defunct philippine television network see banahaw broadcasting corporation . for the bbc radio station see bbc radio 2 . bbc two bbc two logo launched 20 april 1964 ; 52 years ago 1964 04 20 owned by bbc picture format 576i 16 9 sdtv 1080i 16 9 hdtv audience share 5.04 % september 2015 2015 09 barb country united kingdom broadcast area united kingdom and ireland formerly called bbc2 20 april 1964 3 october 1997 sister channel s bbc one bbc four bbc news bbc parliament cbbc cbeebies website www.bbc.co.uk bbctwo availability terrestrial freeview channel 2 channel 102 hd digitenne netherlands channel 20 satellite freesat channel 102 sd sco wal ni ; hd england channel 109 sd england ; hd sco wal ni channels 968 971 regional variations sky uk channel 102 sd sco wal ni ; hd england channel 115 hd sco wal ni channel 141 sd england channels 969 972 regional variations sky ireland channel 142 sd hd channel 143 sd astra 2e 10773 h 22000 5 6 10847 v 23000 2 3 hd eutelsat 10a bfbs 8002 nss 12 bfbs 8102 nss 806 bfbs 8102 cable virgin media uk channel 102 channel 162 hd virgin media ireland channel 109 channel 140 hd ziggo netherlands channel 62 sd hd england naxoo switzerland channel 214 upc cablecom switzerland channel 156 wightfibre channel 2 telenet belgium channel 121 iptv kpn netherlands channel 24 telfort netherlands channel 24 xs4all netherlands channel 24 belgacom tv belgium channel 68 brussels channel 24 flanders channel 214 wallonia streaming media bbc iplayer watch live uk only tvplayer watch live uk only horizon go watch live ireland only horizon.tv netherlands only bbc two is the second television channel operated by the british broadcasting corporation bbc in the united kingdom isle of man and channel islands . it covers a wide range of subject matter but tending towards more highbrow programmes than the more mainstream and popular bbc one . like the bbc s other domestic tv and radio channels it is funded by the television licence and is therefore commercial free . it is a comparatively well funded public service network regularly attaining a much higher audience share than most public service networks worldwide . originally styled bbc2 it was the third british television station to be launched starting on 20 april 1964 and from 1 july 1967 europe s first television channel to broadcast regularly in colour . it was envisaged as a home for less mainstream and more ambitious programming and while this tendency has continued to date most special interest programmes of a kind previously broadcast on bbc two for example the bbc proms now tend to appear on bbc four instead . a high definition version of the channel launched on 26 march 2013 replacing bbc hd . 1 contents 1 history 1.1 launch 1.2 technological advancements 2 operation 3 programming 4 presentation 4.1 regional variations 5 availability outside the uk 6 accessibility 7 bbc two hd 8 see also 9 references 10 external links history edit launch edit british television at the time of bbc2 s launch consisted of two channels the bbc television service and the itv network made up of smaller regional companies . both channels had existed in a state of competition since itv s launch in 1955 and both had aimed for a populist approach in response . the 1962 pilkington report on the future of broadcasting noticed this and that itv lacked any serious programming . it therefore decided that britain s third television station should be awarded to the bbc . 2 prior to its launch the new bbc2 was promoted on the bbc television service the soon to be renamed bbc1 . the animated adverts featured the campaign mascots hullabaloo a mother kangaroo and custard her joey . prior to and several years after the channel s formal launch the channel broadcast trade test transmissions short films made externally by companies such as shell and bp which served to enable engineers to test reception but became cult viewing . the channel was scheduled to begin at 19 20 on 20 april 1964 and show an evening of light entertainment starting with the comedy show the alberts a performance from soviet comedian arkady raikin and a production of cole porter s kiss me kate culminating with a fireworks display . however at around 18 45 a huge power failure originating from a fire at battersea power station caused television centre and indeed much of west london to lose all power . bbc1 was able to continue broadcasting via its facilities at alexandra palace but all attempts to show the scheduled programmes on the new channel failed . associated rediffusion the london weekday itv franchise holder offered to transmit on the bbc s behalf but their gesture was rejected . at 22 00 programming was officially postponed until the following morning . as the bbc s news centre at alexandra palace was unaffected they did in fact broadcast brief bulletins on bbc2 that evening beginning with an announcement by the newsreader gerald priestland at around 19 25 . 3 there was believed to be no recording made of this bulletin but a videotape was discovered in early 2003 . 4 by 11 00 on 21 april power had been restored to the studios and programming began thus making play school the first programme to be shown officially on the channel . the launch schedule postponed from the night before was then successfully shown that evening albeit with minor changes . in reference to the power cut the transmission opened with a shot of a lit candle which was then sarcastically blown out by presenter denis tuohy . 4 to establish the new channel s identity and draw viewers to it the bbc decided that a widely promoted lavish series would be essential in its earliest days . the production chosen was the forsyte saga 1967 a no expense spared adaptation of the novels by john galsworthy featuring well established actors kenneth more and eric porter . critically for the future of the fledgling channel the bbc s gamble was hugely successful with an average of six million viewers tuning in per episode a feat made more prominent by the fact that only 9 million were able to receive the channel at the time . citation needed technological advancements edit unlike bbc1 and itv bbc2 was broadcast only on the 625 line uhf system so was not available to viewers still using sets on the 405 line vhf system . this created a market for dual standard receivers which could switch between the two systems . the early technical problems which included being unable to transmit us recorded videotapes due to a lack of system conversion from the us ntsc system were resolved by a committee headed by james redmond . the new 625 line system had one noticeable advantage the bandwidth was sufficient for colour broadcasts and indeed on 1 july 1967 during the wimbledon championships bbc2 became the first channel in europe to begin regular broadcasts in colour using the pal system . 5 the thirteen part series civilisation 1969 was created as a celebration of two millennia of western art and culture to showpiece the new colour technology . 6 bbc1 and itv later joined bbc2 on 625 line uhf band but continued to simulcast on 405 line vhf until 1985 . bbc1 and itv simultaneously introduced pal colour on uhf on 15 november 1969 although they both had broadcast some programmes in colour unofficially since at least late 1968 . in 1979 the station adopted the first computer generated channel identification ident in britain with its use of the double striped orange 2 logo . the ident created in house by bbc engineers lasted until march 1986 and heralded the start of computer generated logos . as the switch to digital only terrestrial transmission progressed bbc two was in each region in turn the first analogue tv channel to be replaced with the bbc multiplex at first four then two weeks ahead of the other four channels . this was required for those relay transmitters that had no current freeview service giving viewers time to purchase the equipment unless they had already selected a satellite or cable service . the last region for bbc two to end on analogue terrestrial television was northern ireland on 10 october 2012 . it was announced on 19 february 2013 that a hd simulcast of bbc two would commence on 26 march 2013 at 6am . this is the single uk service without national variations . 7 at the 2012 guardian edinburgh international television festival bbc two was named terrestrial channel of the year . 8 operation edit the channel controllers had been 1964 1965 michael peacock 1965 1969 david attenborough 1969 1974 robin scott 1974 1978 aubrey singer 1978 1982 brian wenham 1982 1987 graeme macdonald 1987 1992 alan yentob 1992 1996 michael jackson 1996 1999 mark thompson 1999 2004 jane root 2004 2008 roly keating 2008 2014 janice hadlow 2014 2016 kim shillinglaw 9 adam barker served as acting controller of the channel after janice hadlow left the channel in march 2014 and until kim shillinglaw began as new permanent occupant of the post . since 2013 the controller of bbc two has been given the expanded title controller of bbc two and bbc four with ultimate oversight of the bbc four service added to their duties a bbc four channel editor reporting up to this controller has day to day operational control of four . the channel forms part of the bbc television executive group and is answerable to the head of that department and to the bbc trust . on 20 january 2016 kim shillinglaw announced that she has decided to leave the bbc as the controller of bbc two & bbc four and as a result of the reorganisation the post of controller bbc two and four have be closed . 10 programming edit main article list of programmes broadcast by the bbc bbc two s remit is to be a mixed genre channel appealing to a broad adult audience with programmes of depth and substance . it should carry the greatest amount and range of knowledge building programming of any bbc television channel complemented by distinctive comedy drama and arts programming . bbc two remit 11 bbc two s remit historically was one screening programmes targeting the arts culture some comedy and drama and appealing to audiences not already served by bbc1 or itv . over its first thirty or so years the channel developed a reputation for screening highly praised and prestigious drama series among these boys from the blackstuff 1982 or 1996 s critically acclaimed our friends in the north . the channels highbrow profile is also in part attributable to a long history of demanding documentaries of all types beginning with civilisation and the ascent of man in the 1960s . like the early channel 4 bbc2 also established for itself a reputation as a champion of independent and international cinema under the screen 2 brand . the channel has sometimes been judged increasingly in more recent years to have moved away from this original role and to have moved closer to the mainstream . since the launch of the digital only bbc four the bbc has been accused in particular of shifting its more highbrow output to the new channel which until the end of the uk s digital tv switchover in october 2012 12 a minority 7.5 % in the final quarter of 2010 13 of viewers did not receive . bbc four s remit is very similar to that of the earlier remit of bbc2 and contains many documentaries and arts programming . it has been perceived by some that this strategy is to allow bbc two to show more popular programmes and to secure higher ratings . 14 since 2004 there have been some