Television

1. Television Broadcast and Beyond

2. Television: Broadcast and Cable/Satellite The Invention of Television • Philo T. Farnsworth: • developed the central concepts of television at age fourteen • the lines of a tilled potato field supposedly the inspiration behind the technology • September 7, 1927: “There you are, electronic television.”

3. Vladimir Zworykin: • working to develop television for RCA • filed for a patent 1923 • U.S. patent office ruled in favor of Farnsworth • RCA lost, and had to pay royalties • television development halted for World War II • Farnsworth’s patents expired in 1947

4. The Beginning of Broadcasting • 1939, NBC transmitted television broadcasts from the New York World’s Fair. • From 1948 to 1952, the licensing of new television stations was frozen: • needed to give the FCC time to determine best way to regulate television • early, popular programming included comedy and variety shows, some dramas.

5. The Arrival of Color Television • In 1959- only three shows were regularly shown in color: • NBC peacock logo • By 1965, all three major networks were broadcasting in color. • Cost of early color sets was very high.

6. Cable and Satellite Television • Community Antenna Television • pioneered by the Parsons family of Astoria, Oregon • connected a cable to an antenna to strengthen signal • became known as community antenna television (CATV) • up until the 1970s, cable was a way to get a better signal, not more channels

7. Satellite Distribution and the Rebirth of Cable • By the mid-1970s, FCC relaxed regulation. • Home Box Office (HBO) began in 1975. • Satellite systems had advantage over networks: • hundreds of cable systems could obtain the programming as cheaply as one

8. Ted Turner • on December 27, 1976—Superstation WTBS • created Cable News Network (CNN) and CNN Headline News • TNT, Cartoon Network, and Turner Classic Movies • in 1996 Turner Broadcasting bought by Warner Brothers: • merger allowed Turner access to more media

9. Two-thirds of Americans have cable; 12.9 percent in the United Kingdom. • Types of Cable Programming: • affiliates of the major broadcast networks • independent stations and minor network affiliates. • superstations (WTBS, WGN, etc.) • local-access channels • cable networks (MTV, CNN, BET, etc.). • premium channels (HBO, Showtime, etc.). • pay-per-view channels • audio services

10. Hollywood and the VCR • initially two incompatible formats, costly • by 1991, VCRs found in seven out of ten homes

11. Universal and Disney sued Sony over its promotion of the VCR for recording movies: • 1984—U.S. Supreme Court ruled that viewers had the right to record copyrighted programs for their own use • VCR ownership peaked in 1999 (89 percent).

12. Direct Broadcast Satellites • 1990s—advent of the low-earth-orbit direct broadcast satellite • fall 2006—in approximately 26 percent of U.S. homes • head-to-head competition with cable • specialized programming (NFL package)

13. Digital Television • All television broadcasting in the United States is scheduled to be digital by February 17, 2009: • Two digital formats: • high-definition television (HDTV)—a wide-screen format, high resolution picture • standard digital television—allows multiple channels to be delivered on same frequency

14. On November 1, 1998 Space Shuttle Discovery launch: • first nationally-broadcast digital program

15. From Broadcasting to Narrowcasting: The Changing Business of Television • The Big Three: • NBC, CBS, and ABC • television network—companies that provide programs to local stations around the country • network makes money from national advertising: • network affiliate keeps all ad revenue from programming they produce/carry

16. Educational Broadcasting Becomes Public Broadcasting • Public Broadcasting Act of 1967: • established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting • funding for noncommercial programs on Public Broadcasting System (PBS) • Sesame Street—November 8, 1969 • popular documentaries

17. FOX Network: • on the air in 1986 in six out of ten top U.S. markets • string of popular programs • “stole” NFL away from Big Three networks

18. Defining Ratings • Nielsen Media Research: • tracks television usage in 9,000 U.S. homes • uses PeopleMeters in large markets, viewer diaries in smaller markets • sweeps—quarterly viewership measurement • rating point—the percentage of the total potential television audience for a show • share—the percentage of sets actually tuned to a particular show

19. An Earthquake in Slow Motion • 1976—nine of ten people were watching network television • by 1991—Big Three lost a third of audience • more channels on cable • Big Three networks sold to new owners in 1985 • broadcast networks’ revenue plummeted in the 1990s • cable programs cheaper to produce • cable channels have both a subscription fee and-advertising revenue

20. Television News Goes 24/7 • began with brief coverage of the 1940 Republican national convention on NBC • by 1948, both parties’ conventions were covered • 1947—Meet the Press • TV’s longest-running news/commentary program • August 1948—CBS airing nightly fifteen minute news show • CBS coverage of 1956 sinking of the Andrea Doria • in 1963, CBS and NBC expand to half hour nightly news broadcast (ABC in 1967)

21. November 3, 1979—Americans held hostage in Iran • ABC started a nightly news update at 11:30 p.m. EST. • show eventually became Nightline • 1980—CNN goes on air • 1991 Gulf War—attracted large audience with its twenty-four-hour coverage • by 2003 Iraq War—had significant competition • by 2002, FOX News getting higher ratings than CNN

22. Diversity on Television • 1999—Big Four networks introduced twenty-six new shows • none featured a nonwhite lead character • Fall of 2006 • thirty-two of the forty-three new shows featured Hispanic, African-American, and Asian-American actors • Lost • featured diverse cast (interracial couple, non-English speaking actor)

23. Univision and Spanish-Language Broadcasting • Univision—Spanish-language broadcast network: • fifth largest broadcast network • Telemundo • Telenovelas—Spanish soap operas • Make up fifteen of the top twenty Spanish-language programs

24. Black Entertainment Television (BET) • reaches 60 million households: • 12.5 million black households • started in 1980 in Washington, D.C. • purchased by Viacom • attracting advertisers who want to reach nonwhite audience

25. Audience Members as Programmers: Public Access Cable • Channels air public affairs programming and other locally produced shows. • More than 15,000 hours of programming are produced annually on 2,000 stations. • Most programming is conventional, but some is controversial.

26. Television and Society Television as a Major Social Force • Time spent watching television: • average person watches about four hours per day • fifteen hours per week actively watching, twenty-one passively watching • Americans spend half their leisure time with TV • at any given time in the evening one third of Americans watching TV (over 50 percent in winter) • children spend four hours per day watching television or videos

27. How Do Viewers Use Television? • Reasons identified in the “Television in the Lives of Our Children” study: • to be entertained • to learn things or gain information • for social reasons • Study found children watched the same program for different reasons.

28. Bringing the World into Our Homes • TV breaks down the physical barriers that separate people. • TV provides a view into formerly separate worlds. • People everywhere in the world have access to information simultaneously.

29. Standards for Television • Set by each network’s own standards and practices department: • to ensure the network did not lose viewers or sponsors because of offensive content • Implemented a two-part rating system in 1997: • G, PG, TV-14, TV-MA, S, V, L, and D • use ratings to warn, rather than restrict

30. The Problem of Decency • 2004 Super Bowl halftime show: • FCC received more than 500,000 complaints about the “wardrobe malfunction.” • Rules state no indecent material between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.: • no single standard for what constitutes broadcast indecency

31. Future of Television Interactive Television • multiple versions of single channels • DVRs • video-on-Demand • online voting to decide outcome of shows, polls

32. The Earthquake In Slow Motion Continues • Video games as mass communication: • In 2006, nearly 94 million persons aged two and older played a video game in the last three months of the year. • Two-thirds of all men 18–34 have at least one video game console in their homes.

33. Convergence of Television and the Internet • On Wednesday, October 12, 2005, video iPod debuted: • Apple partnering with Disney to sell ABC's top rated shows through iTunes. • Apple is selling programs to consumers, instead of audiences to advertisers. • Now there are multiple ways to watch a network broadcast show. • Networks are figuring out how to compensate affiliates for digital purchases of programming.