Radio Broadcasting in Great Britain

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 29, 31 January 1930, Page 2

Radio Broadcasting in Great Britain

~ Interesting Taik from 2 YA

Mr.

Lyall-Willis

of Sydney. a verv prominent member of the radio

trade, delivered an address on British radio that is well worth repeating. Mr. LyaliAWillis, himself an excellent speaker, briefly outlined the salient points of interest in his topic, and then spent a few minutes reviewing the trade position between England and ourselves. et 8

—

ROADCASTING in England began in 1923 with 200,000 licenses. By 1926 it had i0talled approximately 2,000.000, and the latest figures show that the licenses are very nearly 3,000,000. Owing to the . very large

number of licenses, the annual fee 1s 10/-, and this is collected by the Brirish Post Office. Approximately 68. per cent, is handed over to the corporation for the proyision of programmes and the maintenance of the stations, The expenditure on programmes alone for the last twelve months ‘was. approxi-. mately half a million pounds.- With this huge amount of. aunual revenues, a system, Which cannot be equalléd by’ any other in the world, is being wérked out. Originally the broadcasting affairs of England were controlled by a’ private company, but owing to the dif"ferences of opinion between themselves and the Post Office Department, a semipublic body known as the British Broadcasting Corporation was instituted, which in my opinion is a. very efficient arrangement. , This corporation is controlled by a Board of Governors appointed for five years. They are under the director‘Ship of Sir John Reith, an able and . popular figure in British Broadcasting, ' The: programmes are generally considered’ -to be the finést in the world, "however, I regret to say that the British public is continually finding fault, but you ‘will appreciate it is a very difficult, task to provide a programme ‘that will be acceptable to 8,000,000 people. In addition to the regular studio concerts, a great deal of outside broadcasting is carried out. «This includes: historical ceremonies enacted hoth in England and the Continent, sporting commentaries (for here: the English are more fortunate than yourselves in that the sporting authorities

welcome the privilege of having their results broadcast), football, athletics, racing, tennis, boxing and many other activities, not forgetting broadcasts of the netabilities in the operatic world, and scenes faken from the leading musical comedies, in addition to which talks of the eminent authorities «dn politics, lterature and music, are to be obtained over the air, The Regional Syetem, S far as the stations in England are concerned, the whole system is in the melting pot. Captain Eckersley, until recently the chief engineer of the B.B.C., has inaugurated a system which is aimed to provide the whole country with a choice of at least two widely different programmes. These transmissions are sent out so as to be easily receivable on the simplest of apparatus, At present the total number of stations in England is 21, 19 of which have a purely local service: area. The new method inyolves the use of. only six or seven ‘transmitters, all operating on yery high power; generally 380 kilowatts, Hach ‘ef these new — stations will transmit two entirely different programmes on two different wave-lengths. By establishing these powerful statibny in strategic points, it is considered that there will be only a very small area which cannot receive two programmes with a crystal set, The first step in this new system has been taken by the erection of a station at Brookman’s Pirk, near London.

‘This is "thé very last word in station vonstruction. ‘The two serials, one for each waye-length, are suspended from inasts 200 ‘feet. in height. Great power is neeessary to drive. this station, and We. conld spend an interesting fifteen Iminutes discussing the new fehtures fouiid here. but I am afraid must keep to the point of this talk and not go into : detail. Trade Conditions. Tr will bé interesting. to note the effect of . this new system. upon the radio trade conditions in WngJand. In the first place, it means that ‘most of tle sets will have to be redesigned with selectivity as the foremost quality. All engineers in England aré directing their attention io this problem, and the technical press is being overwhelmed on ‘the subject. ‘Even erystal sets arebeing made: so that they can select between the two programmes provided, ‘This is all for the good, because the tendency throughout the world is for large stations io operate near one another, so that ia the future, it will, be the selective receiver that will win. Listeners to this station who are living in Wellington or in the suburbs will appreciate my remarks on this point. Having touched upon the trade conditions in England, I should like to mention the peculiar position that has arisen with regard-to the royalties to the Marconi Company. About twelve months ago, for every receiver that was sold in Bngland, a sum of 12/6 per valye base had to’be paid the company. "Lhis -position was challenged by the Brownie Company, and the resulf was that this.royalty was reduce? to 5/- for the first valve base, and 2/6 for the remainder. An appeal was lodged. and the original 12/6 reverted to. This could not remain,: however, owing to ‘the controversy it caused throughout trade circles, and a private arrangement between the traders of England and the Marconi Company resulted in a very satisfactory conclusion. The fee is now about 5/- per yalve base. ~ The HWnglish trade has received 2 wondérful impetus through the very successful exhibitions that have been held both in London. and Manchester. These have been very similar..to your own, but naturally. on a vastly greates seale. They indicated that the coming season would be the heyday of the A.C, set, the power-pack for the D.C. set, and small efficient~ receiver, and the portable.: However, in my opinion, the battery set will still hold its own for some time to. come, particularly in countries where electricity is not easily available, The attitude of . the public showed that they had no longer any use for second-rate products; that they had reached a stage of discrimination and were using their powers wisely.

Television. SHOULD like to refer. to the present position regarding television. England is fortunate in having among her populace John Baird, an enthusiastic and capable Seotech inventor, who has brought to a°very high standard a system of television. Recently one of the English stations, 2L0, consented to broadcast television from 11 to 11.30 am. It is contended by the Baird Company that this time is not suitable, and that longer hours at a different time are required.- On the other hand, it is contended fhat television is "ahot in the stage where it can enter \the home, and so the téchnical Press wayers backwards and forwards, some supporting the_ielevision enthusiasts and some their opponents. It is an interesting position, and the outcome should be of. vital interest to all who aite watching the future of this new science. You will, no doubt, have read in the newspapers that the picture telegraphy service recently established between England and Germany has been extended by the opening of a direct service. between London and Frankfurt, in addition to that between London and Berlin. Picture telegrams for places other than Berlin and Frankfurt will be posted from whichever of these: ceitres. is nearer. Just before concluding, I should like to refer to'a matter that is close to all our hearts. I am reférring to the much-discussed question’ of trading | within the British Empire. Surely radio will*be an important connecting link in bringing "Great Britain and the Dominions closer together. I can assure you that all the: British manufacturers appreciate the only solution for the general welfare of the Empire is to trade within’ the Empire, and radio, which is still in its infancy, although employing hundreds ,of thousands of men and women, will, I know, do its bit to assist in building up these great ideals. — While still on the subject of "connecting links, it has been brought to my notice on more than one’ occasion that New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Canada, and even ‘our friends, the United States, have theit own house representing them as their headquarters in London, and surely England, which is the Mother Country, should be represented in a similar manner, an we should have the. house’-of Grea Britain situated for preference in your capital city, Wellington, where our Trade Commissioner and the representatives of the British firms may make their headquarters, and I hope that should this come.about. the British . Radio Manufacturers will be well re presented. — I feel when talking of New Zealand and England it is-a case of-two hearts beating alike and their interests in all things are mutual.