces Helen Boaden, who was moved from the job to become Director of Radio.[30]
Channel 5 pulls two programmes narrated by Rolf Harris from its schedule after reports the presenter was interviewed by police over allegations of sexual offences.[33]
23
Current Director of BBC One, Danny Cohen is appointed Director of BBC Television, taking up the position from 7 May.[34]
25
The BBC is to limit the redundancy packages for its managers to £150,000 following criticism about the amount of severance paid to its executives.[35]
May
Date
Event
1
Forthcoming scenes from Coronation Street featuring William Roache will be dropped after he is arrested over historic allegations of rape. ITV says he will not appear again in the soap while investigattions are ongoing.[36]
2
Broadcaster Stuart Hall pleads guilty to 14 charges of sexual assault.[37]
6
A man who died along with his daughter in a speedboat crash off the north Cornish coast on 5 May is named as senior BSkyB executive Nick Milligan.[38]
9
BT announces it will offer their BT Sport channels to its broadband customers for free in a bid to challenge Sky's dominance of the pay-per-view market.[39]
16
The BBC apologises for a Newsnight report about Help for Heroes that falsely suggested the charity was responsible for shortcomings in the care of wounded soldiers.[40]
17
Ian Allen, the creator of children's television series Button Moon wins a claim for damages against a businessman he says copied his designs for tee shirts and mugs.[41]
20
The BBC documentary series Panorama airs unseen footage from the 1989 Hillsborough disaster that casts doubt on medical evidence given at the inquest.[42]
23
BBC political editor Nick Robinson apologises after he quoted a source describing the perpetrators of the previous day's Woolwich attack as "of Muslim appearance". The BBC received 43 complaints after Robinson used the term during the BBC News at Six.[43]
24
The BBC scraps its £98m Digital Media Initiative – a project launched in 2008 to change the way the corporation's staff utilised video and audio material. Director-General Tony Hall says the scheme has "wasted a huge amount of licence fee payers' money", and that an investigation will be held to determine what lessons can be learned from the venture.[44]
The BBC apologises after a floor plan for the 23 May edition of Question Time from Belfast described the Northern Ireland Education Minister John O'Dowd as being from Sinn Féin/IRA. The phrase is a pejorative term used by members of the unionist community, but Sinn Féin maintains it and the IRA are separate organisations.[45][46]
27
Former Crimewatch presenter Nick Ross issues a statement in defence of criticism he received for comments he makes about rape in his forthcoming book, Crime.[47]
The series seven finale of Britain's Got Talent is disrupted when a woman runs on stage and throws eggs at the judges. She is later revealed to be a member of one of the performing act's backing group.[52][53]
9
Channel 4 airs an entire commercial break in French to celebrate the launch of its French zombie drama The Returned.[54]
17
BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall is sentenced to 15 months in jail for sexually abusing under age girls, as the BBC issues an "unreserved apology" to his victims.[55]
Ofcom launches an investigation into the broadcasting of footage from the Woolwich attack after receiving about 700 complaints.[56]
Broadcaster Jo Whiley criticises reality shows such as The Voice and Britain's Got Talent, saying the contestants who appear on them are unaware of what they are letting themselves in for.[57]
19
Ofcom is to launch an investigation into BSkyB over the supply of its sports channels to rival broadcasters.[58]
July
Date
Event
5
The BBC announces it is suspending production of 3D programming indefinitely, due to a "lack of public appetite" for the technology.[59]
8
Audience figures show Andy Murray's victory in the previous day's Wimbledon Men's Singles final was watched by 17.3 million viewers, making it the most watched programme of the year so far.[60]
9
A special last-minute scene is filmed for inclusion in the day's episode of EastEnders reflecting Andy Murray's Wimbledon victory.[61]
An update of Freeview's software leaves owners of Sony DVD recorders unable to access or record Freeview channels through the devices.[63]
21
For the past three consecutive weeks in July 2013, Channel 5 has beaten Channel 4 in terms of daily average share for the week, excluding +1. However, this time since its launch in 1997, Channel 5 (on a 5% share) beat Channel 4 (on a 4.94% share) in terms of daily average share for the week including +1.[64][65]
26
Former BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall has his fifteen month sentence for a series of indecent assaults doubled to 30 months by the Court of Appeal after the Attorney General launched an appeal against the leniency of the original sentence.[66]
An advert featuring a team "rescuing" neglected jars of Marmite has received 278 complaints from viewers since it was first shown two days earlier.[69]
12
Paddy Roberts becomes the first male £250,000 winner on Deal or No Deal.[70]
It is reported that Coronation Street will explore the issue of the right to die when the character Hayley Cropper decides she wants to take her own life after being diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer.[72]
10
Michael Le Vell is cleared of child sex allegations following a trial at Manchester Crown Court.[73]
