BBC First was an entertainment subscription television channel broadcasting in

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 ...

. It was the localized version of the internationally available BBC First. The channel was 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 ...

History

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

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. The following day it was announced that this deal resulted in the end of a 50-year-old deal with Australian

free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscri ...

broadcaster ABC, which they were not consulted about. Despite the new exclusive deal with Foxtel, it does not affect 'grandfathering' agreements whereby series that are currently broadcasting on other networks are not affected and will remain on their current network. The programming that is shown on the new channel will not air on Australian free-to-air for at least 12 months after its first airing, if ever. 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. The Australian channel is available in linear format and in high definition, launching on 3 August 2014. On 1 February 2015, BBC First launched on Australian IPTV service Fetch TV – ending Foxtel's exclusivity. On 14 February 2017, BBC First was available in HD for Fetch TV customers. The channel exited Foxtel and Binge on 31 July 2024. BBC Drama, a new channel, replaced BBC First on Fetch TV.

Programming

The channel targets affluent people between 25 and 54 years old, with a specific target demographic of women aged 40–54.

Original programming

*'' Banished''

Acquired programming

*'' A Young Doctor's Notebook'' *'' Alan Partridge: Welcome to the Places of My Life'' *'' Burton & Taylor'' *''

Call the Midwife ''Call the Midwife'' is a British period drama television series about a group of nurse midwives working in the East End of London in the late 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. The principal cast of the show has included Jessica Raine, Miranda Hart, ...

'' (2015) *'' Dates'' *'' Dead Boss'' *'' Derek'' (series 2) *'' Dickensian'' *''

Episodes Episodes may refer to: * Episode, a part of a dramatic work * Episodes (TV series), ''Episodes'' (TV series), a British/American television sitcom which premiered in 2011 * Episodes (journal), ''Episodes'' (journal), a geological science journal ...

'' (seasons 3–4) *'' The Fall'' (series 2) *''The Fear'' *'' The Game'' *'' The Honourable Woman'' *'' Luther'' *'' Midwinter of the Spirit'' *'' New Tricks'' (2015) *'' The Night Manager'' *'' The Musketeers'' *'' Peaky Blinders'' *'' The Politician's Husband'' *'' Quirke'' *'' War & Peace'' *'' Wolf Hall'' (11 April 2015) *'' The Village''

References

External links

* {{Subscription television channels in Australia International BBC television channels Television channels and stations established in 2014 Television channels and stations disestablished in 2024 Defunct television channels in Australia Television networks in Australia English-language television stations in Australia 2014 establishments in Australia 2024 disestablishments in Australia