Television, Cable & Specialization in Visual Culture Chapter 8 Mass Media Industries

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The Impact of Television on American Life Continually evolving to adapt to changes in technology, business models, and viewer demands. Since its inception in the 1950s, TV has provided a touchstone for national events. New platforms have increased accessibility to TV but …. Dynamic quality of TV today.

The Early History of Television Evolution of the medium Early inventions included the “scanning disk” Two notable individuals emerged during this “development stage” – Philo T. Farnsworth and Vladimir Zworykin – patent wars Each sought to develop a way to send pictures through air waves to a distant point. prehisto.html prehisto.html

The Entrepreneurial Stage: Setting Technical Standards Before an industry could develop, certain agreements were necessary. The National Television Systems Committee (NTSC) organized to represent the interests of the major constituents FCC adopted an analog standard for broadcast (525 line image).

Broadcast Technology A standard-definition video using the NTSC method, traditionally used for analog television broadcasting, has 525 scan lines (480 effective scan lines) per frame.

1930s TV was written about in trade magazines i.e. Science Magazine 1937 RCA Test Chart

Mass Medium Stage FCC, 1940s, assigned certain channels to airwave frequencies. Limited by geographic area (signal interference). After WWII (TV delayed), by mid-50s, more than 400 TV stations nationally. Color TV followed but black & white sets prevailed.

Controlling TV content As TV took off, broadcast networks tried to exert more control over programming. Like radio, TV was dominated by single sponsors.

Changes TV extended the program times from 15 from radio to 30 minutes and an hour. Appearance of the “magazine” format with multiple segments. Today and Tonight shows. Began to run adverts in different time segments.

Quiz Show rigged By the end of the decade, 22 shows airing. The most notorious “rigging” was on the show Twenty-One & Charles Van Buren Resulted in quiz shows being banned from prime time.

Introducing Cable CATV –Community antenna television

Evolution of Network Programming Information: Network News – By the 60s, the 3 networks had 30 minute nightly news shows. Affiliate stations would rebroadcast in different time zones. Cable networks began to draw off viewers, CNN.

How do affiliates work? O&Os are owned and operated affiliates usually in the largest media markets. – WABC, WCBS, WNBC, WNJU (Telemundo), WNYW (Fox). Largest markets will also have network affiliates. – Tribune Broadcasting’s WPIX serves as the NY affiliates for the CW Television network, which does not have an O&O in Chicago. – Independently owned & under no obligation to show programming.

TV killed the radio star Comedy – most programs were aired live and did not survive. Kinescopes Film – I Love Lucy Videotape invented and the birth of reruns followed. – Sketch –Legacy of vaudeville, Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, today SNL – Situation (Sitcom)

Entertainment Drama Anthology Drama brought live theater to viewers, known as teleplays. Often presented complex, hard to solve human problems which advertisers didn’t like. Episodic Series – main characters week to week, different problems. – Chapter Shows – self-contained stories. – Serial Programs – open-ended, soap operas, hybrid shows mixing drama with comedy.

Talk Shows & TV Newsmagazines Tonight Show – 60 Minutes Reality TV (don’t be fooled, these programs are scripted). Public TV P3Q P3Q

The Evolution of Cable Programming Competition to the networks came from cable in the form of HBO – Home Box Office & WTBS, Ted Turner’s Atlanta based station. Each provided a mix of old and new programming. Narrowcasting enabled cable companies to offer “packages” that provided different options of programming & services for a price.

Cable Programming Basic Cable/Expanded Cable AMC’s Breaking Bad – CNN MTV Premium Channels Pay per view Video on demand

Regulatory Challenges Restricting broadcast networks control of prime time – Prime Time Access Rule (PTAR) reduced networks control from four hours to three. Meant to encourage more local programming, public affairs, and news. – Instead played reruns, quiz shows, infotainment. Financial Interest and Syndication Rules or fin-syn prohibiting networks from forming their own syndication companies to just replay reruns.

Reining In Cable’s Growth- (haha) Initially, the FCC blocked cable from showing distant TV programming (out of state). – National Association of Broadcasters lobbied Congress to restrict cable’s growth. 1970s, satellites made cable programming accessible. – FCC made must-carry rules (local programming). – Access channels free to local citizens, educators, – Local governments. – Leased channels-citizen broadcasting

Cable, is it print? Or broadcast? Cable categorized itself an electronic publisher. Others said they were Common carriers – services such as phone companies landmark case of Midwest Video, U.S. Supreme Court upheld lower court decision that cable companies control content. Run on franchises ensued.

Telecommunications Act of 1996 Eliminated restrictions that kept ownership of stations to eight (8) in a market. Act deregulated cable and other forms of mass media, including radio and television. Also allowed regional and national phone companies to enter into the cable market. Instead of competition, monopolies have emerged, Comcast. Networks are the biggest player on cable.

What say you? Susan Crawford, The Captive Audience