BBC Look East


Look East is the name of two separate BBC regional television news programmes for the East of England made by BBC East.

History

The first BBC television news bulletins for the East of England began on 5 October 1959. These bulletins were only three minutes in length. The programme was extended to 10 minutes in 1962 and named East Anglia at Six Ten, and then in 1964 to 20 minutes and renamed Look East. Look East is broadcast from BBC East's headquarters at The Forum, Norwich. Prior to 29 September 2003, the programme aired from studios in St Catherine's Close, Norwich.
The programme can be watched in any part of the UK on Sky Digital channel 961, and channel 962 for the "west" sub-regional service from Cambridge or Freesat channels 953 and 954, on the BBC UK regional TV on satellite service. The services were added to the Sky Digital platform on 29 July 2003 and were available on Freesat from launch.
In 1997 Look East launched the sub-regional service, Close Up, for viewers covered by the Sandy Heath transmitting station and its relays. The opt-out allowed the two sub-regions to provide, during the main evening programme, around 10 minutes of news relevant to their area.
Since 2018, there are two completely separate Look East programmes at all times - Look East - East which covers Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, and Look East - West which covers Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire, parts of Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Broadcast times

On weekdays, Look East broadcasts six three-minute opt-outs during BBC Breakfast at 27 and 57 minutes past each hour. A fifteen-minute lunchtime programme follows at 13:30 before the main 27-minute edition at 18:30. A seven-minute late update is shown at 22:30, following the BBC News at Ten.
Look East also airs three bulletins during the weekend: two early evening bulletins on Saturday and Sunday and a late night bulletin on Sundays, following the BBC News at Ten. The times of these bulletins usually vary.