BBC Knowledge was a television channel available in various countries outside the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, showcasing factual and non-fiction entertainment programming from 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 ...
and independent UK production houses. Wholly owned 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 ...
, it is not related to the previous channel known as
BBC Knowledge, an early digital channel available within the UK, which closed down in 2002 in favour of
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002 and
CBeebies
CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...
.
At one time, the channel provided five key programming strands enabling simple appointment viewing:
* ''The World'' delved and explored new cultures around the world
* ''Science & Technology'' explored new frontiers, from space to motoring
* ''People'' explored aspects of the human body and mind
* ''The Past'' brought historical events, places and people back to life
* ''Business'' offered invaluable advice to help stay on top of today's challenging business world.
On 15 November 2009, BBC Knowledge in Australia changed their channel location from Channel 619 to Channel 612.
In 2014 it was announced that
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 ...
would rollout a new channel,
BBC Earth, which would replace BBC Knowledge in most locations, except for where it was successful. Poland was the first location to launch the new brand on 1 February 2015.
Launch and closure dates
BBC Knowledge was first launched in
Singapore
Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
on
mio TV (Now in
Singtel TV) in July 2007. It has been available on
now TV in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
since October 2007 and on the
Cyfrowy Polsat digital satellite platform in
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
from December 2007 (
Cyfra Plus in Poland plans its launch only on 1 Feb 2011 due to prior exclusive BBC deals with Polsat). BBC Knowledge launched in
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
on
Indovision in April 2008, and in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
on
DStv in September 2008. It has since also launched in the Scandinavian countries in November 2008 when it replaced BBC Prime on
Canal Digital and several cable systems. It was launched 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 ...
on
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 ...
and
Optus Television on 1 November 2008; in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
on CJ HelloVision on 1 December 2008 and on GS Gangnam Broadcasting on 26 May 2009.
In June 2009, citing the lack of viewership, the BBC terminated its carriage deal with
SingTel
Singapore Telecommunications Limited, trading as Singtel, is a Singaporean telecommunications conglomerate, the country's principal fixed-line operator and one of the four major mobile network operators operating in the country.
Overview
T ...
's
mio TV to air BBC Knowledge, (along with
CBeebies
CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...
and
BBC Lifestyle), and entered into an agreement with
StarHub TV to carry the channels from 1 August 2009, and in Romania on 31 December 2010.
BBC Knowledge was launched on
Cable TV Hong Kong on 29 October 2009.
The channel was launched in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
in March 2011 replacing the
Documentary Channel following that channel's sale to
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 ...
.
From 1 March 2011 the channel is broadcast in Italy too. It's visible, in standard definition until 1 March 2016.
On 13 August 2013 the channel launched on
Digiturk in Turkey.
On 1 February 2015, BBC Knowledge launched on
Australian IPTV service
Fetch TV.
The New Zealand BBC Knowledge channel was replaced by a localized version of BBC Earth on 22 October 2018
The final BBC Knowledge channel in Australia was relaunched as a localized version of BBC Earth on 10 October 2019, therefore ending the use of the BBC Knowledge brand after 12 years
Asia
* ''
Alex Polizzi: The Fixer''
* ''
Andrew Marr's History of the World''
* ''
Bend It Like Beckham
''Bend It Like Beckham'' is a 2002 Sports film, sports comedy-drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha from a screenplay by Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, and Guljit Bindra. The film stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anu ...
''
* ''
Bang Goes the Theory''
* ''China on Four Wheels''
* ''Caribbean with Simon Reeve''
* ''
Deadly 60''
* ''
Dara O Briain's Science Club''
* ''David Attenborough Meets President Obama''
* ''Engineering Giants''
* ''
Earthflight''
* ''
Extreme Fishing with Robson Green''
* ''
Frozen Planet''
* ''Food Factory: Supersized''
* ''
Factomania''
* ''
Gordon Behind Bars''
* ''
How to Grow a Planet''
* ''How Earth Made Us''
* ''How to Build a Planet''
* ''
Hotel Hell
''Hotel Hell'' is an American reality television series created, hosted and narrated by Gordon Ramsay, which ran on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox network for three seasons from 2012 to 2016. It aired on Monday nights at 8 pm ET/PT. It was Ra ...
''
* ''
Hidden Kingdoms''
* ''Indian Ocean with Simon Reeve''
* ''Inside the Animal Mind''
* ''Jimmy's Forest''
* ''
James May's Man Lab
''James May's Man Lab'' is a television in the United Kingdom, British television series presented by former presenter of Top Gear (2002 TV series), Top Gear and The Grand Tour James May. The first, three-part series was aired on BBC Two between ...
''
* ''
James May's Toy Stories
''James May's Toy Stories'' is a UK documentary television series created and presented by James May, and produced by Plum Pictures for the BBC. The programme focused on bringing some of the most notable toys conceived in the past into the mode ...
* ''Kevin McCloud's Grand Tour''
* ''
Kingdom of Plants 3D''
* ''Kangaroo Dundee''
* ''
Long Way Round''
* ''Million Dollar Intern''
* ''
Museum Secrets''
* ''Monkeys Revealed''
* ''
Nature's Microworlds''
* ''
Natural World''
* ''
Operation Iceberg''
* ''Operation Snow Tiger''
* ''Operation Cloud Lab: Secrets of the Skies''
* ''
Orbit: Earth's Extraordinary Journey''
* ''
Ocean Giants''
* ''
Planet Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all of Earth's water is ...
''
* ''Prince Harry: Frontline Afghanistan''
* ''
Ross Kemp: Extreme World''
* ''
Secret Millionaire''
* ''Secrets of Bones''
* ''
Stargazing Live''
* ''Supergiants Animals''
* ''Snow Babies''
* ''Scared Rivers with Simon Reeve''
* ''Super Senses: The Secret Power of Animals''
* ''
Top Gear''
* ''Toughest Place to Be A...''
* ''
Undercover Boss''
* ''World's Weirdest Weapons''
* ''
Walking with Dinosaurs: The 3D Movie''
* ''
Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan''
* ''
Wild Burma: Nature's Lost Kingdom''
* ''Welcome to India''
* ''
Wonders of the Solar System''
* ''
Wonders of Life''
Australia
* ''
An Idiot Abroad''
* ''
Dragons' Den''
* ''
Extraordinary Women''
* ''Fishing Impossible''
* ''
Human Universe''
* ''
Islands of Britain''
* ''
Jeremy Clarkson's Extreme Machines''
* ''
Junior Paramedics''
* ''
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first host ...
''
* ''Road Warriors: The Extra Mile''
* ''
Ross Kemp: Extreme World''
* ''
School of Saatchi''
* ''Stephen Fry's 100 Greatest Gadgets''
* ''
Moaning of Life''
* ''World's...and Me''
* ''
Top Gear''
* ''
Top Gear: Extra Gear''
* ''
Top Gear (USA)''
* ''
Trawlermen''
* ''Where the Wild Men Are''
* ''
Wonders of the Universe''
See also
*
BBC World News
BBC News is an international English-language pay television channel owned by BBC Global News Ltd. – a subsidiary of BBC Studios – and operated by the BBC News division of the BBC. The network carries news bulletins, documentaries, an ...
*
BBC Lifestyle
*
BBC Entertainment
BBC Entertainment was an international television channel that broadcast comedy, drama, light entertainment, reality and children's programming (some regions only) from the BBC, Channel 4 and other UK production houses. The channel broadcast re ...
*
CBeebies
CBeebies is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content targeted for children aged six year ...
*
BBC HD
BBC HD was a high-definition television channel owned by the BBC. The channel was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007 before its discontinuation on 25 March 2013. It broadcast only during ...
*
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002
*
BBC Earth
References
External links
Shut Down Official website* ''
BBC News Online
BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the U ...
''
BBC to launch global TV channels* ''
Variety''
BBC Worldwide bows new channels
{{BBC Television
Defunct BBC television channels
Television channels and stations established in 2007
Television channels and stations disestablished in 2019
BBC Worldwide