Editing BBC Knowledge (section)

===Background===
The BBC had been wanting to expand into the digital television market for a number of years, as their Director-General [[Sir John Birt]] said, "The BBC has always been a pioneer of technology".<ref name=bbcdigital>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/174535.stm|title=BBC unveils digital TV|date=21 September 1998|access-date=19 June 2016|work=BBC}}</ref> Originally this was by their association with Flextech, which spawned the [[UKTV]] network. Both companies had different ideas on how the new channels would be run: the BBC wanted the channels branded as BBC channels, but Flextech wanted the channels to contain advertising. The BBC refused, stating that no domestic BBC channel should carry advertising.

In the end a compromise was made: Two of the channels would launch as BBC channels: '''BBC Showcase''' (later became [[BBC Choice]]), and the then called '''BBC Learning''', with the remainder of the channels being launched as the UKTV network, intended to be BBC in all but name. Prior to the launch, the channel changed name from BBC Learning to BBC Knowledge.<ref name=bbcdigital/>