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The launch of Channel Four on 2 November 1982 was an important event in British television, introducing the first new channel to the nation since the start of ITV broadcasting in 1955 and the launch of BBC2 in 1964. Channel Four's first programme was the word based game show 'Countdown' which continues to be made. The launch of Channel Four was also a significant event for the bfi television archive as it was the first opportunity for the bfi to begin archiving a television channel from its opening night onwards. Channel Four recorded their entire first week of output especially for the bfi, including all links, trailers and advertisements. Channel Four's approach to programming was radically different to previous outputs from the BBC and ITV and changed much of the landscape of British television. Channel Four's news and youth programming in particular represented a departure from the mainstream broadcasting styles of the time. The bfi's television archive also holds some material from the opening broadcasts of ITV's Associated Rediffusion in 1955 as well as off-air recordings of the first week of broadcasts from Channel Five in 1997 and the digital channels BBC4 (2002) and BBC3 (2003). |
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