Read the texts and make exercise 5c and 6a in your book.

Radio

Radio in the United Kingdom is dominated by the BBC, which operates radio stations both in the United Kingdom and abroad. The BBC World Service radio network is broadcast in 33 languages globally. The BBC also operates ten national networks and over 40 local radio stations including services in Welsh in Wales, Gaelic in Scotland and Irish in Northern Ireland.

There are also a lot of commercial local radio stations owned by large radio groups which broadcast to many areas.

There are four main radio channels. BBC Radio 1 broadcasts a mix of new music and entertainment for 15-29 year-olds and provides news, documentaries and advice campaigns for young adults. BBC Radio 2 covers a diverse mix of live pop and rock concerts, comedy, documentaries and religious content. BBC Radio 3 is best known for its classical music performance and programmes dedicated to jazz and world music, as well as speech programmes, documentaries and drama. BBC Radio 4 offers in-depth news and a wide range of drama, comedy and magazine programmes.

Television

Television in the United Kingdom is made up of two public broadcasting companies, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Channel Four Television Corporation, and two commercial television companies, ITV Network Ltd and Northern & Shell. They own five most watched nationwide television channels: BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, ITV and Channel 5.

The BBC also operates several television channels abroad. The BBC's international television news service, BBC World News, is broadcast throughout the world on commercial subscription basis over cable and satellite services.

The BBC first began television broadcasts only for London in 1936. BBC Television was closed during World War II but reopened in 1946. ITV (Independent Television) was originally founded in 1955 to provide competition to the BBC. ITV was the country's first commercial television funded by advertisements, and has been the most popular commercial channel through most of its existence. On October 24 2012 all television broadcasts in the United Kingdom went digital.

There are a number of providers, delivering free and subscription services on more than 480 channels throughout the UK: Freesat, Freesat from Sky, Freeview, the Internet, BTVision, Orange, Sky TV, Smallworld, T-Mobile, TalkTalk TV, Vodafone, and others. The providers differ in the number of channels and the services they offer, such as the electronic programme guides (EPGs), video on demand (VOD), or audio and video on demand (AVOD), high-definition television (HDTV) and interactive television via the red button, where TV viewers are active: they send short text messages, make phone calls, vote.