Launch BBC One North

[Markymark]

BBC2 used to be regional. But they used to share playout with BBC1.

When the Philips test card G appeared on BBC2 in the afternoon in the 1979s it was in order to send news feeds down the line from the regional centres.

Even though BBC1 broadcast your regional news and had regional continuity the news reports aparently had to be sent over BBC2's local playout. It meant the network feed had to be switched to a regional test card with different music.

During this time regional news would be sent over the network but viewers never saw that  had there been no oot out you would have seen news reports played out for your local 1755 bulletins instead.

BBC2 remained regional and could opt out of network but they could not both opt out at the same time

Only BBC1 now has regional splits so BBC1 North can exist on four northern regions.

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 In the analogue era,  a BBC English region could opt on BBC 1 or BBC 2, but not both at the same time (although I think Bristol  could)?

BBC 1 and BBC 2 were separate distribution networks, both of which passed through your local regional studio on the way to the appropriate regional transmiiters.

If the BBC needed to feed material from London to one or more regions, it could either do it while they were opted out, or they could use the test card 'dead' time on either 1 or 2, and locally replace the test card with locally originated Test Card (G as you point out)

Feeding stuff back to London didn't involve any of the above, though places like Norwich and Southampton only had one primary BT vision circuit back to London, so the BBC had to share and co ordinate with Anglia and Southern, to avoid any comedy moments. I think that's why when the BBC were at Southampton or Portsmouth covering a football match,  they rigged their own microwave link back to London?