On 19th December 1932, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) launched the Empire Service.

The BBC was originally a private company, but quickly became a public service corporation, after that failed to be successful. By 1932, the BBC had been established for slightly more than 10 years, and had already been broadcasting for a while.

The Empire Service was launched in shortwave, and broadcast from Borough Hill in Daventry. The Empire Service is still going today, although these days it is called the BBC World Service, the world's largest international broadcaster, and it has since moved to other platforms as well as shortwave, such as internet streaming, podcasting, satellite, FM and MW, in 28 different languages.