This is an old revision of this page, as edited by InternetArchiveBot(talk | contribs) at 17:38, 17 May 2020(Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 2 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.1). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 17:38, 17 May 2020 by InternetArchiveBot(talk | contribs)(Rescuing 0 sources and tagging 2 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.1)
The Bluebell Hill transmitter in Kent is transferred from Thames/LWT to TVS, to increase the size of TVS's new South East sub-region and the Kendal transmitter, covering much of southern Cumbria, is transferred from Granada to Border.[1]
January – John Birt replaces Michael Grade as Director of Programmes at London Weekend Television, and makes major changes to output aimed at maximising audiences with some niche programming, such as arts and science, moving out of primetime to the schedule margins to make way form more entertainment shows at peaktime.
February
February – The first-ever 3D broadcast in the UK is screened by Television South. The programme includes excerpts of test footage shot by Philips in the Netherlands. Red/green 3D glasses were given away free with copies of the TVTimes listings magazine, but the 3D sections of the programme are shown in monochrome.
5 March – The BBC is given permission by the Government to start broadcasting television programmes on two satellite channels from early 1986.[6] Ultimately, however, the channels are not launched.
2 April – The Falklands War begins as Argentina invades the Falkland Islands.[8] Both the BBC and ITV broadcast additional and extended news bulletins throughout the conflict.
26 April – The Satellite Channel launches. However to be able to view the channel in the UK, a satellite dish approximately 10 feet (3 meters) wide is required due to the satellite on which the channel is broadcast. In 1984 it is renamed Sky Channel after it is purchased by Rupert Murdoch and in 1989 it becomes known as Sky One.[9]
May
1 May – British television debut of the US soap opera Dynasty.[10]
9 May – BBC1 airs live coverage of the London Marathon for the first time.[11] It had aired highlights of the event under the International Athletics strand the previous year.[12]
August – Test broadcasts commence for Channel 4 and S4C. These mainly consist of showing the IBA's testcard ETP-1.
September
20 September – The first showing of BBC Schools' first computer generated ident takes place.
October
3–9 October – As part of its coverage of the 1982 Commonwealth Games, the BBC broadcasts a two-hour breakfast programme Breakfast with Brisbane. The programme includes regular news summaries and is the first time the BBC has broadcast a scheduled news bulletin at breakfast and comes three months ahead of the launch of the BBC's breakfast television programme Breakfast Time.[14][15]
6 October – BBC1 airs season 6 of the US drama series Dallas.
2 November – Channel 4 starts broadcasting in the UK at 4:45pm.[17] The first programme shown is the game showCountdown, which, barring the news, is the only programme from the launch night that is still running today. The first ever episode of Brookside is broadcast. The programme was shown on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 8:00pm.
3 November – Television debut of the nostalgic coming-of-age film P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang on Channel 4, a film produced by David Puttnam as part of the First Love series.[18]
5 November – Debut of Channel 4's innovative music programme The Tube.
7 November – Coverage of American football is first shown on Channel 4 at 5.30pm, beginning the channel's several years of association with the sport. The programme is initially presented by Nicky Horne and Miles Aiken. Due to an NFL players strike over pay negotiation rules the programme is forced to show matches played earlier in the season. In spite of this, and because of the British viewing public's limited knowledge of American football, coverage of the sport proves to be popular. The players have ended their action by January 1983, enabling Channel 4 to air live coverage of that year's Super Bowl.[19]
8 November – Channel 4 begins airing basketball coverage, presented by Simon Reed and Miles Aiken. Each week sees coverage of a match from Division One of the National Basketball League, with highlights of the first half of the game and live coverage of the second half. The first match to be shown is a game between the Birmingham Bullets and Crystal Palace.[19]
14 November – The viewer complaints programme Right to Reply first airs on Channel 4.[21]
16 November – A dispute over new technology forces Border Television to close for around a month.[22]
December
2 December – 10.2 million viewers saw a classic comedy scene from the Only Fools and Horses episode "A Touch of Glass" in which the Trotters accidentally smash a priceless chandelier.
Channel 4 airs its first theme night, Fifties to the Fore. The evening includes episodes of ABC and ATV shows such as Armchair Theatre and Oh Boy!.[20]
December – ITV conducts a national 3D experiment, with red/blue glasses allowing colour 3D to be shown for the first time. The programme, an episode of the weekly science magazine The Real World (produced by TVS) is shown on a weekday evening, and repeated that weekend on Sunday afternoon, followed by a rare screening of the WesternFort Ti starring George Montgomery and Joan Vohs.