Television in the United Kingdom

Television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936 as public service free of advertising. Now there is a collection of free-to-air, free-to-view and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channels for consumers as well as on-demand content. There are six main channel owners who are responsible for most viewing. There are 27,000 hours of domestic content produced a year at a cost of £2.6 billion. Since 24 October 2012, all television broadcasts in the United Kingdom are in a digital format, following the end of analogue transmissions in Northern Ireland. Digital content is delivered via terrestrial, satellite and cable as well as over IP.

Television providers

Free-to-air, free-to-view and subscription providers are available, with differences in the number of channels, capabilities such as the programme guide (EPG), video on demand (VOD), high-definition (HD), interactive television via the red button, and coverage across the UK. Set-top boxes are generally used to receive these services; however Integrated digital televisions (IDTVs) can also be used to receive Freeview or Freesat. Most TVs sold in the UK come with a DVB-T (terrestrial) tuner for Freeview – a rare thing in Europe. BT TV and TalkTalk Plus TV, both based on YouView, utilise hybrid boxes which receive Freeview as well as additional subscription services. Households viewing TV from the internet (YouTube, Joost, downloads etc.) are not tracked by Ofcom. The UK's five most watched channels, BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, are available from all providers.

Jim Gaffigan

James Christopher "Jim" Gaffigan (born July 7, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice-over artist, and author. His humor largely revolves around fatherhood, observations, and (most notably) food. He is also regarded as a "clean" comic, using little profanity in his routines. He has had several successful comedy specials, including Mr. Universe and Jim Gaffigan: Obsessed, both of which received Grammy nominations. His memoir, Dad Is Fat (2013) and his most recent book, Food: A Love Story (2014), are both published by Crown Publishers. He co-created and currently stars in a TV Land television series based on his life called The Jim Gaffigan Show.

He collaborates extensively with his wife, Jeannie Gaffigan, and together they have five children. They are Catholics, a topic that comes up in his comedy, and live in Manhattan, New York.

Early life

Gaffigan was born on July 7, 1966 in Elgin, Illinois, and was raised in Chesterton, Indiana. He is the youngest of six children and often jokes about growing up in a large family. His father was a banker and the first in his family to attend college, and so encouraged his children to seek careers that promised job security. However, at about the age of five, his youngest son announced that when he grew up, he wanted to be an "actress," and as a teenager watched Saturday Night Live. Gaffigan attended La Lumiere School in La Porte, Indiana, and after graduating, attended Purdue University for one year, where he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. He transferred to Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, where he graduated in 1988 with a degree in Finance. He played football at Georgetown.

Craig Ferguson

Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-born American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, producer and voice artist. He was the host of The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, an Emmy Award-nominated, Peabody Award-winning late-night talk show that aired on CBS from 2005 to 2014. Ferguson began hosting the syndicated Celebrity Name Game in September 2014, and in February 2016 will host Join or Die with Craig Ferguson on History.

After starting his career in Britain with music, comedy and theatre, Ferguson moved to the United States where he found success in the role of Nigel Wick on The Drew Carey Show. He has written and starred in three films, directing one of them, and has appeared in several others, including several voice-over roles for animations. Ferguson has also written two books: Between the Bridge and the River, a novel, and American on Purpose, a memoir.

Early life and education

Ferguson was born in Stobhill Hospital, in the Springburn district of Glasgow to Robert and Janet Ferguson, on 17 May 1962, and raised in nearby Cumbernauld, growing up "chubby and bullied". He was raised Presbyterian. When he was six months old, he and his family moved from their Springburn apartment to a council house in Cumbernauld. They lived there as Glasgow was re-housing many people following damage to the city from World War II. Ferguson attended Muirfield Primary School and Cumbernauld High School. At age sixteen, Ferguson left Cumbernauld High School and began an apprenticeship to be an electronics technician at a local factory of American company Burroughs Corporation.