Television History 2

1
Television History 2

• Broadcasting begins
• American television and genres

2
The first TV-demonstrations

• Supported by General Electric Company and
  Westinghouse Charles Francis Jenkins demonstrates
  his device to journalists in1923
• Three week demonstration of John Logie Bairds
  electromechanical system at Selfridges in London
  1925
• Westinghouse Electric radio-movies
  demonstration at KDKA radio stations in 1928
• Dr. Vladimir K Zworykin 1929 introduces the
  kinescope he has patented to a scholarly public.
  Zworykin develops a system in which the image is
  divided into two fields
• RCA demonstration at the New York World
  Exhibition in 1939

3
First broadcasts in Europe

• Germany
• Televising of the Berlin 1936 Olympics (180
  lines)
• Only a few Volksfernsehen are sold
• Broadcasts also during the war (441 lines)
• Britain
• BBC Broadcasts from Alexandra Palace in London
  1936-39 (405 lines)
• Varied programming for two separate hours on
  weekdays
• Equipment was expensive and only a few thousand
  were sold
• Activities discontinued as the war begun

4
BBC pre-war television programming

• Quizzes
• Music and revue numbers
• Cricket and boxing matches
• Outside broadcasts
• Drama - from Shakespeare, Shaw and Coward to
  light entertainment
• Special broadcasts
• Coronation of George VI
• Neville Chamberlains return from Munich

5
Television broadcasts begin in the USA

• In 1939 RCA sells television sets on the promise
  of 15 h of broadcasts daily through NBC
• NBC and CBS begin regular TV broadcasts in New
  York in 1939
• National Television System Committee (NTSC,
  1940) 525 lines
• FCC commercial broadcasting may begin on
  1.6.1941? Commercial television broadcasting
  begins in the USA
• 22 permits are granted but only 7 companies begin
  operation
• War halts all but technical development
• After the war 15 television stations begin
  broadcasting

6
The expansion of television in USA

• Newsweek in1948 Television is spreading like a
  disease
• 1949 two million sets sold
• 1951 twenty million sets sold
• 1959 fifty million sets sold, more than 600
  television stations in operation

7
Development and adaptation of technical standards
- colour technology

• FCC decides in favour of VHF (very high
  frequency) instead of UHF (ultra high frequency
  range)
• In 1950 FCC approves of CBS colour standard
• CBSs first colour broadcast is seen only through
  some two dozen sets invisible show
• 1953 FCC reverses its decision in favour of NTSC
  standard for which RCA controls most patents
• Walt Disneys Wonderful World of Colour becomes a
  hit in 1961 ? next year RCA announces a million
  dollar profit from sales of colour sets

8
The three colour systems

• NTSC (National Television System Committee )
  USA, Japan
• PAL (Phase Alternation Line) Western Europe
• SECAM (Système Électronique Avec Mémoir) France,
  Eastern Europe

9
William Paley (CBS)

• First we have an obligation to give most of the
  people what they want most of the time. Second,
  our clients, as advertisers, need to reach most
  of the people most of the time. This is not
  perverted or inverted cause and effect, as our
  attackers claim. It is one the great strengths of
  our kind of broadcasting that the advertisers
  desire to sell his product to the largest section
  of the public coincides with our obligation to
  serve the largest cross section of our audience.

10
Ideas about television drama

• Script writers should take into account the
  limitations of the shooting scenes should take
  place almost exclusively in small interiors and
  include max. 3-4 actors.
• Directors should limit themselves to close-ups.
• Many critics noticed that television drama was
  characterised by intimacy which allowed for
  character development.
• The style of acting in television is determined
  by the conditions of reception there is simply
  no place for florid gesture, the over projection
  of emotion, the exaggeration of voice or grimace
  of movement inside the average American living
  room. (Gilbert Seldes,1950)

11
NBC on the need of control in television in 1945

• Because the visual impression is apt to be more
  vivid and detailed and because to be understood
  it requires less imaginative response on the part
  of the observer than does an auditory impression,
  television must be much more carefully supervised
  if it is to avoid giving offence. This means that
  vulgarity, profanity, the sacrilegious in every
  form, and immorality of every kind will have no
  place in television. All programmes must be in
  good taste, unprejudiced, and impartial.

12
Networks and affiliates

• The network pays to its affiliates for
  broadcasting its programmes (network
  compensation)
• The network gathers the nationwide advertising
  income from this programme time
• The affiliate
• is paid for broadcasting nationwide programmes
• is able to broadcast high quality programming
• can sell advertising time for local business
  (typically 1 min/h)

13
Practices of American television broadcasting

• Prime time / fringe hours
• Series /serial programming
• Target group / programming Saturday morning
  cartoons for children, afternoon soap operas for
  housewives etc.
• Least objectionable programming attempting not
  to alienate any part of the audience
• Block programming similar programmes one after
  the other on the same evening
• Hammocking a less popular programme inserted
  between two popular ones
• Counter-programming broadcasting different kind
  of programme than the popular programme of
  another network

14
National Association of Television Program
Executives - NATPE

• A global, non-profit organization dedicated to
  the creation, development and distribution of
  televised programming in all forms across all
  mature and emerging media platforms.
• develops and nurtures opportunities, both
  commercial and educational, for buying, selling
  and sharing of content and ideas.
• Agenda at the first formal meeting in 1964
• The Networks Relationship to Local Programming
• Where Do You Find Talent?
• Governments Influence on Programming
• Successful Formats for Handling Politicians
  Political Issues

15
Practices outside the networks

• First run programmes shows produced specifically
  for the local stations and not seen on the
  networks.
• Syndication the practice of selling rights to
  the presentation of television programs,
  especially to more than one customer such as a
  television station, a cable channel, or a
  programming service such as a national
  broadcasting system

16
Two types of syndication

• off-network syndication The first run of a
  program has been on a national network, then the
  program is marketed for subsequent runs to other
  programmers.
• first run syndication A program is initially
  made to be sold to programmers other than the
  major networks.

17
The main genres on American television

• Variety shows
• Television drama
• Talk shows
• Game shows
• Westerns
• Police detective series
• Sitcoms
• Soap
• Miniseries
• Docudramas

18
Famous American television serials

• The Ed Sullivan Show (originally Toast of the
  Town, CBS 1948-1971)
• I Love Lucy (CBS, 1952-57)
• The Flintstones (ABC, 1960-64)
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (NBC,
  1962-92)
• The Monkees (NBC,1966-68)
• Rowan Martin's Laugh-In (NBC, 1968-73)
• 60 Minutes (CBS, 1968- )
• The Mod Squad (ABC, 1968-73)
• All in the Family (CBS, 1971-79)
• MASH (CBS, 1972-83)
• Saturday Night Live (NBC, 1975-)
• Charlies Angels (ABC, 1976-1981)
• Soap (ABC, 1977-81)
• Roots (ABC, 1977)
• Holocaust (NBC, 1978)
• Hill Street Blues (NBC, 1981-87)