Despite hyper-inflation in much of the world, the BBC scored major hits in its light entertainment programmes.
The award winning Fawlty Towers, Are You Being Served and The Good Life, plus the ratings topping Morecambe and Wise Show and The Two Ronnies were the big hits of the 1970s. The BBC also developed CEEFAX for TV, and quadraphonic sound for radio.
January 1970 - The Open University goes on air
The BBC and The Open University joined forces to create a long-standing partnership which transformed access to university education.
This followed a desire to open up learning by Prime Minister Harold Wilson in the 1960s. The combination of early morning and late night broadcasts with written materials, became an international model for distance learning.
April 1972 - The first children's TV news bulletin
John Craven was chosen to present the programme, sitting in front of a desk, not behind, so as not to remind children of a teacher.
Newsround was the first sustained attempt to give children a news service which they could call their own. It broke two major news stories: an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul, and the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986.
April 1974 - The Family - the first 'fly-on-the-wall' documentary
This ground-breaking programme captured the tensions and humour of ordinary family life in the Wilkins household.
It raised controversial issues about class, race and manners in 70s England, and was the first time cameras had simply filmed daily life without direct interviews - the earliest example of 'reality TV'
September 1974 - CEEFAX – a step toward the digital world
Originally designed by BBC engineers to provide subtitles for the deaf, CEEFAX (derived from 'see-facts') was the first teletext service in the world.
Its information was wide-ranging, including news, weather, and sport. CEEFAX finally ceased operation in October 2012, but other broadcasters’ teletext services remain on air and popular, particularly in the Nordic countries.
January 1979 - Life On Earth – the nation is hooked
Although natural history programmes had been seen before, it wasn't until David Attenborough started this epic series that the genre really took off.
Revealing life around the globe through beautiful photography and compelling and intimate commentary, the series initially consisted of 13 episodes.
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