TV in the UK is changing fast. In 2007 the British Government began switching off the old signal that has been providing television to viewers since the 1940s and moved onto the modern digital format.

Why is this important, you might ask? Well, whereas in the past young people had to make do with just 1-2 hours of specialist programmes per day, you now have access to countless channels that are especially devoted to offering you cartoons, entertainment and music.

Internet TV

Because of the huge popularity of the internet, it is quite common for parents to buy services from media companies that provide your broadband, phone line and cable TV all in one. This means that you get not just all the free digital channels but also endless access to designated music and movie channels as well. There really is so much choice on offer on UK television these days that you might be in danger of becoming, what we call in the UK, a ‘couch potato’.

Popular TV

Kids TV channels usually start broadcasting at about 5 a.m. until 7 p.m. showing a continuous stream of fast paced shows, usually offering a mix of American and British made content. So you will get all your superhero classics that you are probably used to seeing in your own country as-well as a chance to learn some more about the famous British sense of humour by watching some locally made stuff too.

Some of the most popular shows on TV for young people however are not broadcast on designated Kids TV channels but instead on the main terrestrial stations such as BBC1, so make sure that you check the schedules for these if you want to know what everyone will be talking about at school.

Some shows that started out in the UK many years ago specifically for young people have since gone on to be some of the biggest cult classics in UK television history, and sort of ingrained into British culture. There are even programmes on TV for adults that regularly have votes to find out which was the best of kids TV show of all time. Many adults like to collect retro memorabilia, such as toys, comics and posters and there is a huge market for famous old kids TV shows, some of which gets traded on-line for quite a lot of money.

There really is no doubt that the British remember their childhood TV shows with a real fondness and there is no reason why, if you are coming over here for a reasonable lengthy amount of time, that you won’t grow up to look back on your favourites too.
 

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USEFUL WORDS

switch on = turn the TV on

switch off = turn the TV off

broadcasting = making and sending out television programmes

viewers = people watching TV

digital channels

cult show = a programme which is very popular with a particular group of people

childhood = the period of someone’s life when they are a child

couch potato = a person who spends a lot of time sitting and watching TV

square eyes = a way of describing or referring to a person who watches too much TV

plug it in = connect to the electricity supply

turn it on / turn it off = switch it on / switch it off = power the machine by pushing a button

turn it up / turn it down = increase / decrease the sound volume

turn over = switch over = change the channel / programme

ENGLISH GRAMMAR

Make / Let / Have + Object + Infinitive without to

Make, let and have can take an object and an infinitive without to:

His mother made him turn off the TV

The teacher let the pupils watch half an hour of the programme

I’ll have the cleaner wipe the TV screen this afternoon

More examples with let:

I can let you have a copy of the TV schedule (= give you)

I’ll let everyone know what time the show starts (= tell everyone)

Let me go or I’ll scream (= release me)

Compare force, allow and get, which all take a to-infinitive:

His Mum forced him to stop watching so much TV

She was allowed to watch 2 hours of TV per day

I’ll get my sister to email you the time of that cult show I was telling you about