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The channel was scheduled to begin at 19:20 on 20 April 1964, showing an evening of light entertainment, starting with the comedy show ''[[The Alberts]]'', a performance from [[Soviet]] comedian [[Arkady Raikin]], and a production of [[Cole Porter]]'s ''[[Kiss Me, Kate]]'', culminating with a fireworks display. However, at around 18:45 a huge power failure, originating from a fire at [[Battersea Power Station]], caused [[BBC Television Centre|Television Centre]], and indeed much of west London, to lose all power. BBC1 was able to continue broadcasting via its facilities at [[Alexandra Palace]], but all attempts to show the scheduled programmes on the new channel failed. [[Associated-Rediffusion]], the London weekday ITV franchise-holder, offered to transmit on the BBC's behalf, but their gesture was rejected. At 22:00 programming was officially postponed until the following morning. As the BBC's news centre at [[Alexandra Palace]] was unaffected, they did in fact broadcast brief bulletins on BBC2 that evening, beginning with an announcement by the newsreader [[Gerald Priestland]] at around 19:25.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Hywel |url=https://www.hywel.org.uk/bbc2launch/ |title=BBC 2 Aborted Launch Night |access-date=12 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614045852/https://www.hywel.org.uk/bbc2launch/ |archive-date=14 June 2021 |url-status=live }}</ref> There was believed to be no recording made of this bulletin, but a videotape was discovered in early 2003.<ref name="BBC2 Launch BBC news">{{cite news |last=Briggs |first=Caroline |title=The launch night that never was |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/tv_and_radio/3585041.stm |access-date=4 October 2011 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=20 April 2004}}</ref>
By 11:00 on 21 April, power had been restored to the [[BBC Television Centre|studios]] and programming
To establish the new channel's identity and draw viewers to it, the BBC decided that a widely promoted, lavish series would be essential in its earliest days. The production chosen was ''[[The Forsyte Saga (1967 series)|The Forsyte Saga]]'' (1967), a no-expense-spared adaptation of the novels by [[John Galsworthy]], featuring well-established actors [[Kenneth More]] and [[Eric Porter]]. Critically for the future of the fledgling channel, the BBC's gamble was hugely successful, with an average of six million viewers per episode: a feat made more prominent by the fact that only 9 million were able to receive the channel at the time.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} In 1974, BBC2's widely acclaimed [[singer-songwriter]] series, ''[[In Concert (BBC TV series)|In Concert]]'', was lauded by [[The Guardian]] as the only British music television program that "produced television ideas".<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 Apr 1974 |title=Catch BBC-2 - now, and perhaps never again, is the moment for courage, adventure, and the pursuit of excellence. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/259767801 |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=Newspapers.com |publisher=[[The Guardian]] |page=15 |language=en}}</ref>
===Technological advancements===
Unlike [[BBC1]] and ITV, BBC2 was broadcast only on the [[625-line]] [[Ultra high frequency|UHF]] system, so was not available to viewers still using sets only capable of receiving the [[405-line television system|405-line]] [[Very high frequency|VHF]] system. This created a market for dual standard receivers which could switch between the two systems. Set manufacturers increased production of UHF sets in anticipation of a large market demand for the new BBC2, but the market did not materialise.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}.
The early technical problems, which included being unable to transmit US-recorded videotapes due to a lack of [[Television standards conversion|system conversion]] from the US [[NTSC]] system, were resolved by a committee headed by [[James Redmond (broadcaster)|James Redmond]], although this problem was not unique to BBC2.
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On 1 July 1967, during the [[1967 Wimbledon Championships|Wimbledon Championships]], BBC2 became the first channel in Europe to begin regular broadcasts in colour, using the [[PAL]] system.<ref>[http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/technology/technology8.html TV Technology 8. Britain In Colour – and UHF.] Screenonline, Richard G. Elen. Retrieved 26 November 2010.</ref> The thirteen-part series ''[[Civilisation: A Personal View|Civilisation]]'' (1969) was created as a celebration of two millennia of western art and culture to showpiece the new colour technology.<ref>[[David Attenborough]] extra on BBC DVD ''[[Civilisation (TV series)|Civilisation]]'' by [[Kenneth Clark]].</ref> BBC1 and ITV later joined BBC2 on 625-line UHF band but continued to simulcast on 405-line VHF until 1985. BBC1 and ITV simultaneously introduced PAL colour on UHF on 15 November 1969, although they both had broadcast some programmes in colour "unofficially" since September 1969.
In 1979, the station's
As the [[Digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom#Digital switchover|switch to digital-only terrestrial transmission]] progressed, BBC Two was (in each region in turn) the first [[Analogue terrestrial television in the United Kingdom|analogue TV channel]] to be replaced with the BBC multiplex, at first four, then two weeks ahead of the other four channels. This was required for those relay transmitters that had no current [[Freeview (UK)|Freeview]] service giving viewers time to purchase the equipment unless they had already selected a satellite or cable service. The last region for BBC Two to end on analogue terrestrial television was [[Northern Ireland]] on 10 October 2012.
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