Description and History
When it started in 1946, the Third Programme broadcast for six hours each evening, from 18.00 to 24.00, although its output was cut to just 24 hours a week from October 1957, with the early part of weekday evenings being given over to educational programming (known as "Network Three"). This situation continued until the launch, on 22 March 1965, of the BBC Music Programme, which began regular daily broadcasts of classical music (with some interruptions for live sports coverage) on the Network Three / Third Programme frequencies between 7.00 and 18.30 on weekdays, 8.00 and 12.30 on Saturdays, and 8.00 and 17.00 on Sundays. The Third Programme itself continued as a distinct evening service, and this continued to be the case for a short while after the inception of Radio 3 in 1967, before all the elements of the BBC's "third network" were finally absorbed into Radio 3 in April 1970.
The Third's existence was controversial from the beginning, partly because of perceived "elitism" – it was sometimes criticised for broadcasting programmes of "two dons talking" – and also for the costs of output relative to a small listener reach. In actuality its existence went against Reithian principles, as Reith himself had, during his time at the BBC, been against segmenting audiences by splitting programming genres across different networks. From the start though, it had prominent supporters: the Education Secretary in the Attlee government, Ellen Wilkinson, spoke rather optimistically of creating a "third programme nation". When it faced those 1957 cuts, The Third Programme Defence Society was formed and its leaders included T. S. Eliot, Albert Camus, and Sir Laurence Olivier.
Read more about this topic: BBC Third Programme
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