Bradford West Yorkshire is the home of the National Media museum which was previously called the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television. It is the most visited museum in the entire UK except for London with an average of over 600,000 visitors a year. The place where the museum was built used to be the home of a theatre and art gallery that was the center of Bradford. The museum opened in its former name in June of 1983.

On opening day the largest theater screen in Britain was revealed. The screen was as high as a 5 story building and IMAX capable. In 1986 two interactive galleries devoted to television were created to honor the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of public TV. The galleries let visitors experience what it is like to operate a studio set with cameras and vision mixers plus a full sound and lighting system. The galleries are still available today.

1989 marked the 150th anniversary of the development of photography and to celebrate the museum created the Kodak Gallery. The gallery hold over 10,000 items that show the history of photography since its conception. Later there was a usable television studio built that was utilized by TV-am and also Nickelodeon. It is now used by University of Bradford students through their School of Informatics. TV Heaven was created in 1994 and offered the only place to access the collection of television programs the museum holds.

In August of 1997 the main site closed for a redevelopment that made it fourth largest to integrated 3D films into IMAX theater. It was reopened in June of 1999 by the actor Pierce Brosnan which is what lead to it to become the most visited museum in the UK. The museum received its new name in December of 2006. It is free to visit except for the theater and special exhibits. It is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. There are special tours available on Mondays. The museum is currently the home of BBC's local offices and their Radio Leeds studio plus their website development for the area.

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