Television output in the United Kingdom is limited to three main channels. Two of these are controlled by a public corporation, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC); one is operated by a number of commercial companies under the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA). Both the BBC and IBA have expanded their educational output in recent years and cooperate with each other in broadcasting to schools. Over the past ten years one or the other of the broadcasting companies has provided a weekly series, extending over a school year, which deals specifically with learning to read. The earlier programs used a central figure in the role of teacher, and their shape and form followed a normal classroom lesson very closely. In 1970 a series was written which attempted to bridge the gap between pre-reading and reading, taking in a pre-school as well as a starting school audience. The human teacher was no longer used and the series was written around the fantasy world of animated puppets. The programs were essentially a stimulus. The teaching was left to the teacher in the classroom. Another recent development has been the production of a series for slow learners based on the thinking of a research team, rather than one particular author. (WR)