REDIFFUSION TELEVISION LIMITED
Television House, Kingsway
London WC2
London WC2
Remembering Rediffusion By :
Gerald Clode
Rediffusion, originally called "Broadcast Relay Service Ltd" was formed in 1927 by
it's corporate owners British Electric Traction who had started to relay radio programmes to subscribers using their existing network of urban power cables.
The following year, 200 subscribers in Braintree, Ramsgate and Hull were paying 3 shillings a week for the service. It soon flourished because the depression meant that most people could not afford a radio and many houses did not have electricity.
The name was based on re-diffusing or re-broadcasting wireless signals via a wired network. This was later developed to include television relay and to be generally known as Cable Television. Rediffusion manufactured it's first television set in 1947
In 1954, Rediffusion formed the broadcasting company Associated-Rediffusion which was the first commercial television station to go on the air in 1955 from the ITV transmitters at Crystal Palace south London. The station was to be the mainstay of commercial television broadcasting for the London area through to 1968
Rediffusion set up their system in many UK towns and cities during the 1950's and carried interference-free Radio and Television channels from the BBC and ITV through it's wired vision network to thousands of homes. Subscribers selected their required Radio or TV channel using a Rotary selector switch conveniently located in the home adjacent to the Television Set or Radio Speaker. The white and yellow Rediffusion Television service vans were a very common sight in most cities around the UK.
it's corporate owners British Electric Traction who had started to relay radio programmes to subscribers using their existing network of urban power cables.
The following year, 200 subscribers in Braintree, Ramsgate and Hull were paying 3 shillings a week for the service. It soon flourished because the depression meant that most people could not afford a radio and many houses did not have electricity.
The name was based on re-diffusing or re-broadcasting wireless signals via a wired network. This was later developed to include television relay and to be generally known as Cable Television. Rediffusion manufactured it's first television set in 1947
In 1954, Rediffusion formed the broadcasting company Associated-Rediffusion which was the first commercial television station to go on the air in 1955 from the ITV transmitters at Crystal Palace south London. The station was to be the mainstay of commercial television broadcasting for the London area through to 1968
Rediffusion set up their system in many UK towns and cities during the 1950's and carried interference-free Radio and Television channels from the BBC and ITV through it's wired vision network to thousands of homes. Subscribers selected their required Radio or TV channel using a Rotary selector switch conveniently located in the home adjacent to the Television Set or Radio Speaker. The white and yellow Rediffusion Television service vans were a very common sight in most cities around the UK.
A multi-national company with over 170 branches all over the UK and divisions worldwide. In 1976 the Groups Assets were £ 130,000,000 with 13,100 UK employees and 2800 overseas employees.
In the mid 1980's Rediffusion's parent company BET decided to part company with Rediffusion and the Group was subsequently broken up and sold off. The TV rental side of the business going to Granada Television and the property and existing networks going to the Maxwell Group. Other divisions were sold on to private ownership.
Little evidence remains relating to Rediffusion and it's Cable Distribution and Television Rental business. The name is now generally remembered as the ITA programme contractor which provided television programmes for the ITV network from 1955 to 1968.
I worked at Rediffusion Leicester between 1968 and 1976 and there were around 100 employees servicing 11,000 subscribers at the Leicester branch at that time.
Please Follow the page links to read more.
I would be most pleased to hear from anyone who worked for Rediffusion at any time. What are your memories? Your branch details, dates etc.
email me at: gerald@clode.com
With Thank's To:
Pam Bennett Nottingham
Mike Worsey Hull
Ken Allott Hull
Keith Land Southsea
Barry Woolford Reading
Jimmy Dunne Nottingham
Helen Chomiak Sth Africa
Alan Pawson Burnley
Mike Crawford Hull
Christopher Hankinson Hull
Andrew Langley Barnet
David Sneath Leicester
Cyril Hunt Coombe Lane
Brian Ostle Middlesborough
In the mid 1980's Rediffusion's parent company BET decided to part company with Rediffusion and the Group was subsequently broken up and sold off. The TV rental side of the business going to Granada Television and the property and existing networks going to the Maxwell Group. Other divisions were sold on to private ownership.
Little evidence remains relating to Rediffusion and it's Cable Distribution and Television Rental business. The name is now generally remembered as the ITA programme contractor which provided television programmes for the ITV network from 1955 to 1968.
I worked at Rediffusion Leicester between 1968 and 1976 and there were around 100 employees servicing 11,000 subscribers at the Leicester branch at that time.
Please Follow the page links to read more.
I would be most pleased to hear from anyone who worked for Rediffusion at any time. What are your memories? Your branch details, dates etc.
email me at: gerald@clode.com
With Thank's To:
Pam Bennett Nottingham
Mike Worsey Hull
Ken Allott Hull
Keith Land Southsea
Barry Woolford Reading
Jimmy Dunne Nottingham
Helen Chomiak Sth Africa
Alan Pawson Burnley
Mike Crawford Hull
Christopher Hankinson Hull
Andrew Langley Barnet
David Sneath Leicester
Cyril Hunt Coombe Lane
Brian Ostle Middlesborough
Contact: Gerald Clode gerald@clode.com
Updated: May 2008
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