BBC South East - History

History

Prior to 2001, London and the South East had been considered part of the same editorial region by the BBC, and as a result a single regional service, including news programmes London Plus (1984-1989) and Newsroom South East (1989-2001), had covered the larger editorial area. London had not been afforded the same 'regional' status as the other BBC regions as the bulk of the national content was produced in the capital. This was reflected in the fact that for many years there were no specialist presenters for the region, with national presenters being used. As a result, the region had fewer local bulletins, with local news being read from the Nationwide studio during the regional opt-outs. This was slightly addressed with the creation of London Plus, but the large region and fewer regional operatives meant the service was still far from ideal.

The size of the region was scaled back in stages, starting in 1993 when the Heathfield transmitter serving East Sussex was switched from BBC South East to BBC South, reducing the region to just London, Kent and the surrounding area. On 16 October 2000, the areas around Oxford were transferred from BBC South East to a new, special opt out from BBC South's South Today.

Following the BBC's South East Review of 2001, the London and South East arrangements changed, with BBC London split off as a separate entity and Heathfield viewers rejoining Bluebell Hill and Dover in a new smaller BBC South East region, launched on 3 September 2001 and based in Tunbridge Wells.

Following digital switchover in the south on 7 March 2012, the Whitehawk transmitter in Brighton transferred from the BBC South region to BBC South East. The network has been broadcasting around the fringes of Brighton and Hove prior to switchover and has always been part of the region's remit since 2001; BBC South East now broadcasts terrestrially to the whole city extending along the coast as far as Worthing.