television: broadcast and beyond

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Televis ion: Broadca st and Beyond Resource Textbook: Ralph E. Hanson, Mass Communication: Living in a Media World

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Page 1: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

Television:Broadcast and Beyond

Resource Textbook:Ralph E. Hanson, Mass Communication: Living in a Media World

Page 2: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 3: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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

Page 4: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

Examples of Live TV, Late 40s

• Texaco Star Theatre, Milton Berle• Political campaign/Swifts Bacon• NBC Promo Howdy Doody• Howdy Doody Theme Song

Page 5: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 6: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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

Page 7: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 8: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 9: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 10: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 11: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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

Page 12: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 13: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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

Page 14: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 15: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 16: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 17: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 18: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 19: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 20: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 21: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 22: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 23: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

Black Entertainment Network• 1980: Washington, DC area local station• First black-owned cable network• Worth $2 billion at time it was sold to Viacom

Page 24: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.

Page 25: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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….)

Page 26: Television: Broadcast and Beyond

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.