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BBC Prime
Type	Encrypted Satellite & Cable television network
Availability	Europe, Africa, the Middle East
Founder	BBC Worldwide
Owner	BBC
Launch date	January, 1995
Website	www.bbcprime.com

BBC Prime is the BBC's general entertainment TV channel in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. It was launched in January, 1995, and began broadcasts in Africa in March, 1999. A version of the channel was launched in Asia on 1 December, 2004. It is funded by subscription available either as part of a satellite package or as a stand-alone channel. As it may carry advertisements in some world regions, it is not available in the United Kingdom as, under the terms of the BBC's Charter, its domestic services cannot show advertising.

The channel broadcasts drama, comedy and lifestyle programmes via satellite and cable. In the past, it had allocated six hours per day for educational programmes from BBC Learning; this practice was abandoned in August 2006 "with the intention of improving the relevance and appeal of the channel to the widest audience" [1].

When it first launched, BBC Prime also carried programming from the former ITV company Thames Television, as BBC Worldwide had a joint venture, known as European Channel Management, with Thames' parent company, Pearson. This venture was later dissolved, and programmes like The Bill were no longer carried. Owing to rights issues, much of the current programming on BBC Prime is from the Corporation's archive.

The channel's emphasis on archive programming caused considerable annoyance to many British expatriate viewers, who had much preferred the mix of BBC One and Two previously offered by BBC TV Europe and BBC World Service Television.

Consequently, many people in mainland Europe bought viewing cards to receive full broadcasts of BBC One and Two from the UK, when they became available on satellite in 1998. This prompted GBC in Gibraltar to end terrestrial retransmission of BBC Prime in 1999. Even after the BBC switched to broadcasting unencrypted on a satellite with a much weaker signal, many people in Spain and elsewhere could still receive these signals, particularly those who already had large satellite dishes.

BBC Prime is broadcast alongside BBC One and Two in the Netherlands, which have long been available on cable television, together with BBC World. It is also available on digital terrestrial television (DTT) in the Netherlands, as well as the Faroe Islands and Malta. In February 2006, BBC Worldwide secured a slot for the channel in the Swedish DTT network.

The BBC argues that as most of BBC Prime's viewers are not British, and often may not have English as a first language, it is necessary to have subtitles in Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Czech, Polish, Romanian, Hungarian, Italian, Hebrew and Serbian.

Similarly, some programmes on BBC Prime in Africa are different from the European service, as many have already been licensed to South African broadcasters. This service did not, for example, show BBC Learning (though this service no longer airs on the other feeds).

In Asia the programming is completely different to take account of time zones and cultural differences, with subtitles in local languages like Chinese, Thai, and Korean. BBC Prime's Asian service is available in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore,South Korea and Malaysia, but will become available on cable and satellite services in other countries in the region, including the Philippines and Taiwan.

A similar channel, called BBC Japan, launched in Japan on December 1st, 2004, but ceased broadcasting on April 30, 2006, owing to problems with its local distributor.

See main article: BBC Entertainment

In September 2006, it was announced that the BBC Prime brand was to be phased out, replaced by BBC Entertainment, one of a number of new international channels planned by BBC Worldwide. Since October 8 2006, BBC Entertainment has broadcast in Asia replacing BBC Prime on StarHub (Channel 76), UBC (Channel 58), Skylife (Channel 334) and Now TV (Channel 529). In other markets BBC Prime will be replaced by the end of the year. BBC Worldwide's Managing Director of Global Channels, Darren Childs said: "BBC Prime will disappear as a brand. It is something we can do better. It was too non-specific. BBC Entertainment will do what it says on the tin."[2]

• bbcprime.com
• Asian Webpage
• BBC Prime at TV Ark