BBC First is an entertainment

subscription television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...

channel featuring comedy, crime, drama and film programming, originating from UK and mostly from the BBC. The channel is wholly owned and operated by

BBC Studios BBC Studios Limited is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Wor ...

. The channel began rolling out internationally in 2014, launching first in Australia. It is supported by extended localised advertising breaks.

History

In October 2013, the BBC announced that in 2014 they would roll out three new brands – BBC Earth, BBC First, and BBC Brit, with BBC First to be dedicated to comedy and drama programming.

International roll-out

Asia

Hong Kong

On 1 November 2016, BBC First launched as a Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD) service in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. The channel replaced BBC On Demand and

BBC Entertainment BBC Entertainment was an international television channel that broadcast comedy, drama, light entertainment, reality and children's programming (some regions only) from the BBC, Channel 4 and other UK production houses. The channel broadcast re ...

on Now TV. On 14 November 2016, the service was launched on myTV Super OTT platform until 31 January 2023.

Indonesia

In April 2021, BBC First launched as a Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD) service in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

through Catchplay, which also serves as the platform's partner in Taiwan.

Malaysia

BBC First was launched as a Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD) service on HyppTV Channel 812 on 1 October 2016, 10 months after BBC Entertainment was dropped from the provider. The channel's content is also available in the "VOD" tab in the HyppTV Everywhere app for iOS and Android. In mid-October 2021, BBC First launched as a SVOD service on Astro, along with BBC Brit.

Singapore

BBC First launched a Subscription Video-On-Demand (SVOD) service on StarHub TV Channel 522 on 4 April 2016. On 1 December 2021, BBC First launched a Video-On-Demand (VOD) service on Singtel TV.

Taiwan

In 2008, BBC Studios signed a cooperation agreement with Taiwanese OTT service myVideo to offer its drama content.

Australia

On 17 April 2013, it was announced that the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

had forged a new exclusive deal with

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n subscription television provider

Foxtel NXE Australia Pty Ltd, trading as the Foxtel Group, is an Australian pay television company that operates cable television, direct-broadcast satellite, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April ...

which would see a new channel launched that would feature comedy and drama content, with programming screening as close to their original UK transmission as possible. It was later announced the new channel would be named BBC First, a new global brand that would roll out in 2014, with Australia being the first location to launch the new channel, on 3 August 2014. The channel exited Foxtel and Binge on 31 July 2024.

Canada

In March 2021, Canadian broadcaster

Blue Ant Media Blue Ant Media Inc. is a Canadian broadcasting and media company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. The company was founded by Michael MacMillan and formed in 2011 following the acquisition of Glassbox Television. Its name was chosen in reference ...

, which already operated the Canadian version of BBC Earth, announced that its

HIFI High fidelity (hi-fi or, rarely, HiFi) is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat (neutral, uncolored) f ...

channel would be rebranded as a Canadian version of BBC First on March 16, expanding the company's partnership with BBC Studios. Unlike the other versions, the Canadian channel is not directly owned by BBC Studios, due to Canada's regulations around foreign ownership of Canadian media, but is operated by Blue Ant under a brand licensing agreement. Previously, the market had been served by the similarly formatted

BBC Canada BBC Canada was a Canadian English language specialty channel that mostly broadcast television series originally produced by the BBC, the public-service broadcaster of the United Kingdom. The channel was owned by Corus Entertainment (80% & managi ...

, which was closed by then-owner

Corus Entertainment Corus Entertainment Inc. (often simply known as Corus) is a Canadian mass media and television production company. The company was founded in 1987 as Shaw Radio Ltd. as a subsidiary of Shaw Communications and was spun-off from Shaw in 1999. It h ...

at the end of 2020; many of the BBC programs carried by the prior channel carried over to BBC First. Blue Ant Media's founder Michael MacMillan is a former executive of BBC Canada's original parent company

Alliance Atlantis Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. (commonly known as Alliance Atlantis) was a Canadian media company that operated primarily as a specialty service operator in Canada. Alliance Atlantis also had offices in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, Los ...

New Zealand

On 1 October 2024 Sky launched BBC First on channel 207.

Europe

Netherlands & Belgium

BBC First launched in the Netherlands on 16 May 2015. From 15 May 2025 the channel will have a new name in The Netherlands and will continue as BBC NL. In Belgium, the name will remain BBC First.

Central and Eastern Europe

BBC First made its debut as a linear channel in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

on 26 October 2018, replacing

BBC HD BBC HD was a high-definition television channel owned by the BBC. The channel was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007 before its discontinuation on 25 March 2013. It broadcast only during ...

. Commenting on the development, Jacek Koskowski, general manager and VP for Poland, BBC Studios, said: “We’re living through a golden era of British drama with outstanding talent producing some of the very best television in the world. Increasing the drama hours on BBC HD was integral to that channel’s recent growth and now we are going further by bringing viewers even more of what they want. Coupled with the addition of Polish and English subtitles for the first time, I’m delighted to be introducing a dedicated premium drama channel to Poland”. BBC First launched in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

on 1 April 2019, followed by

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

on 12 October 2022 and

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

on 6 June 2023.

Malta

The channel launched in Malta on 1st April 2024 and it is available on Melita EPG 300 and GOTV EPG 200, replacing BBC Entertainment. Both providers provide the channel in HD with catch-up features.

Turkey

The channel launched in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

on 27 May 2020, replacing

Middle East & North Africa

BBC First launched a Subscription service on STC TV.

Africa

South Africa

The channel launched on DStv in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

on 18 October 2015. On 4 August 2020, it was announced that BBC First would close in South Africa at the end of August 2020 after its current carriage agreement with

MultiChoice MultiChoice is a South Africa, South African company that operates DStv, a major satellite television service in Sub-Saharan Africa. The company also operates GOtv Africa, GOtv, a minor satellite TV service operating in 9 countries, and Showmax, ...

was not renewed. Some of its programming was moved to sister channel BBC Brit and streaming service

Britbox BritBox is a British Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Video on demand#Subscription models, video on demand Streaming television, streaming service founded by BBC Studios and ITV plc, ITV which operates in eight countries across Australi ...

Programming blocks

There are ''BBC First'' programming blocks on the following channels: * AXN Mystery (Japan, since 7 May 2015) * Zee Café (India, since 26 June 2017)

Programming

References

{{Television in Romania International BBC television channels Television channels and stations established in 2014 Television channels in the United Kingdom BBC Worldwide 2020 disestablishments in South Africa