BBC East

BBC East is one of the regional divisions of the BBC's English Regions. It covers several counties including Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, and Bedfordshire. It also includes parts of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire, such as the City of Milton Keynes.

The main office of BBC East is located in The Forum in Norwich, a position it has held since 2003. The region is divided into two areas. The East area focuses on Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex. The West area serves Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, and the three counties previously mentioned. This setup helps provide local news and programs to people living in these areas.

Services

BBC East provides television, radio, and online services for several counties in England. On television, you can watch BBC Look East on BBC One. This is their main regional news program. There is also a Sunday morning show about politics.

The region controls several radio stations, including BBC Radio Norfolk, BBC Radio Suffolk, BBC Essex, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire, BBC Radio Northampton, and BBC Three Counties Radio. These stations share some programs, especially early in the morning and late at night.

BBC East also shares news and information online through BBC Red Button and local news websites for each county.

History

In the mid-1950s, the BBC had a small office in Norwich. In 1956, they moved to a bigger office nearby. From there, they broadcast radio shows into the Midlands Home Service.

The opening of the Tacolneston transmitting station let programmes be broadcast from Norwich just for East Anglia. Regular broadcasts began on 5 February 1957, and daily news for East Anglia started on 10 March 1958.

Regional TV news began in September 1957, but East Anglia was covered by London’s service at first. In June 1959, the BBC decided to start its own TV news in Norwich. The first TV news bulletin aired on 5 October 1959. Over the years, the programme changed names and timeslots, finally becoming Look East in 1964, which is still used today.

In 1969, East Anglia got more freedom to make its own shows. In 1997, local news bulletins for areas like Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire were added. These stopped on 16 December 2022 due to changes in BBC programming.

Until 1980, radio news for the region came from an opt-out on BBC Radio 4. The first local radio station, Radio Norfolk, started on 11 September 1980, with others following over the next ten years.

Studios

BBC East’s main headquarters and studios are at The Forum in Norwich. The BBC moved there from St Catherine’s Close in 2003. The old building had some problems, and the new place is better.

BBC East also has local radio studios and newsrooms in Cambridge, Chelmsford, Northampton, Ipswich, and Dunstable.