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template message gbc tv 18 south barrack road city gibraltar branding gbc television gbc radio slogan first for local news affiliations independent owner government of gibraltar founded 1958 first air date 1958 radio 1963 television call letters meaning gibraltar broadcasting corporation transmitter coordinates 36 07 28 n 5 21 01 w 36.124565 n 5.350358 w 36.124565 ; 5.350358 coordinates 36 07 28 n 5 21 01 w 36.124565 n 5.350358 w 36.124565 ; 5.350358 website gbc.gi the gibraltar broadcasting corporation gbc is gibraltar s public service broadcaster . it has provided the community with a radio and television service since 1963 . contents 1 history 2 the board 3 radio gibraltar 3.1 radio gibraltar programming 3.2 radio gibraltar app 4 gbc television 4.1 broadcast hours and schedule 4.2 local news 4.3 the gbc open day 4.4 gbc programmes 4.5 early 1990s satellite tv arrives 4.6 the 1999 relaunch 4.7 gbc experiment latin american telenovelas 4.8 early 2000s 4.9 gbc daytime hours 4.10 gbc on screen branding 5 the future of gbc 5.1 2010 allan king and the way forward 5.2 broadcasting act 2012 5.3 gbc becomes a joint venture and the creation of the gen gibraltar entertainment network 5.4 autumn winter 2012 schedule local programming increased 5.5 31 december 2012 digital switch over 5.6 proposal for relocation to queen s cinema and hotel 6 frequencies and other availability 7 see also 8 references 9 external links history edit modelled on the bbc the corporation was established in 1963 with the amalgamation of gibraltar television a private company and the government owned radio service radio gibraltar which started regular broadcasting in 1958 . unlike the bbc the majority of gbc s funding comes in the form of a grant from the government . gbc did receive a small amount of income from the levying of a television licence fee . however it was announced in gibraltar s budget speech of 23 june 2006 that the tv licence was to be abolished . the board edit the activities of the corporation are controlled and governed by a board consisting of a chairman and not more than seven members appointed by the governor . subject only to any directions of the governor in council the board is responsible for the corporation s policy . the corporation appoints a general manager and other staff to carry out its policies and the board is empowered to delegate any of their duties to their employees except responsibility for policy . within gbc the board s powers are absolute . the chairman and board thus work through their permanent staff headed by a general manager who are responsible to the board . although the chief concern of the board is undoubtedly broad policy once laid down it is left to the general manager and senior staff whom they appoint to carry out as trustees of the public interest in broadcasting . in view of their ultimate responsibility for everything that is broadcast it is the board s duty to take an active interest not only in the programmes but also in the financial and staff policies of the corporation . this is done through a number of sub committees in which board members and senior staff participate in decisions relating to the treatment of political and public affairs finance and development and programmes . only the house of assembly has the power to change the ordinance and the governor in council the directions . radio gibraltar edit radio gibraltar broadcasts 24 hours a day and its programme format is similar to that of commercial local radio stations in the united kingdom . the station operates on both fm and am broadcasting a mix of local programming in english and spanish and retransmissions of the bbc world service . in december 2005 gbc started internet streaming of its radio service on the internet which along with an up to date programme guide for gbc television and radio can be found on the website . you can hear radio gibraltar live from 7 am to 8 pm on weekdays after 8 pm the station plays continuous music through the night with only the brief interruption of radio gibraltar s jingle . on the station s am frequencies bbc transmission can be heard through the night . on weekends the station broadcasts live from 8 am to 9 pm with the same format . radio gibraltar s station is currently located at 18 south barrack road in gibraltar s south district after moving there in the 1980s from wellington front its old location since its beginning in 1958 . on saturday 16 february 2008 radio gibraltar celebrated its 50th anniversary . to commemorate the occasion past presenters were invited to co host programmes in the slot which they once occupied amongst them peter canessa david hoare norma delgado gerry martinez christine dobinson and richard cartwright . during the week leading up to the anniversary radio gibraltar broadcast interviews with former presenters who recalled their memories of radio gibraltar as well as on air jingles from the past . one of the high points of radio gibraltar s history was that it served as a communications link between gibraltar and the neighbouring communities in spain during the closure of the land frontier which divided families between 1969 and 1982 . a special roadshow live from main street was held on the anniversary . gbc tv showed a special programme to commemorate radio gibraltar s 50th anniversary which was celebrated during the week starting 18 february 2008 . radio gibraltar programming edit radio gibraltar largely devotes its daytime hours to local news and current affairs delivered through the flagship programme focus which has an am lunchtime and pm edition . outside the focus news programmes radio gibraltar s daytime hours are filled with magazine type shows that feature chat games competitions and phone ins and all is sandwiched in between classic hits latest songs as per the station s slogan . programmes include the morning show the afternoon show and the long running spanish language programme saludos which has anchored the 2 4 pm slot for over twenty years . the weekend schedule normally features personality led shows alongside repeats from radio gibraltar s evening schedule the uk chart show and a live transmission of sunday mass . radio gibraltar s evening schedule is mostly made up of one locally produced programme airing in the 7 8 pm slot . programmes include ; made in gibraltar ; a weekly series showcasing local musicians jazz town ; playing the best smooth jazz every week from everlasting names like sinatra to the most recent stars such as madeleine peyroux my country ; playing the american country top 5 songs and featuring a brand new album every week yesterday when i was young ; radio gibraltar s golden oldies show playing songs from the 50s 60s and 70s . this series is radio gibraltar s longest running series having been on air for over 20 years . soundtrack of my life ; insight into local personalities and figures through music centre stage ; another long running series that plays a selection of songs from the biggest musicals ever to grace a stage . radio gibraltar also covers community events such as national day sessions of parliament general elections and others . it is also well known for organising roadshows throughout the entire year mainly organised around charity events appeals awareness campaigns and similar culminating in the annual gbc radio gibraltar open day charity fundraiser which takes place the week before christmas . the station also carries a simulcast of the gbc tv programme gibraltar government lottery draw live every alternate tuesday . special programming usually takes over the news slots on public holidays notably the 1 pm hour . radio gibraltar app edit on monday 10 september 2012 coinciding with gibraltar s national day a radio gibraltar app for the iphone became available giving listeners a new way to listen to radio gibraltar on the go . gbc television edit prior to the 1990s gbc tv was the only english language channel available in gibraltar . launched as gibraltar television in 1962 a privately owned commercial station the broadcaster became the gibraltar broadcasting corporation a year later in 1963 when it became a public broadcaster funded by government . gtv later gbc tv was first housed in wellington front in what was commonly called wellington front studios . due to its location in gibraltar the area around wellington front usually floods during the rainy season . gbc often flooded and once this occurred during a live tv broadcast . in the late 70s gbc tv began experimenting with colour broadcasts . an all colour operation began in 1980 when gbc was relocated to 18 south barrack road into a building that is now called broadcasting house . broadcast hours and schedule edit in its early days and until the 1990s gbc tv offered viewers a mix of local production and international series mainly imported from the bbc itv franchises and also from canada and australia . broadcasting hours would be restricted to the evenings with television normally being on air between 7 pm later 6 30 pm until shortly after midnight . gbc tv would also go on air during the daytime normally for a couple of hours from 3 30 pm during school holidays at christmas . typically tv broadcasts would begin with a prd programme run down which would air for a few minutes before giving way to a title sequence playing the gbc tv start up theme and logo . traditionally the programme line up would be composed of children s programming between 6 30 pm and 7 30 pm . in the mid 1980s children s programming would take two slots 6 30 pm 7 pm and 7 30 pm 8 pm with the decision to relay live the bbc six o clock news 7 pm in gibraltar time . bbc news at six was later dropped in favour of itn bulletins . local programing would usually air in the 8 pm slot and in later evening slots following the news bulletin . imported series would usually air during primetime and in the late night 11 pm slot . feature films would traditionally air on tuesday nights and saturday nights under the tuesday movie and saturday movie banners . local news edit local news has occupied various slots airing as late as 10 30 pm and 9 pm before settling in the 8 30 pm slot where it currently remains . on occasions during the summer months and prior to the introduction of the 11 30 pm news replay news programmes would be scheduled at the later time of 9 pm to accommodate viewers summer routines . local news has been re branded on air a number of times over the years .