Three public authorities oversee television and radio services in Britain. They are accountable to Parliament but are otherwise independent in their day-to-day running of business. The authorities are:

• The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which broadcasts television and radio programmes; and
• Ofcom, which is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is responsible for UK Government policy towards broadcasting.

There are five terrestrial television channels, offering a mixture of drama, light entertainment, films, sport, educational, children’s and religious programmes, news and current affairs, and documentaries. These comprise two national BBC networks, financed almost wholly by a licence fee, and the commercial ITV1 (Channel 3), Channel 4 and Channel 5 services, which are funded by advertising and sponsorship. In Wales, S4C broadcasts programmes on the fourth channel.

Satellite television and cable services are available in Britain. The largest satellite programmer is BSkyB (British Sky Broadcasting).

The BBC has five national radio networks which together transmit all types of music, news, current affairs, drama, education, sport and a range of feature programmes. There are also 39 BBC local radio stations, and national radio services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

There are three national commercial radio stations. About 240 independent local radio services are also in operation, supplying local news and information, sport, music and other entertainment, education and consumer advice.

A complete listing of Britain’s radio and television stations can be found on the MediaUK website.