television: broadcast and beyond
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Television:Broadcast and Beyond
Resource Textbook:Ralph E. Hanson, Mass Communication: Living in a Media World
Invention of TelevisionPhilo T. Farnsworth• 1922: Diagrams plans for television at age 16.• 1930: Receives patent cathode ray tube.• RCA attempted to promote its own Vladimir
Zworykin as inventor of TV.• 1947: Farnsworth’s television patent expires a year
before TV starts to take off.
Beginning of Broadcast Television• 1939: NBC starts broadcasting,
most sets in bars, restaurants.• 1942: TV manufacturing suspended
for duration of World War II; most stations go off air.
• Licensing of new TV stations suspended 1948–1952, leaving many cities without television.
Philco TV, pre 1940
Examples of Live TV, Late 40s
• Texaco Star Theatre, Milton Berle• Political campaign/Swifts Bacon• NBC Promo Howdy Doody• Howdy Doody Theme Song
Lucy & Desi End Live TV• 1951: Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz
create I Love Lucy.• First sitcom to be filmed, rather
than live.• Lucy and Desi hold onto
syndication rights to show. Still being broadcast today.
Color Television• 1950s: Early experiments in color TV. • 1965: Big Three networks broadcasting
in color• NBC peacock logo designed to tell black-
and-white viewers that a show was in color
• Early color TVs cost the equivalent of big screen TVs today
Beginning of Cable Television• Community Antenna Television (CATV)
Early form of cable television used to distribute broadcast channels in communities with poor television reception.
• Relatively expensive, was source of a good TV signal, not additional programming.
Rebirth of Cable• By mid-1970s, FCC began loosening rules on cable
companies.• 1975: HBO starts providing programming
nationwide, sending signal to local cable companies via satellite.
• Key Point: HBO could send programming to 1,000 cable companies as cheaply as to one.
Ted Turner—Cable Pioneer• 1963: Inherits failing billboard company from
father.• 1970: Buys Channel 17 in Atlanta.• Buys Atlanta Braves and Hawks sports
franchises to provide programming for channel.
• Turns Channel 17 into Superstation WTBS in 1976, takes the local station national.
Ted Turner – Cable Pioneer• 1980: CNN becomes first cable 24-hour news
network.• Developed idea of repackaging content across
multiple channels.• 1996: Turner Broadcasting faces financial trouble, is
acquired by media giant Time Warner.
What’s on Cable?• Affiliates of Big Four broadcast networks• Independents and smaller network affiliates• Superstations• Local-access channels• Cable networks• Premium channels• Pay-per-view• Audio services
Home Recording• Late 1970s: Videocassette Recorder (VCR)
becomes household appliance.• Movie studios fight spread of VCRs, but 1984
Supreme Court decision says consumers can make recordings for own use.
• 21st century: DVRs, DVDs, on-demand replacing VCR technology.
Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS)• Early satellite TV required
large/expensive dish.• Smaller pizza-sized DBS cheaper,
easier to use than old systems; competing with cable.
• As of 2008, 24% of American households have DBS.
Satellite dish art
Conversion to Digital Broadcasting• Farnsworth’s television technology was analog. Basic
technology stayed the same for decades.• Black-and-white televisions could still receive new
color signals.• In 2009, all broadcast television converted to digital,
old-style analog sets went dark without either conversion box or cable/satellite.
Digital Television• High-definition television (HDTV)
High-resolution, wide-screen format with enhanced sound.
• Standard digital televisionSame quality as analog, but can broadcast up to six channels in airspace that carried one old-style channel.
Networks and Affiliates• Broadcast networks provide programming to local
affiliate stations.• Affiliates have license from FCC, equipment, and local
staff.• If affiliate carries programming from network, get
limited ad revenue and (may) get carriage fee.• Can also carry local and syndicated programming, keep
all ad revenue.
Public Broadcasting• 1967: Corporation for Public Broadcasting
created.• Public Broadcasting System (PBS) provides
network-like programming to member stations.
• PBS initially known for children’s programming like Sesame Street.
Big Three Becomes Big Four• 1986: Rupert Murdoch launches Fox
Network• Attracted independent stations by
offering them free programming.• Shows like NFL football, The Simpsons,
American Idol, and House have made Fox top-rated broadcaster.
Audience Ratings• Challenge of rating major and minor broadcast
networks, major cable networks, and minor cable networks.
• Problem of counting DVR audiences.• Nielsen Media Research is major rating
company.
Measuring Audiences• People Meters used in larger markets• Sweeps periods used to measure audience size of
individual stations• Rating point
Percentage of potential television audience actually watching the show.
• SharePercentage of television sets in use tuned to a show.
An Earthquake in Slow Motion• 1976: Average viewer has 7 channels, Big Three networks
have 90 percent of viewers.• 1991: Average viewer has 33 channels, Big Three lose
one-third of viewers.• 1998: VH-1 out-earns three of four top broadcast
networks.• Cable/Satellite more profitable because programming
cheaper to produce, get subscription fees and ad revenue.
Diversity on Television• Networks frequently criticized for ignoring people of color.• 2008 study showed television much whiter than American
population.• But shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Lost have done “color
blind” casting.• Grey’s Anatomy producer says shows need to move
beyond the “sassy black friend.”• Growth of non-English speaking characters.
Black Entertainment Network• 1980: Washington, DC area local station• First black-owned cable network• Worth $2 billion at time it was sold to Viacom
Television as a Social Force• Television brings world into the home in an easy-
to-consume format.• Television becomes dominant source of shared
experience.• Television can dominate people’s leisure activity.
Audience Members as Active Consumers
Why do children choose to consume television?• To be entertained• To learn things• For social reasons• Different children watch for different reasons and get
different outcomes from their viewing• (They aren’t that different from adults….)
Standards for Television• 1950s: Married couples had to sleep in separate
beds; Capri pants immodest.• 1990s: Mild nudity appears on broadcast television.• 1997: Broadcasters implement content ratings.• 2004: Janet Jackson’s Super Bowl “wardrobe
malfunction”; decency rules become much stricter.