In 1922 the BBC was formed as a limited company, taking over the existing stations under one authority. It had the sole right to broadcast under licence from the Postmaster General, on condition that it established eight stations within a specified time and provided a regular service to his satisfaction. The revenue of the company was to come from two sources: five of the ten shillings each listener had to pay for his licence would go to the BBC, in addition to the royalties payable on receiving sets and components sold to the public.
Fifty years later, technical developments have advanced broadcasting beyond the wildest dreams of the early experimenters.
Tonight John Snagge looks back at the first 25 years: the Reith era; the war years; the start of television, with film and programme excerpts and contributions from Wilfred Pickles, who was a wartime announcer, and Joan Gilbert of Picture Page.