Editing Timeline of the BBC (section)

== 1990s ==
[[File:BBC logo (pre97).svg|220px|right|BBC logo between 30 March 1986 and August 1998]]
* '''1990'''
** 17 January – [[BBC CWR]] launches.
** 25 March – At 7{{nbsp}}pm [[BBC Radio 2]] becomes available on FM 24/7 for the first time after the final ever 'borrow' of its FM frequencies by [[BBC Radio 1]]. 
** 12 April – [[BBC Radio Suffolk]] launches.
** 27 August – [[BBC Radio 5 (former)|BBC Radio 5]] begins broadcasting on [[BBC Radio 2]]'s MW frequencies. BBC Radio's sports coverage transfers to the new station from Radio 2 and educational and children's programmes transfer from Radio 4 FM. Consequently, BBC Radio 2 becomes the first national BBC station to broadcast exclusively on FM and the full [[BBC Radio 4]] schedule becomes available on FM for the first time.
** 5 September – The new BBC building at [[BBC White City|White City]] opens.

* '''1991'''
** 7 January – The [[BBC East Midlands]] region is created and the first edition of [[East Midlands Today]] is broadcast.
** 16 January – [[Radio 4 News FM]] starts [[Gulf War]] broadcasts on [[BBC Radio 4]] [[FM broadcasting|FM]] frequencies.
** 16 February – BBC1 and BBC2 receive new idents generated from laserdisc, [[BBC One 'Virtual Globe' ident|BBC1 with a '1' encased in a swirling globe]], and [[BBC Two '1991–2001' idents|BBC2 with eleven idents based around the numeral '2']].
** 2 March – [[Radio 4 News FM]] closes and [[BBC Radio 4]] returns to [[FM broadcasting|FM]].
** 11 March – The BBC launches its first global television station – [[BBC World Service Television]]. In [[Europe]] it replaces [[BBC TV Europe]].
** March – After nearly eight years on air, [[BBC Radio Gwent]] closes.
** 1 April – The BBC becomes the statutory authority for issuing television licences, assuming the responsibility of licence fee collection and enforcement.
** 15 April – The World Service Television News service is launched. Unlike World Service radio which is funded by direct grant from the [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office]], WSTV is commercially funded and carries advertising, which means that it cannot be broadcast in the UK.
** 1 May – [[BBC Radio 1]] begins 24-hour transmission, but only on FM – Radio 1's MW transmitters still close down overnight, between 12 midnight and 6{{nbsp}}am.
** 31 July – The BBC's [[Lime Grove Studios]] close.
** 31 August – BBC television starts officially broadcasting in stereo using the [[NICAM]] system. (Some transmitters had been broadcasting in stereo since 1986, but these were classified as tests.)
** 16 September – The main [[BBC Radio 4]] service moves from long wave to FM as FM coverage has now been extended to cover almost all of the UK – Radio 4 didn't become available on FM in much of Scotland and Wales until the start of the 1990s. Opt-outs are transferred from FM to long wave.
** 14 October – World Service TV launches its Asian service.
** 14 November – [[BBC Radio Surrey]] launches.

* '''1992'''
** 21 January – 
***[[BBC Select (1992–1995)|BBC Select]] is launched as an overnight subscription service.
***[[BBC Radio Berkshire]] launches, initially as a sister station of [[Radio Oxford]], broadcasting for part of the weekday and weekend mornings.
** 29 February – [[BBC Radio 3]] ceases broadcasting on medium wave ([[AM broadcasting|AM]]).
** 17 April – [[BBC Radio Nottingham]] ends transmissions on one of its MW transmitters. [[BBC Tees|BBC Radio Cleveland]], [[BBC Radio Northampton]] and [[BBC Radio Oxford]] also stop broadcasting on MW.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbceng.info/Information/eid/press-releases/Engineering_Press_Releases_part1_23Mar1994_to_20Mar1989.pdf |title=BBC Engineering Press Release |date=27 November 1991}}</ref>
** 1 November – The satellite TV channel [[Gold (British TV channel)|UK Gold]], run by the BBC with [[Thames Television]], starts broadcasting.
** [[BBC Local Radio]] stations start broadcasting the [[BBC World Service]] rather than [[BBC Radio 2]] when not on air.

* '''1993'''
** 5 April – BBC Radio Bedfordshire expands to cover the counties of [[Buckinghamshire]] and [[Hertfordshire]] and is renamed [[BBC Three Counties Radio]].
** 13 April – For the first time all [[BBC News]] programmes have the same look following a relaunch of all of the main news bulletins.
** 26 April – [[BBC Dorset FM]] launches as an opt-out service from [[BBC Radio Devon]].
** Autumn – [[BBC GLR]] stops broadcasting on MW.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.amfm.org.uk/amfmnews/amfm17.html |title=AM/FM Online Edition #17: November 1993}}</ref> Also, [[BBC GMR]] stops broadcasting on MW.
** October – [[BBC Radio Clwyd]] closes, although news opt-outs continue until 2002.
** [[BBC Research & Development]] is formed from the merger of the BBC Designs Department and the BBC Research Department.

* '''1994'''
** 27 March – [[BBC Radio 5 (former)|BBC Radio 5]] ends transmission.
** 28 March – At 5&nbsp;am, [[BBC Radio 5 Live]], a dedicated news and sport network, starts broadcasting.
** 13 April – First BBC website created for the BBC2 series ''[[The Net (BBC TV series)|The Net]]''. This is followed a month later by the launch of the subscription-based ''[[BBC Online|BBC Networking Club]]''.
**23 May – The BBC2 youth strand [[DEF II]] comes to an end after six years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/bbctwo/england/1994-05-23 |title=BBC Two England – 23 May 1994 |work=BBC Genome |publisher=BBC |access-date=26 October 2016}}</ref>
** 1 July – BBC Radio 1 ceases broadcasting on medium wave ([[AM broadcasting|AM]]) at 9{{nbsp}}am.
** July – [[BBC Arabic Television|Arabic Television]] television service launched with funding from the Saudi Arabian Mawarid Group.
** 1 August – [[BBC Radio Surrey]] and [[BBC Radio Sussex]] merge to form [[BBC Southern Counties Radio]].
** 19 September – BBC2 launches a weekday afternoon business, [[personal finance]] and consumer news programme ''[[Working Lunch]]'', which broadcasts for 42 weeks per year.

* '''1995'''
** 16 January – [[BBC World Service Television]] was renamed as [[BBC World]] it was launched as an international [[free-to-air]] [[television news|news channel]] on 26 January at 19:00 [[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]].
** 30 January – [[BBC Prime]] launches as a local [[encrypted]] [[Variety show|variety]] and [[light entertainment|light entertainment channel]] by BBC Enterprises.
** May – [[BBC CWR]] closes as a stand-alone station and becomes an opt-out of [[BBC Radio WM]].
** 27 September – The [[BBC]] begins regular [[Digital Audio Broadcasting]], from the [[Crystal Palace transmitting station]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Rhys |last=Williams |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/bbc-switches-on-cd-quality-radio-1603198.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/bbc-switches-on-cd-quality-radio-1603198.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=BBC switches on CD-quality radio |publisher=Independent Print Limited |newspaper=The Independent |date=28 September 1995 |access-date=3 May 2019}}</ref>
** 9 October – [[BBC Learning Zone]] is launched, broadcasting education programmes all night on BBC2. It replaces ''[[BBC Select (1992–1995)|BBC Select]]'' and ''Night School''.
** BBC Enterprises, the BBC's commercial arm, is restructured as [[BBC Worldwide]] Ltd.

* '''1996'''
** March – [[BBC Dorset FM]] closes and is replaced by a rebroadcast of [[BBC Radio Solent]] with localised news bulletins.
** 9 April – [[BBC Radio Oxford]] and [[BBC Radio Berkshire]] merge to form [[BBC Thames Valley FM]]. 
** 21 April – [[BBC Arabic Television|Arabic Television]] closes down when the Saudi backer pulls out following a row over coverage of the execution of a princess accused of adultery.
**4 May – Radio 3 commences 24-hour transmission.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/radio3/1996-05-04|title=BBC Radio 3 – 4 May 1996 – BBC Genome|website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk|access-date=2 December 2021}}</ref>
** 9 May – The BBC announces its plans for digital television. They include a free-to-air [[BBC News Channel|news channel]], widescreen versions of BBC1 and BBC2, "side channels" which will broadcast extra programmes related to what is on the main channels and several paid-for channels featuring programming from the BBC archives.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-5oGn8zanw BBC News – BBC unveils plans for Digital Services]</ref>
** June – [[BBC Radio 1|Radio 1]] starts live streaming on the internet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://support.bbc.co.uk/support/history.html|title=BBC Internet Services – History|publisher=BBC|access-date=26 January 2009}}</ref>
** 7 June – The BBC is restructured by the Director-General, [[John Birt]]. In the new structure BBC Broadcast will commission programmes, and BBC Production will make them.
** 13 October – BBC Television's long standing coverage of [[Formula One]] ends following ITV's acquisition of the rights from 1997 onwards (Formula One returns to the BBC in 2009). This is one of several high-profile sports rights that the BBC loses at around this time. These include losing the rights to the [[FA Cup]] and England football internationals to [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] and England rugby union internationals to [[Sky UK|Sky]].
** 4 November – The Asian Network expands into a full-time station when it increases the number of hours on air from 80 hours a week to 126 hours a week (18 hours a day). The station, which broadcasts on the MW frequencies of [[BBC Radio Leicester]] and [[BBC Radio WM]], is renamed [[BBC Asian Network]]. Consequently, Radios Leicester and WM become FM only stations.
** 29 December – What was billed as the last episode of ''[[Only Fools and Horses]]'' before the new millennium is watched by 24.35 million viewers, the largest ever TV audience for a sitcom.
** During 1996, www.bbc.co.uk becomes the home of the corporation's online activities.

* '''1997'''
** The BBC broadcasts the much praised "[[Perfect Day (Lou Reed song)|Perfect Day]]" corporate advertisement, featuring 27 artists singing lines of Lou Reed's original. The song later becomes a fund-raising single for [[Children in Need]].
** 28 February – The BBC sells its transmitters and transmission services to Castle Transmission Services for £244 million, to help fund its plans for the digital age.
** 4 March – The BBC and [[Living TV Group|Flextech]] agree on a deal to provide several BBC-branded channels – BBC Showcase, for entertainment; BBC Horizon, for documentaries; BBC Style, for lifestyle; BBC Learning, for schools, and BBC Arena, for the arts – plus three other channels: BBC Catch-Up, for repeats of popular programmes within days of their original transmission, a dedicated BBC Sport channel and a TV version of [[BBC Radio 1|Radio 1]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Willcock |first=John |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/flextech-to-inject-pounds-20m-into-bbc-deal-1270994.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220507/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/flextech-to-inject-pounds-20m-into-bbc-deal-1270994.html |archive-date=7 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Flextech to inject £20m into BBC deal |work=The Independent |date=4 March 1997 |access-date=22 June 2013}}</ref>
** 6 September – The funeral of [[Diana, Princess of Wales]] is broadcast on BBC Radio & Television and aired to over 200 countries worldwide.  Nearly 3 billion viewers and listeners watch the ceremonies. In the US, the BBC's coverage is aired on A&E and [[C-SPAN]] Cable Networks. [[David Dimbleby]] hosts the coverage with [[Tom Fleming (actor)|Tom Fleming]] narrating the service inside [[Westminster Abbey]].
** 4 October – New corporate identity adopted. At a reported cost of £5m the new logo was introduced due to the increase in digital services, as it is designed to be more visible at small size it is better suited for use in websites and on screen "[[Digital on-screen graphic|DOGs]]." On Screen Identities changed, with BBC One adopting the [[BBC One 'Balloon' idents|Balloon Idents]], and BBC Two retaining their [[BBC Two '1991–2001' idents|2's used from 1991, with new legend]].
** 4 November – [[BBC News Online]], a web-based news service, launches.
** 9 November – [[BBC News (British TV channel)|BBC News 24]], the corporation's UK television news service, launches at 17.30, and is shown on BBC One through the night during closedown.
** December – [[BBC Online]] is officially launched.

* '''1998'''
** 25 January – ''[[Grandstand (TV series)|Sunday Grandstand]]'' becomes a year-round programme. Previously it had only broadcast between May and September.<ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/bbctwo/england/1998-01-25 BBC Genome Project – BBC Two listings 25 January 1998]</ref>
** March – The BBC closes the [[BBC Radiophonic Workshop]], 40 years after it had first been established to create sound effects for BBC programmes.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/artists/39f0d457-37ba-43b9-b0a9-05214bae5d97 |title=The BBC Radiophonic Workshop – New Songs, Playlists & Latest News – BBC Music |publisher=BBC |access-date=17 April 2017}}</ref>
** August – The BBC's domestic TV channels become available on [[Sky UK|Sky Digital]]'s satellite service. An [[unintended consequence]] of this is that people in the rest of Europe can now watch BBC One and Two, using viewing cards from the UK, as the signal is encrypted for rights reasons. This applies even within the UK: people in England can now watch BBC channels from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and vice versa.
** 23 September – 
***The BBC launches [[BBC Choice]], its first new TV channel since 1964, available only on digital TV services. However viewers can only watch the launch online due to digital receivers not being on sale to the general public. 
***Following its purchase of the cable-only Parliamentary Channel, the BBC launches [[BBC Parliament]] on digital satellite and analogue cable with an audio feed of the channel on [[Digital Audio Broadcasting|DAB]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://thetvroom.com/bbc-uk/bbc-parliament-01-01.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204064725/http://thetvroom.com/bbc-uk/bbc-parliament-01-01.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 February 2013 |title=BBC Parliament • September 1998 – October 2002 |publisher=Thetvroom.com |access-date=15 April 2015 }}</ref>
** 15 November – The public launch of digital terrestrial TV in the UK takes place. Consequently, BBC Choice is now viewable by the general public via their television sets which have digital equipment.
** [[BBC Radio 5 Live]] replaces the [[BBC World Service]] as [[BBC Local Radio]]'s overnight downtime filler.

* '''1999'''
**''[[BBC 648]]'', which provided French and German language content for northern Europe from the [[Orfordness transmitting station]], ends with the closure of the BBC's German service.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/305187.stm] ''BBC's German Service goes off air'', BBC News, 27 March 1999.</ref> – the French for Europe service had closed in 1995.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/history/audio.shtml] ''75 years BBC World Service – A History''.</ref> Consequently, all programming from this transmitter was in English only.
** 10 May – BBC network news is relaunched with new music, titles and a red and ivory set. This design was used for the 25 October relaunch of News 24, enhancing cross-channel promotion of the service.
** 1 June – [[BBC Knowledge]] starts broadcasting on digital services.
** 20 June – The BBC broadcasts live cricket for the final time when it shows live coverage of the [[1999 Cricket World Cup Final]], bringing to an end of sixty years of continuous cricket coverage on the BBC. The terrestrial rights transfer to [[Channel 4]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/cricket/194168.stm |title=Channel 4 wins rights to home Tests |publisher=BBC |work=BBC News |date=16 October 1998}}</ref>
** 23 September – [[BBC Red Button|BBC Text]] is launched, initially on digital terrestrial services before being rolled out onto satellite and cable platforms.<ref name="10years">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2008/11_november/06/button.shtml|title=BBC's Red Button celebrates its 10th anniversary|date=6 November 2008|publisher=BBC Press Office|access-date=13 November 2008}}</ref>
** 31 December – BBC One airs live coverage of millennium celebrations from Britain and all around the world in ''[[2000 Today]]''. The presenting team is led by [[David Dimbleby]], [[Michael Parkinson]] and [[Gaby Roslin]].<ref>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/service_bbc_one_london/1999-12-31 BBC Programme Index – BBC One listings 31 December 1999]</ref>