The Ascent of Man - Broadcast and Reruns

Broadcast and Reruns

According to the (Region 2 & 4 PAL) BBC DVD box set released in 2005, The Ascent of Man was "originally transmitted between 05/05/73 and 28/07/73".

The series was broadcast on PBS in the United States starting in January 1975.

In the late 1990s Douglas Adams recorded new introductions and afterwords for a rerun of the series on the British satellite channel UK Horizons. This was billed as the first complete rerun of the series in more than a decade. However, each episode was cut by up to five minutes to make room for the new material and for commercial breaks.

In about 2000 it was reported that the BBC had been approached by Channel 5 who wanted to screen the series in prime time, but the BBC refused to lease the rights

Shortly afterward, BBC Two began a rerun as part of its Learning Zone block, in late night and early morning time slots, and cut by five minutes per episode. The reason for the cuts in this case is unclear as BBC Two has no commercials.

The complete series has not been broadcast uncut in Britain since 1986 although the BBC Knowledge channel (the forerunner of BBC Four) screened some selected complete episodes.

The book from the television series has sold millions since the original broadcast. In 2011 the book was reissued by the BBC, with a foreword by Richard Dawkins but otherwise unchanged.