| Theme Music Composer: | David Lowe |
| Country: | England, United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Producer: | BBC News BBC West |
| Location: | Broadcasting House, Bristol, England |
| Camera: | Multi-camera |
| Runtime: | 30 minutes (main 6:30pm programme) |
| Channel: | BBC One West |
| Last Aired: | present |
BBC Points West is the BBC's regional TV news programme for the West of England, covering Bristol, the majority of Wiltshire (excluding the city of Salisbury) and Gloucestershire, northern, eastern and parts of western and southern Somerset, and northern parts of Dorset.
BBC television news from Bristol began on 30 September 1957 with a five-minute bulletin on weeknights[1] serving what would later become the BBC's South, West and South West regions of England. The first bulletin, which survives as a telerecording, was presented by actress Armine Sandford – the first woman to regularly present a BBC television news bulletin.[2]
The launch of the BBC's regional TV bulletins came ahead of the rival ITV services provided by TWW, which began in January 1958, and Southern Television, which launched the following August.
Around this time, the West Region bulletins were obliged to share a ten-minute timeslot with news bulletins for Wales as the Wenvoe transmitter on the outskirts of Cardiff was serving viewers in both South Wales and the West Country.
This arrangement continued even after separate bulletins for the South and South West regions were introduced in 1961. Thus, when the newly launched Points West was given a ten-minute slot on 17 September 1962, it shared its slot with Wales Today.
The launch of a dedicated BBC Wales television station in February 1964 finally allowed Points West to become a full-length regional news programme broadcast only to the West of England. This was more than seven years before a similar regional news service would be introduced by HTV West.
Between June 1991 and May 2000, the programme was known as BBC News West before reverting back to its original title.
The programme covers the whole of the West Country which includes Bristol, Somerset, the majority of Wiltshire and Gloucestershire and along parts of north Dorset.
Southeastern parts of Wiltshire such as Salisbury and Tidworth is served by South Today broadcast from Southampton. Television signals in those areas are received from the Rowridge and Hannington transmitters. Some eastern parts of Swindon can not get signals from the Mendip transmitter on Freeview but instead receive the Oxford transmitter that also broadcast South Today.
Freeview viewers in north of Gloucestershire around Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury receive better television signals from the Ridge Hill transmitter which broadcast Midlands Today from Birmingham. However, those areas receive Points West on Channel 101 through satellite television such as Freesat as default via the towns' postcodes.
Western parts of Somerset and Taunton Deane areas receive better television signals from the Stockland Hill transmitter that broadcast Spotlight from Plymouth on Freeview.