First day of BBC television

They had been preceded by a number of low-definition BBC test broadcasts, as well as a 180-line Deutscher Fernseh Rundfunk service, from Berlin, since March 1935.

[7][8][9][10][nb 1] Programming included short ad-hoc performances by musicians, with the duration limited as "lookers in" (as viewers were called) were found to experience eye strain through looking at the small screens then in use.

(Chairman of the Television Advisory Committee) will also speak.The Radio Times billed the Variety performers as:[5] however, in the event The Lai Founs did not appear.

[5] The broadcast was made from a converted wing of Alexandra Palace ("Ally Pally") in London,[5] using the 240-line Baird intermediate film system,[11] on the VHF band.

[14] Alexandra Palace housed two studios (one for each system), various scenery stores, make-up areas, dressing rooms, offices, and the transmitter itself.