28 - the number of Derry homes with black and white TVs

It may be 50 years since the first colour transmission on the BBC, but new figures from TV Licensing reveal that more than two dozen homes in Derry still enjoy watching programmes in black and white.
Black and white TV still popular with some viewers in Derry.Black and white TV still popular with some viewers in Derry.
Black and white TV still popular with some viewers in Derry.

The newly published ‘TV Licensing B&W Index’ shows large urban areas hold the majority of black and white TV Licences with more than 600 homes in Northern Ireland watching in black and white and 28 viewers in Derry.

Karen Grimason, TV Licensing spokesperson for Northern Ireland, said: “It is striking that, in an era of HD TV and spectacular true-to- life pictures, there are still more than 8,000 viewers, including 28 in Derry/ Londonderry, content to watch spectacular programmes like ‘The Night Manager’ and ‘Planet Earth’ in monochrome.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Whether you watch in black and white on a 50-years- old TV set or in colour on a tablet, you need to be covered by a TV Licence to watch or record programmes as they are broadcast. You also need to be covered by a TV Licence to download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer, on any device.”

While the figures reveal there may be life in the oldest TV equipment yet, BBC statistics indicate emerging technologies are changing the way many of us watch TV.

Fewer than 500 families had a colour TV set in 1967 when Australian John Newcombe won the Wimbledon Men’s title. Comparatively, more than 9 million people tuned in to watch Andy Murray contest the title last year, with BBC iPlayer recording the highest unique browser reach on record, with an average of 19.9 million unique browsers weekly across June, 2016.

For more information, check out www.tvlicensing.co.uk