Topic summary
TV network

Extracted from the Wikipedia article Television broadcaster.
United Kingdom
The first television network in the United Kingdom was operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). On 2 November 1936 the BBC opened the world's first regular high-definition television service, from a 405 lines transmitter at Alexandra Palace. The BBC remained dominant until eventually on 22 September 1955, commercial broadcasting was established to create a second television network. Rather than creating a single network with local channels owned and operated by a single company (as is the case with the BBC), each local area had a separate television channel that was independently owned and operated, although most of these channels shared a number of programmes, particularly during peak evening viewing hours. These channels formed the ITV network.