Chapter 9 Television: Broadcast and Beyond

Invention of Television Philo T. Farnsworth 1922: Diagrams plans for television at age : Receives patent cathode ray tube.

Invention of Television

Beginning of Broadcast Television 1939: NBC starts broadcasting, most sets in bars, restaurants.

Beginning of Broadcast Television Covered occasional special events – such as the British King and Queen's visit to the New York World's Fair and the the Republican National Convention in 1940 from Philadelphia.

Beginning of Broadcast Television 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. This was because the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was grappling with allocation problems for FM and television, and getting both services up and running.

Lucy & Desi End Live TV 1951: Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz create I Love Lucy which airs on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, First sitcom to be filmed, rather than live.

Lucy & Desi End Live TV

Was sponsored by Phillip Morris. Additional AdsPhillip MorrisAdditional Ads Lucy and Desi hold onto syndication rights to show. Still being broadcast today.

Color Television 1950s: Early experiments in color television 1965: Big Three networks broadcasting in color. ABC – NBC - CBS NBC peacock logo designed to tell black-and- white viewers that a show was in color

Color Television Early color TVs cost the equivalent of big screen TVs today. The RCA Victor sets cost $1,000 in 1954 about the same price as a Chevrolet car.

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 (ABC – CBS – NBC – FOX) broadcast networks Independents and smaller network affiliates Superstations (WSBK – TBS – WWOR) Superstations Local-access channels Cable networks (CNN – Nickelodeon – USA) Premium channels (HBO –Showtime) Pay-per-view Audio services

Home Recording Late 1970s: Videocassette Recorder (VCR) becomes household appliance. $1350 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.

Conversion to Digital Broadcasting Farnsworth’s television technology was analog. Basic technology stayed the same for decades. 525 Lines of resolution, 30 interlaced frames per second and a 4x3 aspect ratio.

Conversion to Digital Broadcasting 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 Standard digital television Same quality as analog, but can broadcast up to six channels in airspace that carried one old-style channel.

Digital Television High-definition television (HDTV) High-resolution, wide-screen format with enhanced sound. 720 or 1080 Lines of resolution, 30i, 24P, 30P frames per second and a 16x9 aspect ratio.

Digital Television

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. 1990s: PBS expands audience with programming like Ken Burns documentaries.

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. Share Percentage 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 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.

Spanish Language Broadcasting Univision is fifth largest broadcast network; often top rated in urban areas. Spanish-language telenovelas popular, produced in Mexico, Brazil. (Brazilian shows translated from Portuguese to Spanish.)

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.

Future of Television Video-on-demand Interacting with programming: iPad and AMCiPad and AMC Convergence of television and Internet

TEST II Chapters 7-9 Wednesday 4.11 – NO MAKEUPs Multiple Choice, Fill in the Blank, True/False and one short answer for each chapter Based on PPT Presentations, Online resources (Study Cards and Online Quizzes)