For more than a century, the BBC has been part of British life. From the first radio broadcasts in the 1920s to iPlayer, podcasts and streaming, its story is one of extraordinary change, cultural influence and more than a little controversy.

In this episode, we travel through the BBC's remarkable history, exploring its wartime role, the arrival of television, iconic programmes such as Doctor Who, Only Fools and Horses and EastEnders, the rise of commercial competition and the digital revolution.

We'll also look at the arguments over impartiality, funding and the licence fee, and ask the big question: in a world where we can watch almost anything, anywhere and at any time, does Britain still need the BBC?

It's the story of a broadcaster that became far more than a broadcaster. It's become part of the soundtrack of British life.

MUSIC USED

The Epic Hero: Keys of Moon Music

George Olsen: Bye Bye Blackbird

Glenn Miller: Tuxedo Junction

The Mar-Keys: Last Night

Keith Mansfield: Enterprise 90

Simon May: Eastenders Theme Tune

Ini Kamoze: Here Comes The Hotstepper (Instrumental)

Lou Reed: Perfect Day

Following the BBC's new promotional film, I take a personal look back at the impact the BBC has had on my life.

A celebration of television, radio and the BBC's place in my story.

Sky's £1.6 billion acquisition of ITV's broadcast and streaming business is more than just another corporate deal. It marks one of the biggest changes to British broadcasting in decades and raises important questions about the future of television in the streaming era. In this episode, Rob Francis explores why the deal happened, what it means for ITV, Sky and viewers, and whether this merger is the key to helping British broadcasters compete with global streaming giants, or the beginning of the end for one of the UK's most iconic television institutions.

In this episode, we explore the extraordinary story of the 1979 ITV strike, the industrial dispute that brought commercial television across most of the United Kingdom to a complete standstill. We'll look at how a pay dispute at Thames Television escalated into the longest strike in British television history, why almost every ITV region went off the air, and how the tiny Channel Television in the Channel Islands became the only part of the network to keep broadcasting.

April 1964. A brand-new channel. A carefully planned launch night. Fireworks ready. Cameras rolling. Britain watching.

And then, just before the start… everything goes dark.

No broadcast. No opening show. No grand debut. Just a power cut, a stunned control room, and a very awkward silence.

Rob Francis looks back on the night television didn’t go to plan.

Rob Francis looks at the removal of News at Ten in 1999, a decision that changed the shape of ITV’s evening schedule and broke one of British television’s most familiar habits. It explores how a programme that had defined the 10pm slot for over 30 years ended up being pushed aside for commercial flexibility, and why that choice still draws criticism today. From the early success of News at Ten to the rise of Trevor McDonald as its most recognisable face, and the pressures faced by ITN behind the scenes, this is a story about trust, timing, and what happens when a national routine is treated as just another slot in a schedule.

For decades, ITV was a network of regional broadcasters with strong local identities, but in 1999 Carlton Television replaced Central and Westcountry with its own corporate brand.

In this, the 20th episode of the new TV Live Podast, Rob Francis looks back at how media ownership changes and the ITV hearts rebrand helped push the network towards a single national identity, and how Carlton’s approach marked a clear shift away from regional television.

Rob reflects on why audiences reacted so strongly, why the change felt so detached from the regions it affected, and what was lost when local identity gave way to uniform branding.

Because once upon a time, ITV belonged to the regions, and after 1999, it increasingly belonged to the corporations.

Seventy years after Granada Television first launched from Manchester, Rob Francis looks back at the broadcaster that helped redefine British television through programmes such as Coronation Street, World in Action and Brideshead Revisited.

This episode explores Granada’s fierce northern identity, the vision of Sidney Bernstein, the creation and later splitting of “Granadaland” in 1968, and the rise of Granada from regional ITV company to one of the most powerful broadcasters in Britain.

We also examine whether British television lost something important when the old regional ITV system disappeared, and why Granada’s influence can still be felt across the industry today.

New to the TV Live Podcast? Here's the host Rob Francis to tell you more...

In this episode, Rob Francis looks at how the Independent Television Authority reshaped the ITV network in 1967, why the need to protect ABC Weekend TV led to the creation of Thames Television, and how Rediffusion found itself pushed into a new structure where it no longer held control of the franchise it had built. Along the way, we explore the tension between creative success and corporate power, the human cost behind franchise decisions, and the frustration of lost archives that still haunt this era of television history.