Editing BBC Two (section)

===Launch===
British television at the time of BBC2's launch consisted of two channels: the [[BBC One|BBC Television Service]] and the [[ITV (TV network)|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 Committee on Broadcasting|Pilkington Report]] on the future of broadcasting noticed this, and that ITV lacked any culturally relevant programming. It therefore decided that Britain's third television station should be awarded to the BBC.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sixtiescity.com/Television/BritishTV.htm |title=British Television up to the end of the Sixties |publisher=Sixtiescity.com |access-date=12 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024020910/http://www.sixtiescity.com/Television/BritishTV.htm |archive-date=24 October 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 (marsupial)|joey]].{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} Prior to, and several years after, the channel's formal launch, the channel broadcast "[[Trade test colour films|Trade Test Transmissions]]", short films made externally by companies such as [[Royal Dutch Shell|Shell]] and [[BP]], which served to enable engineers to test reception, but became [[Cult following|cult]] viewing.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

The channel was scheduled to begin at 19:20 on 20 April 1964, showing 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 [[BBC Television Centre|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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Hywel |url=https://www.hywel.org.uk/bbc2launch/ |title=BBC 2 Aborted Launch Night |access-date=12 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614045852/https://www.hywel.org.uk/bbc2launch/ |archive-date=14 June 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref> There was believed to be no recording made of this bulletin, but a videotape was discovered in early 2003.<ref name="BBC2 Launch BBC news">{{cite news |last=Briggs |first=Caroline |title=The launch night that never was |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3585041.stm |access-date=4 October 2011 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=20 April 2004}}</ref>

By 11:00 on 21 April 1964, power had been restored to the [[BBC Television Centre|studios]] and programming began, thus making ''[[Play School (British TV series)|Play School]]'' the first programme to be shown officially on the channel. The launch schedule, postponed from the night before, was then 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]].<ref name="BBC2 Launch BBC news"/>

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 TV series)|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 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|date=November 2012}} In 1974, BBC2's widely acclaimed [[singer-songwriter]] series, ''[[In Concert (BBC TV series)|In Concert]]'', was lauded by ''[[The Guardian]]'' as the only British music television program that "produced television ideas".<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 April 1974 |title=Catch BBC-2 - now, and perhaps never again, is the moment for courage, adventure, and the pursuit of excellence. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/259767801 |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=[[The Guardian]] |page=15 |language=en}}</ref>