TV Licensing reveals hotspots across the country where monochrome remains king

More than 7,000 households in the UK are still watching television in black and white, more than 50 years after the advent of colour programming.

London has the largest number of black and white sets at 1,768, followed by the West Midlands with 431 and Greater Manchester with 390.

In total, 7,161 UK households have not switched to colour transmissions, which started in 1967.

The TV Licensing spokesman, Jason Hill, said: “Over half of the UK’s TVs now connect to the internet so it’s interesting that more than 7,000 households still choose to watch their favourite shows on a black and white telly.

“Whether you watch EastEnders, Strictly or Question Time in black and white on a 50-year-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.”

 

 

 

In 1967, Billie-Jean King was the first woman to lift the Wimbledon title in colour on British screens (seen here in black and white). Photograph: Popperfoto

Regular colour broadcasts began on BBC Two in July 1967 with the Wimbledon tennis tournament. The number of black and white licences issued each year has since been in steady decline since. In 2000, there were 212,000 black and white TV licences but by 2003 that number had shrunk to 93,000. By 2015, the number had dipped below 10,000.

The television and radio technology historian Jeffrey Borinsky said: “There are hundreds of collectors like myself who have many black and white TVs. Who wants all this new-fangled 4K Ultra HD, satellite dishes or a screen that’s bigger than your room when you can have glorious black and white TV?

“Thirty years ago, you could still buy black and white TVs, mainly small portables, for as little as £50 and it’s interesting to know that some of people still have them.”

London has the largest number of black and white sets at 1,768, followed by the West Midlands with 431. Photograph: neamov/Getty Images/iStockphoto