Rediffusion
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Broadcasting, Telecommunications, Consumer electronics |
| Founded | March 1, 1928 |
| Founder | Joshua Powell |
| Fate | Dismantled by end of 1980s; brand revived later |
| Headquarters | Crawley (for Redifon division) , United Kingdom |
Area served | United Kingdom, British colonies (Barbados, Malta, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Jersey, Liberia, Sierra Leone) |
Key people | Joshua Powell (founder), Michael Aldrich (CEO of Redifon Computers from 1980s) |
| Products | Wired radio and television signal distribution, cable TV services, television and radio rentals, telecommunications equipment, flight simulators, minicomputers |
| Parent | British Electric Traction (from 1967 controlling interest) |
Rediffusion was a firm specializing in the distribution of radio and television signals through wired relay networks. It gave rise to several enterprises, notably Associated-Rediffusion (later known as Rediffusion London), which became the inaugural ITV commercial franchise holder in the UK. In 1968, the company introduced Rediffusion International Music, a record label that also operated the short-lived Koala label.
Up until 1981, the designation Redifon referred to Rediffusion's divisions focused on capital goods: Redifon Computers, Redifon Flight Simulation, and Redifon Telecommunications.
The Rediffusion brand has since been revitalized and is presently applied to consumer electronics in China and LED television sets in the UK.
Early history
Rediffusion was the commercial name for Broadcast Relay Service Limited, established in March 1928 by Joshua Powell (1871–1946).
In January 1929, it inaugurated its first cable radio service in Hull to address reception difficulties. Subscribers required only a selector switch and loudspeaker. The service primarily retransmitted BBC Radio programming, inspiring the name "Rediffusion," which means "broadcasting again."
The company broadened its scope to include manufacturing, leasing, and retailing radios both for its cable network and general use. With experimental television broadcasts emerging in the early 1930s, Rediffusion began producing television sets and providing "Piped TV," an early form of cable television, until transmissions were halted during the Second World War.
Rediffusion's initial international expansion occurred in Barbados in 1934 through Radio Distribution (Barbados) Limited. In 1935, it extended operations to Malta, commencing broadcasts from Hamrun on 11 November under "Broadcast Relay Service Malta Limited," overseen by Charles Whotcroft with George Powler as chief engineer.
Post-war
In 1947, British Electric Traction (BET) acquired a significant minority stake in Rediffusion, eventually gaining controlling interest in 1967 and purchasing the remaining 36% by 1983. Despite some misconceptions, BET did not have control over Rediffusion from its founding.
In 1948, Rediffusion established Redifon Ltd to produce telecommunications equipment for naval and aviation applications.
After the war, Rediffusion expanded into multiple British colonies via its subsidiary Overseas Rediffusion, which held licenses for wired and broadcast radio and television stations and managed advertising sales. Important markets included Barbados, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Jersey. In 1949, it formed Rediffusion (Channel Islands) Limited in Jersey, launching a relay service in 1950 and creating a manufacturing arm named Television Research Limited (later Reditronics Limited) in 1952.
With financial support from BET, Rediffusion leveraged the post-war surge in television demand starting from 1946 by installing cable TV systems in London apartment buildings and expanding beyond London while also marketing and renting television sets.
Expansion into broadcasting
Following the enactment of the Television Act 1954, Rediffusion collaborated with Associated Newspapers (a division of Daily Mail and General Trust) to create Associated-Rediffusion, which secured the London weekday ITV franchise. Broadcasting commenced on 22 September 1955.
Although initially operating at a loss, by late 1956 Associated Newspapers divested 80% of its shares back to BET and Rediffusion at a substantial loss. Subsequently, Associated-Rediffusion negotiated a profitable agreement with Granada Television, the financially weaker franchise holder for Northern England weekdays. This arrangement stabilized Granada’s finances while directing most future earnings to Associated-Rediffusion.
On 29 September 1962, Rediffusion (Malta) Ltd initiated television broadcasting throughout Malta.
By 1964, Associated-Rediffusion rebranded as Rediffusion London and had accumulated considerable cash reserves. This financial strength influenced the Independent Television Authority's decision in 1967 to restructure the company. Rediffusion London merged with ABC Weekend TV (which held weekend franchises for Midlands and Northern England), forming Thames Television. Although ABC was financially weaker, it became the majority owner. Thames Television took over the London weekday franchise while ABC’s previous franchises were reassigned.
Rediffusion Cable
Rediffusion provided a cable television and radio distribution service in numerous UK towns, utilizing multiple twisted-pair cables, each dedicated to a single broadcast channel with limited bandwidth. Channel selection was managed through a rotary switch positioned near the cable entry point, allowing televisions and radios to operate without built-in tuners. Although this system was phased out by the late 1980s, remnants of the infrastructure can still be found in some locations.
Overseas Rediffusion
Through Overseas Rediffusion, BET and Rediffusion Limited held broadcasting and wired radio and television concessions across former British colonies. This division also handled advertising and programming sales. Prominent markets included Barbados, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Malaysia, Malta, Liberia, Thailand, and Hong Kong, where the wired TV service eventually transformed into Asia Television.
Rediffusion Rentals
The retail arm of Rediffusion focused on renting and maintaining televisions, radios, VCRs, and hi-fi equipment until Granada Rentals acquired it in 1984.
Final years
Following the introduction of colour television broadcasts in 1967, Rediffusion experienced growth in TV sales and rental services. In Malta, after an employee sit-in strike in 1975, ownership of Rediffusion's assets was transferred to the Maltese government.
The company experimented with local cable innovations such as Bristol’s community television station from 1973 to 1976 and implemented an optical fibre system in Hastings in 1976.
Redifon, established in 1946 and headquartered in Crawley, West Sussex, became a leading manufacturer of aircraft simulators by 1948. It expanded to the United States by opening a division in Arlington, Texas in 1968 and was renamed Rediffusion Simulation in 1981. The company was sold to Hughes Aircraft in 1988 and later acquired by Thomson-CSF in 1994; it merged with Link-Miles to create Thomson Training & Simulation (now operating as Thales Training & Simulation). The fixed-wing segment was divested to L3 Group in 2012 under the name L3 Commercial Training Solutions.
Redifon Computers (later known as Rediffusion Computers), also based in Crawley, evolved from producing analogue flight simulator controls into developing minicomputers and enterprise systems. Under CEO Michael Aldrich from 1980 onwards, it pioneered online shopping platforms primarily within the UK and expanded into Eastern Europe and Russia during the 1980s. Significant clients included Gazprom for its Siberian Gas Pipeline initiative. The company also developed advanced technologies such as signature recognition for detecting cheque fraud and postcode recognition systems utilizing Post Office databases.
In 1984, Aldrich led a management buyout that established ROCC Computers (Rediffusion's Old Computer Company), becoming sole proprietor after purchasing other shareholders’ stakes.
By the 1980s, Rediffusion’s cable operations had fallen behind emerging networks. BET, having become sole owners in 1983, divested overseas holdings; by the end of the decade, Rediffusion was dismantled. The rentals division was sold to Granada while cable networks were transferred to Maxwell Communications.
Reditronics Jersey was sold to SCK Holdings in 1986 but ceased operations in 1987 following BET’s withdrawal from cable services. The Jersey cable system was sold to Jersey Cable Limited (currently Newtel Solutions) in 1988.
In 1991, Asia Television (formerly Rediffusion Hong Kong) returned telerecordings of four missing Doctor Who episodes to the BBC, preserving important archival material.