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Television in the United Kingdom

Television broadcasts in the United Kingdom began in 1932, however, regular broadcasts would only begin four years later. Television began as a public service which was free of advertising, which followed the first demonstration of a transmitted moving image in 1926. Currently, the United Kingdom has a collection of free-to-air, free-to-view and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channels for consumers as well as on-demand content. There are six main channel owners who are responsible for most material viewed.

There are 27,000 hours of domestic content produced a year, at a cost of £2.6 billion. Since 24 October 2012, all television broadcasts in the United Kingdom have been in a digital format, following the end of analogue transmissions in Northern Ireland. Digital content is delivered via terrestrial, satellite and cable, as well as over IP. As of 2003, 53.2% of households watch through terrestrial, 31.3% through satellite, and 15.6% through cable.

The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world.

Broadcast television providers
Free-to-air, free-to-view and subscription providers operate, with differences in the number of channels, capabilities such as the programme guide (EPG), video on demand (VOD), high-definition (HD), interactive television via the red button, and coverage across the UK. All providers make available the UK's five most-watched channels: BBC One, BBC Two, ITV (ITV1/STV), Channel 4 and Channel 5.

Broadcast television is distributed as radio waves via terrestrial or satellite transmissions, or as electrical or light signals through ground-based cables. In the UK, these use the Digital Video Broadcasting standard. Most TVs sold in the UK (as well as much of the rest of Europe) come with a DVB-T (terrestrial) tuner. Set-top boxes are generally used to receive channels from other providers. All of the traditional services have integrated their broadcast TV with streamed channels or on-demand programmes when connected to the Internet. Since 2022, broadcast-like TV services can be wholly-received via Internet-connected devices, which don't require an aerial, satellite or a traditional cable TV connection.

The Broadcasters' Audience Research Board publish quarterly statistics of the number of UK households per broadcast TV platform. Aggregating the statistics for Q1 2020 show that 56% subscribe to one or more broadcast TV services, vs 44% who receive free TV.

Digital terrestrial television

The primary digital terrestrial TV service, Freeview, launched in 2002 and is free-of-charge to view. It replaced the subscription service named ONdigital or ITV Digital, which ran from 1998 to 2002. Digital terrestrial television was itself the replacement for analogue terrestrial TV, which ran from 1936 to 2012.

, Freeview provides over seventy TV and radio channels, which are received via an aerial. It is operated by Everyone TV and DTV Services Ltd., joint ventures between the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5. The transmitter network is predominately operated by Arqiva.

The TV channels are transmitted in bundles, called multiplexes, and the available channels are dependent on how many multiplexes are transmitted in each area. The six national multiplexes are available to 90% of households from 92 transmitters; and three multiplexes are available to 9% of households from 1,067 transmitters. In Northern Ireland, a multiplex carrying channels from the Republic of Ireland can reach 71% of Northern Irish households from 3 transmitters. Local TV and radio is available to 54% of households from an additional multiplex via 44 transmitters, and an extra multiplex is available to 54% of households in Greater Manchester.

Multiple vendors sell hybrid set-top-boxes or smart TVs which combine terrestrial channels with streamed (Internet TV) content. Internet-based TV apps such as BBC iPlayer, ITVX and Channel 4 are available via the broadband connection of Freeview Play and Netgem devices. These also support optional subscription services such as Netflix and Prime Video. EE TV and TalkTalk TV offer additional subscription services for their respective broadband customers using Netgem or YouView devices.

Saorview, the terrestrial TV service in the Republic of Ireland which launched in 2011, can be received in parts of Northern Ireland via overspill transmissions.

Cable television

Many regional companies developed cable-television services in the late 1980s and 1990s as licences for cable television were awarded on a city-by-city basis. The mid-1990s saw the companies start to merge and the turn of the century only three big companies remained. In 2007 Telewest and NTL merged, resulting in the formation of Virgin Media, which is available to 55% of households. Cable TV is a subscription service normally bundled with a phone line and broadband.

Satellite television

There are two distinctly-marketed direct-broadcast satellite (DBS) services (also known as direct-to-home (DTH), to be distinguished from satellite signals intended for non-consumer reception).

Sky TV is a subscription service operated by Sky Ltd, owned by Comcast, which launched in 1998 as SkyDigital. Compared to the previous analogue service which had launched in 1989, it provided more channels, widescreen, interactive TV and a near video-on-demand service using staggered start times for pay-per-view content. Innovations since have included high definition, 3D TV, a digital video recorder, the ability to view recordings on other devices, remote operation via the Internet to add recordings, and on-demand content via the satellite-receiver's broadband connection of both Sky and third-party TV. The Sky subscription also includes access to Sky Go, which allows mobile devices and computers to access subscription content via the Internet.

Freesat is a free satellite service operated by Everyone TV, who also operate Freeview. Like Sky, it provides high-definition content, digital recording and video-on-demand via the broadband connection.

Freesat and Sky TV transmit from SES Astra satellites at 28.2° east (Astra 2E/2F/2G). As the satellites are in geostationary orbit, they are positioned above the earth's equator (°N, 28.2°W) approximately 35,786 km above sea level; this places them above the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Internet video services

TV via the Internet can be streamed or downloaded, and consist of amateur or professionally produced content. In the UK, most broadcasters provide catch-up TV services which allow viewing of TV for a window after it was broadcast. Online video can be viewed via mobile devices, computers, TVs equipped with a built in Internet connection, or TVs connected to an external set-top-box, streaming stick or games console. Most of the broadcast TV providers have integrated their set-top-boxes with Internet video to provide a hybrid broadcast and online service.

Catch-up services
Since 2006, UK channel owners and content producers have been creating Internet services to access their programmes. Often, these are available for a window after the broadcast schedule. These services generally block users outside of the UK.

Online video services for professionally produced content
There are numerous online services targeting the UK, offering a combination of subscription, rental and purchase options for viewing online TV. Most are available via any Internet connection, however some require a specific broadband connection. Some services sell 3rd party services, such as Amazon's Prime Video.

BARB tracks the number of households subscribing to Netflix, Prime Video and Now, referred to as SVOD households. Their statistics for Q1 2020 show that 53% of households subscribe to at least one of these, and 24% to at least two. Netflix has 13.01 million subscribers, Prime Video (Amazon) has 7.86 million, and Now has 1.62 million, according to BARB's figures for Q1 2020. BARB's equivalent figures for broadcast TV show that 56% of households subscribe.

The table following summarises some of the available Internet TV services in the UK. For brevity, it does not include catch-up-only or amateur-only services, individual channels, distributors of illegal or adult content, services which solely redistribute free broadcast channels, portals, or services which don't target the UK. 'Free' refers to free at the point of consumption, not including fees for Internet connectivity or a TV licence.

Other international streaming services with pricing in GBP include: Acorn TV, Arrow, BKTV, Crunchyroll, Dekkoo, Demand Africa, Docsville, Funimation Now, GuideDoc, Hayu, Hoichoi, Hotstar, iQiyi, iWantTFC, Mubi, NewsPlayer+, Revry, Shudder, Starz, True Story, WOW Presents Plus and ZEE5.

Most viewed channels
The Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) measures television ratings in the UK. As of 2 January 2022, the average daily viewing time per home was 3 hours 8 minutes (of BARB-reported channels, includes broadcast and Internet viewings). 15 channels have a 4-week share of ≥ 1.0%.

Most viewed broadcaster groups
, there are 10 broadcaster groups with a four week share of ≥ 1.0% (although BARB reports sub-groups of BBC and Paramount individually, and it's unclear what the 'ITV' group refers to).

BBC and UKTV

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the world's oldest and largest broadcaster, and is the country's principal public service broadcaster of radio and television. BBC Television is funded primarily by a television licence and from sales of its programming to overseas markets. It does not carry advertising. The licence fee is levied on all households that watch or record TV as it is broadcast and the fee is determined by periodic negotiation between the government and the BBC.

Its first analogue terrestrial channel was launched by the BBC Television Service in 1936. It rebranded to BBC1 in 1964 following the launch of BBC2, the UK's third analogue terrestrial channel after ITV. BBC News 24 launched as an analogue cable channel in 1997, later rebranding to BBC News in 2008. BBC Parliament, which was originally an analogue cable channel known as The Parliamentary Channel, was acquired by the BBC in 1998. From 1998 onwards the BBC started digital TV transmissions, launching new channels and broadcasting via satellite in addition to terrestrial and cable.

The BBC's Internet-based service iPlayer contains content from the BBC's TV channels, the Welsh-language public-service broadcaster S4C, as well as videos created from BBC radio programmes.

UKTV is a commercial broadcaster owned by BBC Studios, one of the BBC's commercial units. Originating in 1992 with UK Gold, UKTV expanded its channels from 1997 onwards, with the BBC taking full ownership in June 2019. Unlike the BBC's public service channels, the UKTV channels contain advertising.

ITV
ITV, branded as ITV1 or STV, is the network of fourteen regional and one national commercial television franchise, founded in 1955 to provide competition to the BBC. ITV was the country's first commercial television provider funded by advertisements. Each region was originally independent and used its own on-air identity. Through a series of mergers, takeovers and relaxation of regulation, thirteen of the franchises are now held by ITV plc, and the remaining two by STV Group. Since 2012, ITV plc produces the network nationally, with STV Group acting as an affiliate.

STV Group uses the channel name of STV for its two franchises in Scotland. ITV plc names the channel UTV in Northern Ireland, and ITV1 for the remaining regions, although UTV has used ITV or ITV1 branding since April 2020. The national breakfast-time franchise is held by ITV plc, which appears as an indistinguishable programming block across the network. Legally, the network has been known as Channel 3 since 1990, which is the name Ofcom uses.

Since 1998, ITV plc has operated additional free or subscription channels, starting with ITV2.

Channel 4
Launched in 1982, Channel 4 is a state-owned national broadcaster which is funded by its commercial activities (including advertising). Channel 4 has expanded greatly after gaining greater independence from the IBA, especially in the multi-channel digital world launching E4, Film4, More4, 4Music, 4seven and various timeshift services. Since 2005, it has been a member of the Freeview consortium, and operates one of the six digital terrestrial multiplexes with ITV as Digital 3&4. Since the advent of digital television, Channel 4 is now also broadcast in Wales across all digital platforms. Channel 4 was the first British channel not to carry regional variations for programming, however it does have six set advertising regions.

With Bauer Media Group, Channel 4 jointly owns a range of music channels under the Box Plus Network banner.

Sky
Sky is a European broadcaster owned by global American media conglomerate Comcast. Sky Television launched in 1989, with a 4-channel service received via satellite. The channels at launch were Sky Channel, Sky News, Sky Movies and Eurosport. They were initially free to receive, and Sky Movies was the first to move to a subscription early in 1990. Sky News was the UK's first dedicated news channel. The new service was the UK's first consumer satellite TV service, beating rival BSB, with which Sky would later merge to become BSkyB. Sky's satellite service grew to become a subscription platform through which Sky offer their own channels, pay-per-view services and channels from other broadcasters. Sky's digital platform launched in 1998, with the original analogue service closing in 2001. Sky was acquired by Comcast in 2018.

Since 2012, Sky operate Now, an Internet TV streaming service offering subscriptions without a fixed-term contract.

Sky's channel portfolio has grown greatly since the launch of digital TV. Sky make their channels available via rival cable and Internet services as well as their own satellite service and Now.

Paramount Global
Channel 5 was the fifth analogue terrestrial channel to launch, in March 1997. Due to constraints with the available UHF frequencies at the time, many households had to retune their video recorders, which shared the frequency on their RF output with the frequency used by Channel 5's new broadcasts. Channel 5 was the first terrestrial channel to also broadcast via satellite. From 2006 onwards, Channel 5 launched new digital channels and an Internet on-demand service. After changing ownership several times, in May 2014 Channel 5 and its sister channels were acquired by Viacom, an American media conglomerate, known as Paramount since 2022.

By the time it acquired Channel 5, Paramount already operated a large number of subscription channels in the UK, including the MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central channels, which are available via Sky TV, Virgin Media and Now. In terms of viewing share, the combined viewing across Paramount's channels make the group the UK's fifth largest broadcaster, according to BARB's viewing figures for 1 March 2020.

Paramount additionally operates the Pluto TV and Paramount+ Internet streaming services.

Local television
Since 2012, additional local TV channels are available via Freeview channel 7 or 8. The channels are licensed by Ofcom, with 34 local TV channels licensed as of 2 July 2020. Nineteen of the licenses are held by That's TV, and eight are held by Made Television. The remainder are held independently. Each license contains the amount of local TV programming required. As an example, the license for Scarborough, which is held by That's TV, requires seven hours of local programming per week (one hour per day on average). Thirteen additional licenses were originally intended, but Ofcom decided not to advertise these in June 2018.

The way Ofcom structured local television – being dependent on terrestrial transmission – was criticised in a Guardian article in 2015 for being "years behind in its thinking", as it does not account for the Internet. In the article, Ofcom responded that the licensing scheme was inherited from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. In April 2018, BBC News reported that "many of the stations have been ridiculed for the poor quality of their output or have been reported to Ofcom for breaching broadcasting rules". The local TV companies receive a subsidy from the BBC of £147.50 per local news story, funded by the license fee, paid whether the BBC uses the content or not. A June 2018 article on BuzzFeed claimed that That's TV was created "primarily to extract money from the BBC whilst delivering little content of useful value".

Regional television
BBC One, BBC Two and the ITV network (comprising ITV1 and STV) are split into regions in which regional news and other programming is broadcast. ITV1/STV is split into fourteen geographic licencees, with several of these split into two or three sub-regions, resulting in a greater total number of regional news programmes. Ofcom sets a quota for the BBC and ITV on the amount of regional programming required.

Advertising on ITV1/STV and Channel 4 is regional. Channel 4 is split into 6 advertising regions, but has no regional programming.

Country-specific channels
BBC Scotland and the Gaelic-language channel BBC Alba target Scotland, and the Welsh-language channel S4C targets Wales. In Northern Ireland, channels originating in the Republic of Ireland are available, including RTÉ One, RTÉ2 and the Irish-language TG4.

Programming
British television differs from other countries, such as the United States, in as much that programmes produced in the United Kingdom do not generally have a long season run of around 20 weeks. Instead, they are produced in a series, a set of episodes varying in length, usually aired over a period of a few months. See List of British television series.

100 Greatest British Television Programmes
100 Greatest British Television Programmes was a list compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute (BFI), chosen by a poll of industry professionals, to determine what were the greatest British television programmes of any genre ever to have been screened. Although not including any programmes made in 2000 or later, the list is useful as an indication of what were generally regarded as the most successful British programmes of the 20th century. The top 10 programmes are:

100 Greatest TV Moments
100 Greatest TV Moments was a list compiled by Channel 4 in 1999. The top 10 entries are:

List of most watched television broadcasts
The majority of special events attracting large audiences are often carried on more than one channel. The most-watched programme of all time on a single channel is the 1973 wedding ceremony of The Princess Anne, shown only on BBC1. The figures in these tables represent the average viewership achieved by each broadcast during its run-time and do not include peak viewership.
 * Post-1981 figures verified by the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB)
 * Pre-1981 figures supplied by the British Film Institute (BFI)

Notes:
 * The Wedding of Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon (6 May 1960) was watched by an estimated 300 million viewers around the world.
 * At least two Muhammad Ali boxing matches were reported to have been watched by at least 26million viewers in the United Kingdom: the Fight of the Century (Ali vs. Frazier) was reported to have been watched by 27.5million British viewers in 1971, and The Rumble in the Jungle (Ali vs. Foreman) was reported to have been watched by 26million viewers on BBC1 in 1974.
 * Live Aid is reported to have reached approximately 24.5million British viewers in July 1985.
 * The Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton (29 April 2011) received a total audience peak of 26 million viewers, but this is a combined figure aggregated from the ten different channels that broadcast the ceremony. The highest figures of these were 13.59 million on BBC1, with an extra 4.02 million watching on ITV.

100 Greatest Kids' TV shows
The 100 Greatest Kids' TV shows was a poll conducted by the British television channel Channel 4 in 2001. The top 5 UK-produced programmes are:

British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series
The British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Series is one of the major categories of the British Academy Television Awards. The last 5 winners are:
 * 2022: In My Skin – Expectation Entertainment / BBC Three
 * 2021: Save Me Too – World Productions / Sky Atlantic
 * 2020: The End of the F***ing World – Clerkenwell Films / Channel 4
 * 2019: Killing Eve – Sid Gentle Films / BBC One
 * 2018: Peaky Blinders – Tiger Aspect Productions / BBC Two

Weekday
Weekday programming on terrestrial channels begins at 6 am with breakfast national news programmes (along with regional news updates) on BBC Breakfast on BBC One and Good Morning Britain on ITV, with Channel 5 showing children's programmes under the Milkshake! brand. Channel 4 predominately broadcasts comedy programmes such as Everybody Loves Raymond in its morning slot. The weekday breakfast news programme ends at 9:15am on BBC One and 9am on ITV.

Following this on BBC One, lifestyle programming is generally shown, including property, auction and home and gardening. BBC One continues this genre until after the lunchtime news, whereby afternoon has a soap called Doctors followed by dramas. BBC Two airs the BBC News updates and political programming between 9 am and 1 pm. Channel 4 often shows home-project and archaeology lifestyle programming in the early afternoon after a Channel 4 News summary. Channel 5 broadcasts chat show programmes in the morning including Jeremy Vine with regular news bulletins. In the afternoon, it shows dramas followed by an hour of Australian soaps such as Home and Away and Neighbours and films.

News bulletins are broadcast between 6 pm and 7 pm on both BBC One and ITV, with BBC One beginning with the national BBC News at Six and ITV with the flagship regional news programme. At around 6:30 pm, BBC One broadcasts the regional news programmes whilst ITV broadcasts the ITV Evening News. Channel 4 News starts at 7 pm and 5 News broadcasts for an hour at 5 pm.

Primetime programming is usually dominated by further soaps, including EastEnders on BBC One, Coronation Street and Emmerdale on ITV, and Hollyoaks on Channel 4. These soap operas or 'continuing dramas' as they are now called can vary throughout the year, however weekly dramas, such as Holby City, are also fixed to scheduling. BBC Two broadcasts factual programming, including lifestyle and documentaries. BBC Four begins programming at 7pm. The channel shows a wide variety of programmes including arts, documentaries, music, international film, comedy, original programmes, drama and current affairs. It is required by its licence to air at least 100 hours of new arts and music programmes, 110 hours of new factual programmes and to premiere 20 foreign films each year. BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 broadcast dramas and documentaries in the evenings. At 10pm with the flagship national news on BBC One in BBC News at Ten (followed by Newsnight on BBC Two) and on ITV on ITV News at Ten followed by the regional late night news. Because of this, the UK can often rely more heavily on TV guides, be it with the newspaper, online, via information services on the television such as the BBC Red Button service or the built in Electronic Programme Guides.

Weekend
Weekend daytime programming traditionally consists of more lifestyle programming plus films and live and recorded coverage of sporting events on most weekend afternoons. There are further battles for viewers in the weekend primetime slot, often featuring documentaries and game shows in the evening. Lunchtime, early evening and late evening news programmes continue on BBC One and ITV although the length of the bulletins are shorter than during the week. Sunday night schedules usually consist of dramas, light entertainment, documentaries, films, music concerts, festivals or sporting events.

Christian morality
In 1963 Mary Whitehouse, incensed by the liberalising policies followed by Sir Hugh Greene, then director general of the BBC, began her letter writing campaign. She subsequently launched the Clean Up TV Campaign, and founded the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association in 1965. In 2008, Toby Young in an article for The Independent wrote: "On the wider question of whether sex and violence on TV has led to a general moral collapse in society at large, the jury is still out. No one doubts that Western civilization is teetering on the brink ... but it is unfair to lay the blame entirely at the feet of BBC2 and Channel 4."

In 2005, the BBC's broadcast of Jerry Springer: The Opera elicited 55,000 complaints, and provoked protests from Christian organisation Christian Voice, and a private prosecution against the BBC by the Christian Institute. A summons was not issued.

Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are the most prestigious awards given in the British television industry, analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States. They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are only open to British programmes. After all the entries have been received, they are voted for online by all eligible members of the Academy. The winner is chosen from the four nominees by a special jury of nine academy members for each award, the members of each jury selected by the Academy's Television Committee.

The National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, sponsored by ITV and initiated in 1995. Although not widely held to be as prestigious as the BAFTAs, the National Television Awards are probably the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Unlike the BAFTAs, the National Television Awards allow foreign programmes to be nominated, providing they have been screened on a British channel during the eligible time period.

Regulation
Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the communication industries in the United Kingdom, including television. As the regulatory body for media broadcasts, Ofcom's duties include:
 * Specification of the Broadcast Code, which took effect on 25 July 2005, with the latest version being published October 2008. The Code itself is published on Ofcom's website, and provides a mandatory set of rules which broadcast programmes must comply with. The 10 main sections cover protection of under-eighteens, harm and offence, crime, religion, impartiality and accuracy, elections, fairness, privacy, sponsorship and commercial references. As stipulated in the Communications Act 2003, Ofcom enforces adherence to the Code. Failure for a broadcaster to comply with the Code results in warnings, fines, and potentially revokation of a broadcasting licence.
 * Rules on the amount and distribution of advertising, which also took effect July 2005
 * Examining specific complaints by viewers or other bodies about programmes and sponsorship. Ofcom issues Broadcast Bulletins on a fortnightly basis which are accessible via its web site. As an example, a bulletin from February 2009 has a complaint from the National Heart Forum over sponsorship of The Simpsons by Domino's Pizza on Sky One. Ofcom concluded this was in breach of the Broadcast Code, since it contravened an advertising restriction of food high in fat, salt or sugar. (Restrictions in food and drink advertising to children were introduced in November 2006.)
 * The management, regulation and assignment of the electromagnetic spectrum in the UK, and licensing of portions of the spectrum for television broadcasting
 * Public consultations on matters relating to TV broadcasting. The results of the consultations are published by Ofcom, and inform the policies that Ofcom creates and enforces.

In 2008, Ofcom issued fines to the total of £7.7m. This included £5.67m of fines to ITV companies, including a £3m fine to LWT over voting irregularities on Saturday Night Takeaway, and fines totalling £495,000 to the BBC. Ofcom said phone-in scandals had contributed significantly to the fine totals.

The Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP, or BCAP) is the body contracted by Ofcom to create and maintain the codes of practice governing television advertising. The Broadcast Advertising Codes (or the TV codes) are accessible on CAP's web site. The Codes cover advertising standards (the TV Code), guidance notes, scheduling rules, text services (the Teletext Code) and interactive television guidance. The main sections of the TV Code concern compliance, programmes and advertising, unacceptable products, political and controversial issues, misleading advertising, harm and offence, children, medicines, treatments, health claims and nutrition, finance and investments, and religion.

The Advertising Standards Authority is an independent body responsible for resolving complaints relating to the advertising industry within the UK. It is not government funded, but funded by a levy on the advertising industry. It ensures compliance with the Codes created by CAP. The ASA covers all forms of advertising, not just television advertisements. The ASA can refer problematic adverts to Ofcom, since the channels carrying the adverts are ultimately responsible for the advertising content, and are answerable to Ofcom. Ofcom can issue fines or revoke broadcast licences if necessary.

Licensing
In the United Kingdom and the Crown dependencies, a television licence is required to receive any publicly broadcast television service, or for using BBC iPlayer. This includes the commercial channels, cable and satellite transmissions, Internet-streamed channels, and applies regardless of the technology used to view. The money from the licence fee is used to provide radio, television and Internet content for the BBC, Welsh-language television programmes for S4C, monitoring of global mass media, nine orchestras and performing groups, technical research, and contributions to broadband roll out. The fee is classified as a hypothecated tax rather than a subscription. The BBC gives the following figures for expenditure of licence fee income per month in 2021/2022:

Production
As of 2002, 27,000 hours of original programming are produced year in the UK television industry, excluding news, at a cost of £2.6bn. Ofcom has determined that 56% (£1.5bn) of production is in-house by the channel owners, and the remainder by independent production companies. Ofcom is enforcing a 25% independent production quota for the channel operators, as stipulated in the Broadcasting Act 1990.

In-house production
ITV plc, the company which owns 12 of the 15 regional ITV franchises, has set its production arm ITV Studios a target of producing 75% of the ITV schedule, the maximum allowed by Ofcom. This would be a rise from 54% at present, as part of a strategy to make ITV content-led chiefly to double production revenues to £1.2bn by 2012. ITV Studios currently produces programmes such as Coronation Street, Emmerdale and Heartbeat.

In contrast, the BBC has implemented a Window of Creative Competition (WOCC), a 25% proportion over and above the 25% Ofcom quota in which the BBC's in-house production and independent producers can compete. The BBC produces shows such as All Creatures Great and Small and F***off I'm a Hairy Woman.

Channel 4 commissions all programmes from independent producers.

Independent production
As a consequence of the launch of Channel 4 in 1982, and the 25% independent quota from the Broadcasting Act 1990, an independent production sector has grown in the UK. Notable companies include Talkback Thames, Endemol UK, Hat Trick Productions, and Tiger Aspect Productions. A full list can be seen here: Category:Television production companies of the United Kingdom

Closed and aborted television providers
The following Internet TV services have closed:

The following services were aborted before launch:
 * Sky Picnic, a proposed subscription digital terrestrial service from Sky in 2007
 * 'Project Kangaroo', an Internet TV service announced by the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 in 2007. Some of the technology was reused in SeeSaw. A similar concept later launched as BritBox.

Analogue terrestrial television

Analogue TV was transmitted via VHF (1936) and later UHF (1964) radio waves, with analogue broadcasts ending in 2012.

VHF transmissions started in 1936 and closed in 1985 (with a gap 1939–1946), carrying two channels. The launch channel was the BBC Television Service, known as BBC 1 since 1964. This was joined by Independent Television, a network of regional franchises launching between 1955 and 1962. The channels transmitted in monochrome using the 405-line television system, with 376 visible lines, at 25 interlaced frames per second (50 fields per second), initially with an aspect ratio of 5:4, switching to 4:3 in 1950. The phased closure started in 1982 and completed in January 1985.

UHF transmissions started in 1964 and closed in 2012. The launch channel was BBC 2. This would be joined by BBC 1, the ITV network, Channel 4 or S4C in Wales, Channel 5 as well as a network of local TV channels. Transmissions started using the System I standard, a 625-line monochrome picture, with 576 visible lines, at 25 interlaced frames/second (50 fields/second) and a 4:3 aspect ratio. Technical advancements included colour (1967), teletext (1974), and stereo sound (1991). The drive to switch viewers from analogue to digital transmissions was a regional process called the digital switchover, which started in 2007 and completed in October 2012 when analogue UHF transmissions ceased in Northern Ireland.

Whilst there are no longer any analogue broadcasts in the UK, a PAL signal may be present in closed RF distribution systems, e.g. a video feed from an intercom in a block of flats, or a security system.

Defunct channels
There are nearly 200 defunct British channels. For a list, see List of former TV channels in the UK or Category:Defunct television channels in the United Kingdom.

The rise of television in the UK
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was established in 1927 to develop radio broadcasting, and inevitably became involved in TV in 1936. The BBC is funded by income from a "Broadcast Receiving Licence" purchased by UK residents. The cost of this is set by agreement with the UK Government.

Television caught on in the United Kingdom in 1947, but its expansion was slow. By 1951, with only two transmitters, near London and Birmingham, only 9% of British homes owned a television set. The United Kingdom was the first country in the world to have a regular daily television schedule direct to homes, and it was the first to have technical professions to work on TVs.

Up until 1972, television broadcasting hours were tightly regulated by the British government, under the control of the Postmaster General. Before the launch of the commercial channel ITV in 1955, the BBC was restricted by law to just five hours maximum of television in a day. This was increased at the launch of the commercial channel ITV to a 7-hour broadcasting day for both channels. Gradually the number of hours were increased. Typically, during the late 1960s, the law regulated a 50-hour broadcasting week for all television channels in the UK. This that meant BBC1, BBC2 and ITV could only broadcast normal programming for 7 hours a day from Mondays to Fridays, and 7.5 hours a day on Saturdays and Sundays.

Until 1957, television in the United Kingdom could not air from 6.00pm to 7.00pm. This was called the "Toddlers' Truce", in which the idea was that parents could put their children to bed before primetime television would commence; this restriction was lifted in 1957. However, on Sundays, television remained off the air from 6.00pm to 7.00pm. This was in response to religious leaders' fears that television would interfere with people attending church services. In 1958, a compromise was reached, in which only religious programming could be aired during this time slot. The restriction was lifted in January 1972.

The Postmaster General allowed exemptions to the regulations. All schools programming, adult education, religious programming, state occasions, political broadcasts and Welsh language programming were totally exempt from the restrictions. Sport and outside broadcasting events were given a separate quota of broadcasting hours which could be used in a year, starting off at 200 hours a year in the mid 1950s, rising to a quota of 350 hours a year by the late 1960s. Broadcasting on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day was also exempt from the tightly controlled restrictions.

The election of a Conservative government in June 1970 brought in changes to the control of broadcasting hours. At first, the typical broadcasting day was extended to 8 hours a day, with an increase in exemptions over Christmas, and an increase in the sport/outside broadcasting quota. On 19 January 1972, the then Minister for Posts and Telecommunications, Christopher Chataway, announced to the British House of Commons that all restrictions on broadcasting hours on television would be lifted from that day, with the broadcasters allowed to set their own broadcasting hours from then on. By November 1972, a full daytime schedule had been launched on ITV from 9.30am each day, with the BBC also expanding their schedules to include more daytime programming.

The UK Government previously appointed people to the BBC's Board of Governors, a body responsible for the general direction of the organisation, and appointment of senior executives, but not its day-to-day management. From 2007, the BBC Trust replaced the Board of Governors. It is operationally independent of BBC management and external bodies, and aims to act in the best interests of licence fee payers.

Commercial television was first introduced in the United Kingdom in 1955. Unlike the US, there was a distinct split between advertisements and programming. Advertisers purely purchased spots within pre-defined breaks within programming, and had no connection to the programme content. The content and nature of adverts was strictly controlled by the ITA, the body controlling commercial television.

History of satellite television
The first commercial direct-broadcast satellite (DBS, also known as direct-to-home) service in the United Kingdom, Sky Television, was launched in 1989 and used the newly launched Astra satellite at 19.2° east, providing four analogue TV channels. The channels and subsequent VideoCrypt video encryption system used the existing PAL broadcast standard, unlike the winner of the UK state DBS licence, British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB).

In 1990, BSB launched, broadcasting five channels (Now, Galaxy, The Movie Channel, The Power Station and The Sports Channel) in D-MAC format and using the EuroCypher video encryption system which was derived from the General Instruments VideoCipher system used in the USA. One of the main selling points of the BSB offering was the Squarial, a flat plate antenna and low-noise block converter (LNB). Sky's system used conventional and cheaper dish and LNB technology.

The two companies competed over the UK rights to movies. Sky operated from an industrial park in Isleworth in West London, whereas BSB had newly built offices in London (Marco Polo House). The two services subsequently merged to form British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB). BSB's D-MAC/EuroCypher system was gradually replaced with Sky's VideoCrypt video encryption system.

In 1994, 17% of the group was floated on the London Stock Exchange (with ADRs listed on the New York Stock Exchange), and Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation owns a 35% stake.

By 1998, following the launch of several more satellites to Astra's 19.2° east position, the number of channels had increased to around 60 and BSkyB launched the first subscription-based digital television platform in the UK, offering a range of 300 channels broadcast from Astra's new satellite, at 28.2° east position under the brand name Sky Digital. BSkyB's analogue service has now been discontinued, with all customers having been migrated to Sky Digital.

In May 2008, a free-to-air satellite service from the BBC and ITV was launched under the brand name Freesat, carrying a variety of channels from Astra 28.2°E, including some content in HD formats.

Industry bodies

 * Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union (BECTU), National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and Equity, trade unions for members of the broadcasting industry
 * Clearcast, performs clearance of television advertising copy and the final advertisements. Replaced the Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre (BACC) on 1 January 2008
 * Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, a select committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, established in 1997, which oversees the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the government department responsible for broadcasting in the UK
 * Digital TV Group (DTG), an industry association for digital television, formed in 1995
 * Everyone TV (formerly Digital UK), the body in charge of digital switchover of television in the UK
 * Producers Association for Cinema and Television
 * Royal Television Society (RTS), a society for the discussion, analysis and preservation of television in all its forms, past, present and future, which formed in 1927
 * United Kingdom Independent Broadcasting (UKIB), an affiliation of independent production companies and broadcasters, representing non-BBC interests in the European Broadcasting Union

Genres and programming

 * Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events, regulatory rules devised in 1997 which ensure particular sporting events are available for free via terrestrial television
 * Sports broadcasting contracts in the United Kingdom
 * British sitcom
 * Light entertainment
 * Category:British television-related lists
 * List of American television series based on British television series
 * List of British television programmes based on American television series
 * List of films based on British television series
 * List of films based on British sitcoms
 * List of BBC Radio programmes adapted for television, and of television programmes adapted for radio
 * List of UK game shows
 * List of longest-running UK television series

Miscellaneous

 * Appreciation Index (AI), a score between 0 and 100 which measures the public's approval of a particular programme, which can be used to measure attitudes to programmes with small or niche audiences
 * Broadcast, a weekly trade magazine for the broadcast industry
 * Edinburgh International Television Festival, an annual industry gathering in Edinburgh
 * Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, broadcasting intended for public benefit rather than purely commercial concerns
 * Public information film, government commissioned short films usually shown during television advertising breaks
 * Listings and general television magazines Radio Times, Soaplife, TV & Satellite Week, TV easy, TV Quick, TVTimes, What's on TV

title: Television in the United Kingdom


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license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

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George Brunies

George Clarence Brunies (February 6, 1902 – November 19, 1974), a.k.a. Georg Brunis, was an American jazz trombonist, who was part of the dixieland revival. He was known as "The King of the Tailgate Trombone".

Background
Brunies was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, into a musical family. His father led a family band, and his brothers Henry, Merritt, Richard, and Albert ("Abbie") all became noted professional musicians. By the age of eight, George was already playing alto horn professionally in Papa Jack Laine's band. A few years later he switched to trombone. He played with many jazz, dance, and parade bands in New Orleans. He never learned to read music, but could quickly pick up tunes and invent a part for his instrument.

He first went to Chicago in 1919 with a band led by Ragbaby Stevens, then worked on riverboats going up and down the Mississippi River. In 1921, he returned to Chicago, and joined a band of his New Orleans friends playing at the Friar's Inn; this was the band that became famous as the New Orleans Rhythm Kings. Brunies's trombone style was influential to the young Chicago players, and his records were much copied.

After the Rhythm Kings broke up in Chicago in 1924, Brunies joined the nationally famous Ted Lewis band, which he played with through 1934.

After some time with Louis Prima's band he landed a steady gig at the New York City jazz club, Nick's, through 1938. In 1939, he joined Muggsy Spanier's band, with whom he made some of his most famous recordings. The following year he returned to Nick's, where he remained until 1946. Brunies then worked with Eddie Condon.

Later career
In 1949, Brunies moved back to Chicago to lead his own band. Brunies often showed off his unusual technical abilities and bizarre sense of humor at the same time; for example he would lie on the floor and invite the largest person in the audience to sit on his chest while he played trombone.

On the advice of a numerologist, he changed his name to Georg Brunis in the late 1940s, when he was playing at the 1111 (eleven-eleven) Club in Chicago. He believed that this name change would increase his good fortune. The 1111 was a popular jazz club which was always full on Friday and Saturday nights with jazz lovers from the northern suburbs of Chicago. Every now and then other well-known jazz musicians, such as Muggsy Spanier, would drop in and sit and play until dawn.

Georg Brunis died in Chicago on November 19, 1974.

title: George Brunies


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The Snowman

The Snowman is a 1982 British animated television film and symphonic poem based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 picture book The Snowman. It was directed by Dianne Jackson for Channel 4. It was first shown on 26 December 1982, and was an immediate success. It was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 55th Academy Awards and won a BAFTA TV Award.

The story is told through pictures, action and music, scored by Howard Blake. It has no dialogue, with the exception of the central song, "Walking in the Air". The orchestral score was performed by the Sinfonia of London and the song was performed by Peter Auty, a St Paul's Cathedral choirboy.

The film ranked at number 71 on the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes, a list drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, based on a vote by industry professionals. It was voted number 4 in UKTV Gold's Greatest TV Christmas Moments. It came third in Channel 4's poll of 100 Greatest Christmas Moments in 2004. Its broadcast, usually on Christmas Eve on Channel 4, has become an annual festive event in the UK.

A sequel, The Snowman and the Snowdog, was released in 2012.

Source book
The Snowman is a wordless children's picture book by Raymond Briggs, first published in 1978 by Hamish Hamilton in the United Kingdom, and published by Random House in the United States in November of the same year. In the United Kingdom, it was the runner-up for the Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association, recognising the year's best children's book illustration by a British writer. In the United States, it was named to the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award list in 1979.

Adaptation
Iain Harvey, the film's executive producer and publisher at Hamish Hamilton, recalls that the book had initially sold well, but a second print had been less successful with 50,000 unsold copies sitting in a warehouse, which he attributes to the lack of dialogue preventing it being read as a bedtime story. In 1980 he was contacted by producer John Coates from TVC (Television Cartoons) with an idea of adapting the book for an animated film, for which he gave his consent.

In March 1982, Coates presented an "animatic" storyboard version with a basic piano track by Howard Blake, including an early version of "Walking in the Air" to commissioning executives at the fledgeling Channel 4, a new public service television company which was due to begin broadcasting in November 1982. The director Dianne Jackson had worked with Coates on The Beatles' Yellow Submarine and had mainly worked on short animations and commercials; this was her first time directing a longer animated film. As a result, the experienced animator Jimmy T. Murakami was brought in to supervise. The film was produced using traditional animation techniques, consisting of pastels, crayons and other colouring tools drawn on pieces of celluloid, which were traced over hand drawn frames. For continuity purposes, the background artwork was painted using the same tools.

The story was expanded to fill 26 minutes and include a longer flying sequence which takes the boy to the North Pole and a party with Father Christmas which is not present in the picture book. The animators also brought in personal touches – a static sequence with a car is replaced by a motorcycle ride, as one of the animators was a keen motorcyclist and it was noted by Iain Harvey that this sequence kept "the action flowing after all the fun and comedy of the boy and the Snowman exploring the house and forming a friendship – and what could be better than a midnight run in a snowy landscape". Similarly, although the boy in the book is unnamed, in the film he is named "James" on his present tag, added by animator Joanna Harrison as it was the name of her boyfriend (later her husband). Interviewed in 2012, Raymond Briggs recalls that he thought "'It's a bit corny and twee, dragging in Christmas', as The Snowman had nothing to do with that, but it worked extremely well."

The boy's home appears to be located in the South Downs of England, near to Brighton; he and the snowman fly over the Royal Pavilion and Palace Pier. Raymond Briggs had lived in Sussex since 1961, and the composer Howard Blake was also a native of the county.

Music
The production team contacted Howard Blake early in the production, as they were having difficulties finding the right tone for adapting the wordless picture book. Blake suggested that the film should not feature dialogue, but instead a through-composed orchestral soundtrack. He recalls the song "Walking in the Air" was written some years earlier during a difficult period in his life, and the song formed the main theme for the work. In 2021, Blake told the Financial Times that he wanted to incorporate the lyrics with "a symphony that expressed the complete innocence and beauty that we are all born with." Blake further brought up his religion, stating "It felt as though the idea came from God."

Howard Blake's orchestral score was performed in the film by the Sinfonia of London. The song "Walking in the Air" is sung in the film by chorister Peter Auty, who was not credited in the original version. He was given a credit on the 20th anniversary version.

In 1985, "Walking in the Air" was covered by chorister Aled Jones in a single which peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart. Jones is sometimes mistakenly credited with having sung the song in the film. Blake's soundtrack for The Snowman is often performed as a standalone concert work, often accompanying a projection of the film or sometimes with a narrator (the version for narrator was first performed by Bernard Cribbins in Summer 1983).

Plot
In a rural area of Brighton, after a night of heavy snowfall, a young boy named James wakes up and plays in the snow, eventually building a large snowman. At the stroke of midnight, he sneaks downstairs to find the snowman magically comes to life. James shows the snowman around his house, playing with appliances, toys and other bric-a-brac, all while keeping quiet enough not to wake James' parents. The two find a sheeted-down motorcycle in the house's garden and go for a ride on it through the woods. Its engine heat starts to melt the snowman and he cools off by luxuriating in the garage freezer.

Seeing a picture of the Arctic on a packet in the freezer, the snowman is agitated and takes the boy in hand, running through the garden until they take flight. They fly over the South Downs towards the Channel coast, seeing the Royal Pavilion and Brighton Palace Pier, and north along the coast of Norway. They continue through an arctic landscape and into the aurora borealis. They land in a snow-covered forest where they join a party of snowmen. They eventually meet Father Christmas along with his reindeer; he gives the boy a card and a scarf with a snowman pattern. The snowman returns home with James before the sun rises and the two bid farewell for the night.

The following morning, James wakes up to find that the snowman has melted, leaving only his hat, scarf, coal eyes, tangerine nose, and coal buttons in a pile of melted snow. James kneels down by the snowman's remains while holding his scarf, mourning the loss of his friend.

Alternative introductions
The original introduction on Channel 4 features Raymond Briggs walking through a field in rural Sussex describing his inspiration for the story, which then transitions into the animated landscape of the film (the idea being that he is doing so in character as an older version of James). The film's executive producer Iain Harvey had received interest in the film from U.S. networks and for a VHS release. However, he noted that "in the US programmes were sponsored, and to be sponsored you needed a big name". Various names such as Laurence Olivier and Julie Andrews were suggested, but a request for a rock star led to David Bowie being involved. He was a fan of Briggs's story When the Wind Blows and later provided a song for its animated adaptation. In the sequence, Bowie was filmed in the attic of 'his' childhood home and discovering, in a drawer, a scarf closely resembling the one given to James towards the end of the film; he then proceeds to narrate over the opening with his own small variation of Briggs' monologue.

To celebrate the film's 20th anniversary, Channel 4 created an alternative opening directed by Roger Mainwood, with Raymond Briggs's interpretation of Father Christmas recounting how he met James, before giving his own variation on Briggs' monologue (including how the heavy snow left even him unable to fly) as he turns on his TV to watch the film, which the opening segues into. Comedian Mel Smith reprises the role in this opening. This version is also cropped to fit a 16:9 widescreen format. Channel 4 used this opening from 2002 until Mel Smith's death in 2013, after which the Bowie opening was reinstated, which in turn returned the film to its original 4:3 aspect ratio.

Awards
The film was nominated as Best Animated Short Film at the 55th Academy Awards in 1983, but lost to the Polish film Tango by Zbigniew Rybczyński. It won a BAFTA for best Children's Programme (Entertainment/Drama) at the 1983 British Academy Television Awards, and was also nominated for Best Graphics. It won the Grand Prix at the Tampere Film Festival in Finland in 1984. It was named to the ALA Notable Children's Videos list in 1982.

In the British Film Institute's 100 Greatest British Television Programmes, a list drawn up by the British Film Institute in 2000, based on a vote by industry professionals it was listed as #71. It was voted #4 in UKTV Gold's Greatest TV Christmas Moments. It came third in Channel 4's poll of 100 Greatest Christmas Moments in 2004.

Home media
The Snowman was originally released on VHS in 1982 by Palace Video. It has been re-released several times by Palace and later PolyGram Video, and Universal Studios Home Entertainment UK after Palace went out of business.

In 1993 it was released on VHS in the US by Columbia TriStar Home Video.

The Snowman was re-released in 2002 as a DVD special edition and again as a DVD and Blu-ray 30th anniversary edition in the United Kingdom on 5 November 2012 by Universal Studios Home Entertainment UK. The 2002 special edition peaked at No. 3 in the video charts. The 2012 home video release includes four extra features: a "Snow Business" documentary, "The Story of The Snowman," storyboard, and the introductions used throughout the film's first 20 years. The film re-entered at No. 14 on the UK Official children’s Video Chart on 11 November 2012, eventually peaking at No. 5 on 16 December 2012 based on sales of DVDs and other physical formats.

The Universal DVD The Snowman & Father Christmas (902 030 – 11), released in the United Kingdom in 2000, uses the Bowie opening.

The Snowman and the Snowdog
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original short and of Channel 4, a 25-minute special titled The Snowman and the Snowdog aired on Channel 4 on Christmas Eve 2012. Produced at the London-based animation company Lupus Films, with many of the original team returning, the sequel was made in the same traditional techniques as the first film, and features the Snowman, a new young boy named Billy and a snow dog flying over landmarks and going to another party.

The idea of a sequel had been resisted by Raymond Briggs for several years, but he gave his permission for the film in 2012. Howard Blake was one of the few crew members not asked to return; he was allegedly asked to "send a demo", which he refused citing the success of the original score. The new film instead features the song "Light the Night" by former Razorlight drummer Andy Burrows and incidental music by Ilan Eshkeri.

The sequel was dedicated to the memory of producer John Coates, who died in September 2012, during its production.

Stage version
The Snowman has been made into a stage show. It was first produced by Contact Theatre, Manchester in 1986 and was adapted and produced by Anthony Clark. It had a full script and used Howard Blake's music and lyrics. In 1993, Birmingham Repertory Company produced a version, with music and lyrics by Howard Blake, scenario by Blake, with Bill Alexander and choreography by Robert North.

Since 1997, Sadler's Wells has presented it every year as the Christmas Show at the Peacock Theatre. As in the book and the film, there are no words, apart from the lyrics of the song "Walking in the Air". The story is told through images and movement.

Special effects include the Snowman and boy flying high over the stage (with assistance of wires and harnesses) and 'snow' falling in part of the auditorium. The production has had several revisions – the most extensive happening in 2000, when major changes were made to the second act, introducing new characters: The Ice Princess and Jack Frost.

Video game
Quicksilva published an official video game in 1984, for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and MSX.

title: The Snowman


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Talk:Modal jazz

Correction: Dorian <> minor
The article states "Both of these songs were in Dorian mode meaning they were in a minor mode." Actually, Dorian is like minor, but it has a raised sixth note of the scale:

D dorian is D,E,F,G,A,B,C,D. D minor is D,E,F,G,A,B-flat,C,D.

D dorian is played on all white notes of the piano. A minor is played on all white notes on the piano.

Since there is only one note difference between the scales, most of the chords are the same. A normal dorian triad (D-F-A for D dorian) is the same as a minor triad.

 * You are forgetting the difference between natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor. 82.176.202.214 14:36, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

 * All scales and modes based on the minor third interval from the root are considered minor modes. Aelian, dorian, harmonic and melodic minor are all minor modes. 82.176.202.53 (talk) 10:10, 7 July 2009 (UTC)

Difficulty improvising on standard changes.
Which musicians exactly said they were having difficulty creating original improvisations on standard changes? This statement needs backing up with quotes from the musicians involved.--Light current 01:27, 27 September 2005 (UTC)

Definition of "mode"
I think this article should correct and clarify the definition of "mode". The current article includes this: "Modes are the seven scales used in medieval music which were 'rediscovered' by composers like Claude Debussy and frequently used by 20th century composers."

There are a number of modes which are not based on the WWHWWWH arrangement of the major scale (for example, there are also six other modes of the Melodic Minor scale), and modal jazz is still modal jazz even if it's not based on standard WWHWWWH diatonic modes. There are also a number of modes based on scales of less than or more than seven notes. (For example, pentatonic modes). Any Jazz musician who's improvising on a mode instead of chord changes is playing modally, not just those improvising on modes of the standard western Major scale.

There are a number of types of modal music outside of jazz as well, such as most indian classical ragas, few of which actually use a mode of the major scale as a base.

 * Well, technically, a mode of a scale is the pitches of that particular scale arranged in a sequential order starting a different root. You can have modes for all of the "natural" scales, like major, natural minor, harmonic minor and melodic minor, as well as modes for the more exotic scales, like the assorted bebop scales, pentatonic scales, etc. Havic5 05:24, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

 * Modes are an extension of chord theory, not a replacement of it. This article completely misses that distinction and makes this seem like some sort of esoteric divination. Probably due to the massively racist reception that jazz music experienced for so many years, and its subsequent induced stasis, dissection, and reappropriation by mainstream societal institutions (ironically). 67.163.161.226 (talk) 21:44, 18 May 2013 (UTC)

Addition to history section required
This excellent page could be enhanced by expanding on the unique Miles Davis Sextet sessions (that became "Kind of Blue") that recorded modal jazz in 1959 like never before (some of the tracks are used as examples to modal jazz in the following section. It should be noted the role of Bill Evans on this recording and also that he became the leading exponant of this type of music.  --Jppigott 14:22, 16 September 2006 (UTC)

"All Blues" and "Freddie Freeloader" are not good examples of modal jazz
The article states: "Among the significant compositions of modal jazz were "So What", "Freddie Freeloader," and "All Blues" by Miles Davis and Impressions by John Coltrane. They follow the same AABA song form and were in D Dorian for the A sections and modulated a half step up to E♭ Dorian for the B section."

"So What" and "Impressions" certainly fit this description, but "Freddie Freeloader" and "All Blues" don't, since they both have blues structures, not AABA. It could be argued that they have a modal 'feel', but in terms of the structural and harmonic features of modal jazz as outlined in this article, they don't make a very good example.JTHobbyist 00:05, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Response to above
I agree that "Freddie Freeloader" isn't a good example of modal jazz, "All Blues" is significant though. The part where a normal blues would go to the IV the bass is still playing I, so you could argue that they still play G, just a different mode. It's a brilliant way of taking a blues into modal jazz, so it should be noted as such. Why isn't flamenco sketches in the list? That's the best example on the album together with "So What". --pklinken(noaccount)

I disagree regarding "All Blues". It's a great tune but it does not happen to be a great illustration of modal jazz. The bass I over the IV is nothing more than basso ostinato, people have ben doing this since baroque times. On other recordings of "All Blues" the bass sometimes plays the IV -- in a true modal pice that wouldn't work. kibi 17:36, 8 March 2007 (UTC)

Ofcourse playing the IV in the 'IV' part will work, it's a blues. The point i was trying to make is that it is a good illustration of using modal elements in a blues form, which is one of the most important forms in jazz after all. I also dont think it's just a basso ostinato, as the bass plays the root and the seventh of I, also in the IV part, on the strong beats, suggesting more I minor than IV dominant. So im not saying it's a great illustration of modal jazz, but it's significant because it uses modal elements, if you agree, in a blues form. Btw, I just had a peek at my copy of Kind of Blue and in the liner notes Bill Evans writes: ""All Blues" is a 6/8 12-measure blues form that produces its mood through only a few modal changes and Miles Davis' free melodic conception." --pklinken(noaccount)

You need to add "Maiden Voyage" by Herbie Hancock. It's another perfect example of modal jazz, while it uses all sus. chords it is build entirely off of the modes for each chord respectivly, althought the mode does change with each chord change. "Feddie Freeloader" and "All Blues" are bad examples of modal jazz, "So What" and "Impressions" are though. --67.173.255.205 03:34, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

All Blues IS an example of modal jazz, and an understated one at that. Miles wrote it specifically to take modal music and mold it with the blues form. He does this for the first 8 bars of the form, and then for the last four returns to a tertian-chord based harmony. In response to kibi, one, Miles conciously used the musical element of the ostinato as a means of implying modal music, rather than simply another layer underneath chordal harmony. If you listen Bill Evan's comping during the solos for measures 6 and 7, he is voicing G minor 7 chords, indicative of a change of mode, rather than C7 chords. The form is there, but the chord change definitely isn't there. Two, other people's interpretations really "don't count". I know that many people play All Blues as a standard blues-type form, and that's what is (wrongly) notated in the Real Book, but that's not what Miles intended at all. You only have to listen to the original recording to hear the very present elements of modal jazz.Havic5 05:19, 12 July 2007 (UTC)

Theory Section
The article at present states: "Other non-diatonic notes, such as the note Bb, are dissonant within the C ionian mode, so that they are less used in non-modal jazz songs when playing the chord C." This can't be right. The flat seventh is a classic blue note. I don't think it's use is particular to modal jazz. I don't know enough about modal jazz to make this say what was meant though. 98.212.24.141 (talk) 05:13, 14 March 2009 (UTC)

 * It's a blue note, as you say. As such, it is likely to be used very sparingly in modal jazz, which has diatonicism and form as its only structural properties (rather than, for instance, chord progressions). Thus, one would be unlikely to find it as anything else than a passing tone, if at all.82.176.202.53 (talk) 10:13, 7 July 2009 (UTC)
 * The article states that it's "less used in non-modal jazz." Should it say "less used in modal jazz" instead? 71.127.76.235 (talk) 19:12, 21 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Yes, I would say so. 82.176.202.53 (talk) 10:10, 26 June 2010 (UTC)

Standards
The old list of modal and post-bop jazz standards was just merged&redirected to (the now fully-referenced) List of jazz standards (per discussion at talk). You may wish to incorporate a small/referenced part of the old/new lists in this article. Just a note. -- Quiddity (talk) 18:56, 18 March 2009 (UTC)

Not a style or "genre"
There is no style "modal jazz." "Modal" is just one type of jazz harmony. This is a common misconception that has been spread around. This article needs major revision (or deletion).BassHistory (talk) 09:42, 6 December 2010 (UTC)
 * Can this be addressed mainly by stripping out the "Music genres" box from the top of this Talk page? I'm thinking the article itself can stand; even the appearance of "Modal jazz" in the Jazz Navbox isn't unreasonable as it features other non-genres (for example Jazz blues). Then there is the whole category tree of musicians and albums under Category:Modal jazz which surely falls if there's consensus that the genre-classification goes. AllyD (talk) 19:14, 7 December 2010 (UTC)
 * WP:MTHEORY might be a better WikiProject than Genres. Presumably there's a better infobox for the article, too. That's just to name a couple of changes. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 20:30, 7 December 2010 (UTC)
 * I suggest that the article title be changed to "Modal improvisation," or possibly "Modal (jazz)" as the phrase "Modal jazz" itself implies style or school of playing. As for the "genre" issue, the usage on Wikipedia is unfortunately the colloquial one (jazz, classical, punk rock) not the academic one (jazz standard, string quartet, EP), but in any case "Modal jazz" is not a "genre" (style, school or genre).
 * The lede could begin like this: "Modal" is a term used to describe a manor of improvising and composing in jazz and related styles of music. The word, borrowed from early music theory, was used by Miles Davis to describe techniques used on his landmark recording Kind of Blue, which were loosely inspired by the French Impressionist composers...BassHistory (talk) 05:15, 8 December 2010 (UTC)

 * Disagree, and I have a (highly authoritative) source. Ekkehard Jost, in his 1974 study of post-Hard Bop jazz, names and discusses modal jazz as a style/genre, adopted mostly by John Coltrane and his followers, particularly prominent in the 1960-65 period. Ekkehard Jost, Free Jazz (Graz 1974). Unless anyone can come up with a better source/sources that contradicts mine, I strongly oppose the claim that "there is no style "modal jazz"". There is. 82.176.209.52 (talk) 14:21, 21 July 2011 (UTC)

 * Acclaimed Miles Davis scholar, and editor for The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Barry Kernfeld refers to this type of sparse harmonic density as Miles Davis's "vamp style", and opposes use of the term "modal jazz". Miles himself spoke about his "modal thing" and even "modal music", but he never used the term "Modal Jazz", at least in his autobiography. Defining music solely by its harmonic qualities seems to be too Eurocentric of an approach for African American music. Additionally, "vamp style" and Bop harmony were often applied within single compositions, such as the music of the 1960s Jazz Messengers. To clarify, the Messengers were a Hard Bop group, who often used modal harmony in the '60s. The Jazz Messengers were not a "Modal Jazz" group. Likewise, Davis's "second great quintet" (of the 60's) played Avant-Garde jazz, or post-bop. Some of the harmony was modal or vamp-based, while some of the structures were free. Miles's 60s quintet was not a "modal jazz" group, they simply experimented with slow harmonic density and exotic scales, along with many other concepts.BassHistory (talk) 00:11, 6 August 2012 (UTC)

 * OK, found the source I was looking for. I will make the edits I was talking about.BassHistory (talk) 21:08, 7 November 2014 (UTC)

Examples
This article SCREAMS for musical examples and a more thorough discussion of theory. As it stands now the article is tremendously inadequate. 21:45, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

reference correct?
I can't find anything the quoted source 4 about "inversion" and it's relation to modal jazz?? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.243.216.172 (talk • contribs) 23:39, 2 December 2013
 * It's not mentioned on the linked web page, it's in the audio itself (i.e. the "Listen Now" link on the webpage). The relevant portion is from 13:50-15:00. -- Gyrofrog (talk) 16:58, 3 December 2013 (UTC)
 * Having said that, it doesn't really back up the sentence, as written ("This technique became known as 'inverting', and has been referenced as an inspiration for modal jazz") – in absence of some other source, it's WP:SYNTH. It does back up the previous sentence, which did not cite a source.  What Ellington actually says about it is that it led to a "modal sound that comes from most of the things Tizol's involved in."  I've added the citation for both sentences and re-wrote the sentence in question.  (By the way, the original year of the broadcast was 1994, not 1993 as originally cited.) -- Gyrofrog  (talk) 17:24, 3 December 2013 (UTC)

title: Talk:Modal jazz


text:
Montagu Norman, 1st Baron Norman

Montagu Collet Norman, 1st Baron Norman DSO PC (6 September 1871 – 4 February 1950) was an English banker, best known for his role as the Governor of the Bank of England from 1920 to 1944.

Norman led the bank during the toughest period in modern British economic history and was noted for his somewhat raffish character and arty appearance. A very influential figure, Norman, according to The Wall Street Journal, was referred to as "the currency dictator of Europe", a fact which he himself admitted to, before the Court of the Bank on 21 March 1930. The economist and Court member John Maynard Keynes said of him: "Montagu Norman, always absolutely charming, always absolutely wrong".

Early life and military service
Norman was the elder son of Frederick Norman and Lina Susan Penelope Collet, a daughter of Sir Mark Wilks Collet, 1st Baronet, himself a Bank of England Governor. The Norman family was well known in banking. Montagu's brother Ronald Collet Norman and his nephew Mark Norman became leading bankers. Montagu's great-nephew David Norman has also led a successful City career and is a noted benefactor of the arts. Montagu Norman was educated at Eton and spent one year at King's College, Cambridge. He also joined the 4th Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire militia in 1894 and served in the Second Boer War. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order in 1901.

Merchant banking
After spending time in Europe, he joined Martins Bank in 1892; his father was a partner. In 1894 he joined Brown, Shipley & Co., where his maternal grandfather was a partner and, in 1895, Brown Bros. & Co. of New York. He became a partner at Brown Shipley in 1900 before leaving for South Africa. He retired from the bank in 1915.

Bank of England
He became a director of the Bank of England in 1907 and during World War I he was a financial advisor to government departments. He was appointed Deputy Governor in 1917 and he became Governor in 1920. He engineered the bank's takeover of the Anglo-Austrian Bank in Vienna and the creation of the Anglo-Czechoslovak Bank in Prague. Under Norman, the bank underwent significant change. He was a supporter of the return to the gold standard, which he called "knaveproof", in 1925, despite the opposition of economist John Maynard Keynes. In 1931, at the height of the Great Depression, Norman commented, "Unless dramatic measures are taken to save it, the capitalist system throughout the civilized world will be wrecked within a year"; he borrowed $250 million in an attempt to stave off speculative attacks upon the pound. Later that year, however, the United Kingdom was forced to permanently abandon the gold standard after the publication of the May Report on the UK's budget deficit provoked a further financial crisis. Norman was returning from a cruise to Canada at the time, and did not learn the news until he docked in the UK.

Norman was a close friend of the German Central Bank President Hjalmar Schacht, who served in Hitler's government as President of the Reichsbank and Minister of Economics between 1934 and 1937. Norman was also so close to the Schacht family that he was godfather to one of Schacht's grandchildren. Both were members of the Anglo-German Fellowship and the Bank for International Settlements.

While in the past Norman's role in the transferring of Czech gold to the Nazi regime in March 1939 was uncertain, careful investigation by historian David Blaazer into the Bank of England's internal memos has established that Norman knowingly authorized the transfer of Czech gold from Czechoslovakia's No. 2 account with the Bank for International Settlements to the No. 17 account, which Norman was aware was managed by the German Reichsbank. Within ten days the money had been transferred to other accounts. In the fall of 1939, two months after the outbreak of World War II, Norman again supported transfers of Czech gold to Hitler's Germany. On this occasion His Majesty's Government intervened to block Norman's initiative. He retired from the bank in 1944.

Honours
Following his retirement, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Norman, of St Clere in the County of Kent, on 13 October 1944. In addition to receiving the Distinguished Service Order, Norman was sworn of the Privy Council in 1923 and was created a Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown.

Personal life
On 2 November 1933, Norman married Priscilla Cecilia Maria Reyntiens, London councillor and granddaughter of Montagu Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon. He gained two stepsons from this marriage; Sir Simon Towneley and Sir Peregrine Worsthorne. Lord Norman & Cecilia had no children and on his death he passed the bulk of his estate to his nephew, Brigadier Hugh Norman.

In 1944, while visiting his brother on his country estate in Hertfordshire, Norman went for a walk and tripped over, causing an injury from which he never recovered. There is an amusing anecdote contained in Bill Bryson's book, that he tripped over a cow, but it is unclear where this anecdote came from as it is not known within his family.

From 1904, Norman's London home was Thorpe Lodge, Airlie Gardens off Campden Hill in Kensington, which had been built c1816. Norman worked with Walter Knight Shirley and Ernest Gimson to modernise the house and redecorate it in the Arts and Crafts style. Lord Norman died at Thorpe Lodge in 1950 following a stroke. The house later became part of Holland Park School.

During his married life, he lived at the Manor of St Clere in Kemsing, Kent, which he acquired from his uncle in 1935.

title: Montagu Norman, 1st Baron Norman