The British Broadcasting Company is formed in London by a group of leading wireless manufacturers.

The British Broadcasting Company, the organisation that preceded today's BBC, was formed in London on 18/10/1922 by a consortium of leading British wireless manufacturers seeking to establish an organised broadcasting service in the United Kingdom. The new company emerged during a period when radio technology was moving rapidly from experimental wireless transmissions toward regular broadcasting for domestic listeners. The National Science and Media Museum describes the original BBC as a private consortium of six radio manufacturers, whose commercial interest in regular broadcasting was connected to developing the market for home radio receivers. The manufacturers behind the company included the Marconi interests, which had already played a central role in the development of British wireless communication. The formation of a single broadcasting company also provided a more coordinated framework for radio services at a time when Britain's General Post Office controlled wireless licensing and frequencies. The BBC's own historical account records 18/10/1922 as the date on which the British Broadcasting Company was formed by leading wireless manufacturers, including Marconi. Less than a month after the company's formation, regular BBC broadcasting began. On 14/11/1922, the BBC started daily transmissions from the 2LO station at Marconi House in the Strand, London. The first programme began at 18:00, with Director of Programmes Arthur Burrows reading a news bulletin. Broadcasting from Birmingham and Manchester followed on 15/11/1922, extending the company's service beyond London. John Reith, a 33-year-old Scottish engineer, was appointed the company's General Manager at the end of 1922. Under Reith, the BBC developed programming that included news, talks, plays, popular and classical music, concerts and variety entertainment. The audience for radio expanded quickly: 19,594 wireless receiving licences had been issued in Britain by the end of 1922, compared with more than 5.2 million a decade later. The British Broadcasting Company itself lasted only a few years in its original commercial form. On 01/01/1927, it was succeeded by the British Broadcasting Corporation, established under a Royal Charter as a public service broadcaster. The transition created the institutional BBC that subsequently developed national radio services and, later, television and other forms of broadcasting. Historical Significance The creation of the British Broadcasting Company brought competing wireless manufacturers together around a common broadcasting service. Within weeks, daily programmes were being transmitted from London, establishing the organisational foundation from which the British Broadcasting Corporation developed.