Watching television is one of the great British pastimes. Broadcasting in the United Kingdom is controlled by the British Broadcasting Corporation known as the BBC and the Independent Broadcasting Authority known as IBA. The BBC receives its income from the government; the IBA earns money from private companies' advertising.
National radio is controlled by the BBC, and listeners can choose between four stations.
Radio 1 is a pop music station with news and magazine-style programmes. Radio 2 plays light music and reports on sport. Radio 3 plays classical music and Radio 4 has news programmes, drama and general interest programmes. There are many local stations, some private and some run by the BBC. Their programmes consist mainly of music and local news.
The BBC has two TV channels, BBC 2 has more serious programmes and news features. The IBA is responsible for looking after the regional independent TV companies who broadcast their own programmes and those they have bought from other regions. There is a break in programmes for advertisements about every 15-20 minutes. The most recent independent channel is Channel 4 and it has more specialised programmes than the main channels. In general, people think the programmes offered on British television are of a very high standard. Some people, however, are becoming worried about the amount of violence on TV and the effect this may have on young people.