British Broadcasting Corporation in the 1990s

Mr. Checkland, head of the British Broadcasting Company, spoke on his experiences in running the television network since he began four years ago. He said television broadcasting differs in intent in the U.S. and Britain in that American television attempts to attract viewers to the advertisements through entertainment whereas the BBC attempts to provide quality entertainment alone for viewers. This means the BBC attempts to be a public service for British citizens instead of a private profit making company. Mr. Checkland said the BBC provides the most diverse programming available anywhere in the world based on its goal of serving as many tastes as possible. He also contrasted the programming lineups of the BBC with American programming, saying the contrasting formats of consecutive shows on any given channel in an evening are designed to provide entertainment and information for the television viewer. Following his remarks, Mr. Checkland answered questions put to him by the audience.