History of Television

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History of Television

• Who invented the telegraph?
• Who invented the telephone?
• Who invented radio?
• Who invented television?

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History of Television

• Electronic media is important because
• We spend so much time with it. Only one more
  daily activity takes up more of our time.
• It helps create and support icons of pop culture
• It provides shared experiences
• It is the primary ambassador of American culture
• It shapes our language, our values, our
  political, social and religious beliefs, our
  fashion sense and our lifestyle.

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History of Television

• We need to be media literate to understand its
  impact on our lives and to become discriminating
  consumers who can make good media choices.

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History of Television

• Communication is an essential part of being
  human. We live to express ourselves, especially
  to each other. We have always found ways to send
  messages to each other.
• Point-to-point communication refers to one
  signal sent to one receiver.
• Mass communication is sending one message to
  many different receivers.

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History of Television

• Why do we call it broadcasting?
• How are television and radio different from
  newspapers, books and magazines?

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History of Television

• Radio emerged as a maritime service during World
  War I. Early radio was simply a means of
  point-to-point communication.
• In 1920, Congress allowed private citizens to use
  radio waves, setting the stage for radio
  broadcasting to become a commercial and
  entertainment enterprise. Congress sanctioned a
  private monopoly GE, ATT, Western Electric and
  the United Fruit Company to control radio. The
  five combined their patents to form RCA.
• Messages could now be sent to a large number of
  people simultaneously. Radio became Americas
  second mass medium.

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History of Television

• The Radio Act of 1920 set guidelines for the new
  industry and established three key components
  that still exist today
• The Spectrum is a national resource
  individuals do not own frequencies they license
  their use from the federal government.
• Licensees must operate in the public interest.
• Government censorship is forbidden.

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History of Television

• Radio burst onto the scene and experienced
  incredible growth. KDKA in Pittsburgh became the
  first commercial radio station on November 2,
  1920 -- broadcasting news of election returns. In
  1922, there were 28 commercial radio stations.
  Just six months later there were 378. Early radio
  stations were often owned by newspapers or
  department stores.
• Radio entrepreneurs favored the American Plan
  over the European Plan. American Plan proposed
  that radio stations would be supported by
  commercial revenue European Plan relied on
  government financing as well as control.
• About 12 million U.S. homes had a radio in 1930,
  nearly half of the population. By 1940 that
  figure was 28.5 million. Car radios became
  standard equipment.

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History of Television

• The Communications Act of 1934 created the
  Federal Communications Commission.
• The concept of network programming emerged with
  NBC Blue, NBC Red, CBS and Mutual leading the way
  as program providers.
• Stars of stage, screen and vaudeville flocked to
  this new medium that skyrocketed across the
  country.
• Early programming consisted of live music,
  dramas, soap operas, comedies and news.

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History of Television

• Radio networks stimulated national advertising,
  brought urban entertainment to rural areas and
  changed American politics. Radio provided a
  diversion to the Great Depression.
• Franklin Roosevelts fireside radio chats
  enabled citizens to hear their president on a
  regular basis.
• Radio continued to thrive during the 30s and
  40s and especially during World War II.

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History of Television

• Television had been in development since the 20s
  and there were experimental broadcasts in the
  30s. TV was introduced to the public at the 1939
  New York Worlds Fair, but development stalled
  during WWII. David Sarnoff, the head of RCA, and
  William Paley, the head of CBS, became
  instrumental in the growth of the television
  industry.
• 10 television stations were on the air in 1945.
  By the end of the decade, more than half the
  population had access to television.

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History of Television

• TV sets went on sale in 1946. A small black and
  white set cost 200, a console 2500. The median
  income in the United States was 3000. TV grew so
  fast and the demand for station licenses was so
  great that the FCC declared a freeze on new
  stations.
• In 1953, the FCC issued the Sixth Report and
  Order which helped address the problems
  associated with the tremendous growth of
  television.
• A table of channel assignments provided TV
  service to all parts of the United States
• New UHF channels (14-69) were opened up to add to
  the old VHF channels (2-13)
• The Commission set standards for color television
• 242 channels were set aside for noncommercial
  (public) stations

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History of Television The Fifties

• The fifties became the golden age of television.
  In the fifties, more TV sets (70 million) were
  sold than children born (40 million).
• In 1952 there were 108 TV stations. Ten years
  later there were 541. Today there are about 1,600
  stations in the U.S.
• Early programming included news, sports, game
  shows, sitcoms, childrens programming, variety
  shows and dramas. Most programming was live.
  Videotape was also introduced late in the decade.
• The big three networks ABC, CBS and NBC
  dominated programming. On any given night more
  than 90 percent of viewers were watching one of
  the big three.
• The first issue of TV Guide appeared April 3,
  1953, at the cost of 15 cents.

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History of Television The Sixties

• The sixties brought significant changes to the
  television landscape.
• Television journalism came of age thanks to
  several significant events in American and
  broadcasting history.
• Networks expanded their nightly newscasts to 30
  minutes.
• Technology enhanced TVs ability to go live.
• FCC suspended its equal time requirement for
  presidential and vice presidential candidates,
  paving the way for the four televised Great
  Debates between Richard Nixon and John Kennedy.
• Kennedy began televising his press conferences.

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History of Television the Sixties

• The space race heated up and networks routinely
  covered each launch.
• In 1963 President Kennedy was assassinated in
  Dallas. Networks suspended their regular
  programming and commercials for four days. An
  estimated 93 percent of American homes watched
  the presidents funeral and burial.
• Americans were presented nightly images of the
  escalating war in Vietnam, student demonstrations
  against the war and the increasingly violent
  civil rights movement.
• CBS anchor Walter Cronkite earned the title, the
  most trusted man in America.

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History of Television The Sixties

• In 1961, FCC chairman Newton Minow called
  television a vast wasteland.
• Cable television enabled residents in outlying
  geographical areas to receive television signals
  and programming.
• The Broadcasting Act of 1967 created the
  Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which
  channeled money into programming and station
  development. Two years later, CPB created PBS.
• Late in the decade, Vice President Spiro Agnew
  used a series of speeches to accuse the media of
  a liberal bias a tag still used today.

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History of Television The Seventies

• HBO, one of the first cable companies, extended
  its service from the Northeast to nationwide via
  satellite.
• Ted Turner began using satellite to distribute
  the signal of his Atlanta UHF station, WTGG, to
  national cable systems as a superstation.
• Broadcasting using satellite technology gave news
  organizations the ability to go live from
  almost anywhere in the world. President Richard
  Nixons trip to China was televised live by all
  three networks in 1972.

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History of Television The Seventies

• Congress banned cigarette advertising despite
  complaints from broadcasters that the new
  regulation would cost them more than 200 million
  in revenue.
• The FCC instituted the Prime Time Access Rule to
  try to rein in the networks and give independent
  television stations a boost.
• Syndicated programming continued to expand and
  the number of locally produced television
  programs fell significantly.
• Network programming continued to dominate
  primetime. Many programs focused on socially
  relevant issues.

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History of Television The Eighties

• Cable television began to dramatically change the
  landscape of the industry. No longer just a
  relay service, cable operators began to offer
  alternative programming. In 1980 cable
  penetration stood at 20 percent. By the end of
  the decade, 60 percent of American homes received
  cable.
• CNN signed on the air on June 1, 1980. Other
  cable networks soon followed. Cable networks
  began to take a significant percentage of viewers
  and advertising dollars from the dominate Big
  Three networks.
• Networks faced tough financial times and
  significantly cut staff and news resources to
  save money.

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History of Television The Eighties

• Remote controls and VCRs changed the way people
  watched television.
• Deregulation became the mode of operation at the
  Federal Communications Commission.
• Fox entered the fray as the fourth network.
• Primetime soap operas riveted large audiences and
  Bill Cosby single-handedly revived the sitcom
  genre.

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History of Television The Eighties

• The switch from analog to digital transmission
  begins in earnest. High-definition television
  begins a slow, but steady growth in programming.

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History of Television The Nineties

• In 1989, Time, Inc. and Warner Communications
  merged to create the worlds largest media and
  entertainment company. That set the stage for
  more media mergers in the nineties. Disney bought
  ABC/Cap Cities, Time-Warner purchased Turner
  Broadcasting (and then later merged with AOL) and
  Westinghouse bought CBS and then sold it to
  Viacom.
• The FCC raised its ownership cap on radio
  stations from 12 to 18 to 20 and allowed
  duopolies. In 1999 the cap was eliminated. Later
  in the decade the FCC removed its cap on the
  number of TV stations an owner can own, but
  instituted a cap on national audience reach.

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History of Television The Nineties

• In 1995 the WB and UPN began offering primetime
  programming. Thanks to deregulation and the
  repeal of financial syndication rules, the
  traditional broadcast networks, while still
  losing audience share, regained their status as
  powerful television influences.
• News programming became a constant presence and
  programming source. Entertainment programmers
  continued to push the envelope.
• In 1996, the Telecommunications Act eliminated
  cable-rate regulation and allowed telco-cable
  competition.

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Television History The 21st Century

• Corporate mergers continue to reduce the number
  of voices heard in the television marketplace.
• Digital television (high def) becomes more
  prevalent.
• Reality programming becomes TV's favorite
  programming genre.
• TV programming becomes available through the
  internet, Ipods, cell phones, etc.