.svg){kind=logo} Logo used since 2021 | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area |
|
| Network | BBC Television |
| Headquarters | Broadcasting House |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English |
| Picture format | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | BBC |
| Sister channels | |
| History | |
| Launched | 21 April 1964 |
| Former names | BBC2 (21 April 1964 – 4 October 1997) |
| Links | |
| Website | BBC Two |
| Availability | |
| Terrestrial | |
| Freeview |
|
| Streaming media | |
| BBC iPlayer | Watch live (UK only) |
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and documentaries. BBC Two has a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream and popular BBC One.
Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio channels, it is funded by the television licence, and is therefore free of commercial advertising. It is a comparatively well-funded public-service channel, regularly attaining a much higher audience share than most public-service channels worldwide.
Originally styled BBC2, it was the third British television station to be launched (starting on 21 April 1964), and from 1 July 1967, Europe's first television channel to broadcast regularly in colour. It was envisaged as a home for less mainstream and more ambitious programming, and while this tendency has continued to date, most special-interest programmes of a kind previously broadcast on BBC Two, for example the BBC Proms, now tend to appear on BBC Four instead.
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