1. Chapter 7 Television

2. Goals of this chapter • We will discuss the history and progression of the television industry • We will examine some social implications of television, and TV content

3. TV History • TV Pioneers • 1922 – 15 yr. old, Philo Farnsworth (tractor, hay, Idaho) earned a patent for the television • Experimental transmissions (Jenkins and Baird) came in 1925 • The First home broadcasts arrived in 1928 • The BBC was the first TV service in 1936 • The U.S. started regular broadcasts in 1939 • FCC set standards in 1941, but development stopped during WWII • Following WWII, advancements in TV cameras, microwave technology and the invention of coaxial cable thrust TV into high gear

4. TV History (cont’d) • The FCC Freeze 1948-1952 • With 108 stations and 1 million TV sets in the U.S., the FCC needed a frequency assignment plan • They put a ban on new channels from broadcasting • wary of the perceived shortage of frequencies available • By 1952, 15 million sets (1 in 3 American homes) • In 1952 the Sixth Report and Order rules allotted • VHF (very high frequencies) channels 2-13 • Prospered thanks to more power and integration of receivers into TV sets • Limited to a maximum of 3 licenses per major city—resulting in 3 national networks • UHF (Ultra-high frequencies) channels 14-83 • set aside channels for educational broadcasting

5. TV History (cont’d) • The Golden Age (Late 1940s-Early 1950s) • TV was black and white • Most programs were broadcast live • Recall in Back to the Future, they “tuned in” only to find static, waited and the broadcast began • TVs didn’t have constant programming • TVs used Antennas that needed adjustment • Remote controls weren’t invented until 1955 • Dramatic programming typically had new casts every week (like Twilight Zone) • TV news began to significantly influence public affairs in 1954—with McCarthy’s televised public hearings

6. TV History (cont’d) • The Big Three (NBC, CBS and ABC) • NBC stages the first network TV broadcast in 1946 and also the first prime-time lineup two years later • Network TV wasn’t profitable until 1951 • Network Content initially was imported from their respective radio programs • First Network TV “Star” was Milton Berle (on NBC’s The Texaco Star Theater) • Popular enough that people reportedly bought TVs just to watch his show—movie theaters emptied on nights the show aired

7. TV History (cont’d) • Introduction of Advertisements • Early programs would have only one sponsor • Book gives example of a chorus resembling Texaco station attendants • Later, with longer programs, it was too expensive for only one sponsor • Spot Advertisements were introduced in minute-long segments • Expansion into more American homes • In 1956, 2/3 of American houses had television • This created a more generalized audience than the initial group of more well-educated, affluent, urban individuals • Programs such as drama anthologies and public affairs programs were no longer satisfying the audience • Ratings took over, measuring the proportion of television households that watch a specific show • In 1951, in response to consumer and economic demand • Sitcoms were introduced: I Love Lucy (Gave CBS dominance) • Game shows (No scripts, no professional actors = cheap… reality TV?!) also became popular in the mid-50s

8. TV History (cont’d) • TV courts Hollywood • I Love Lucy was the first TV show to be filmed in Southern California • ABC’s first series was Disneyland in 1954 (finally bringing ABC up to network parity with the other two) • Show renamed: Walt Disney Presents (1959), Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color (1961 on NBC), The Wonderful world of Disney (1967), Disney’s Wonderful World (1979), to CBS Walt Disney (1981-3), The Disney Sunday Movie (1985), The Magical World of Disney (1997) on ABC • By 1957 virtually everything except for soap operas and news programs relocated to Hollywood • Eventually (as discussed previously) movie studios began selling broadcast rights of their films to TV networks • Beginning in 1961 with NBC’s Saturday Night at the Movies

9. TV History (cont’d) • Troubling Times and Public Disenchantment • 1958 game show scandal – loser complained that answers were supplied to the winner • 1960 – presidential debate (Kennedy vs. Nixon) • 1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis • 1963 – Kennedy Assassination & Funeral • This period showed coverage on Vietnam, Civil Rights and antiwar protests and rallies • Many blamed TV as being a counterculture device • Surgeon General Warning: Exposure to Television might be related to violence (seriously).

10. TV History (cont’d) • Competition for the Big Three Emerges • Public Television: • FCC’s Sixth Report and Order set aside educational channels • Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 set aside funding with the Corporation of Public Broadcasting (CPB) based on taxes • Cable Television: • Expanded from initial rebroadcast of network programming, to premium cable networks (HBO) to advertising supported cable channels • Subscription TV: • single pay-to-unscramble UHF channels that didn’t last beyond the introduction of cable • Satellite: • enabled owners of the 6 ft. dish to get free programming from cable companies until they learned how to scramble the signal • Home Video: • VCRs appeared in 1975 and video stores spread rapidly in the 1980s; onset of time-shifting

11. TV History (cont’d) • Competition starts to take its toll • All of the Big Three get new owners in the 1980’s • New networks emerge as alternatives thanks to gov’t deregulation and improved prospects • Fox-1987, UPN, WB-1993 • Big Three revert to old strategy (circa 1950’s) • Cut production costs: Game shows, reality TV • Millionaire, America’s Funniest Home Video, Survivor • They have managed to attain decent sized audience with the latest wave of reality tv • By 1998 they have less than 50% of prime time audience

12. TV History (cont’d) • TV and the Information Age • Telecom Act of 1996 results in massive mergers • Disney buys ABC; Viacom buys CBS • 1998 saw the first HDTV station go live • FCC says: All TVs digital by 2006 • Industry moving too slowly, so… • FCC says: All TVs sold after July 2004, 34 inches or bigger must be digital (smaller sets in 2007)

13. TV Technology: TV Sets • 1884 – Paul Nipkow’s scanning principle • Persistence of vision and a linear progression of light spots • 1925 – First TV sets are created by Jenkins and Baird • Early “Tubes” electrical light and powder coating • CRT receivers (cathode ray tube) and the human eye • 1941 – the National Television Systems Committee (NTSC) sets American TV standards • 525 lines; 262 at a time—with interlacing • Digital television uses progressive scanning (60 fps) • French and German engineers improved the technology in the 1960s and this resulted in Pal and Secam formats • Modern high-def screens can be: • LCD – has 3 tiny solid state devices controlling light through three filters • Plasma – 3 miniature fluorescent lights at each pixel and are activated through wires running all over the screen • CRT – Also found in higher end projection equipment

14. TV Tech: Television Signals • TV uses Radio frequencies to transmit information • Northeast vs. Illinois, Kansas • Images are sent via AM carrier frequencies • Called “luminance signals”; color is attached to this same frequency (a form of multiplexing) • Sound is sent via FM frequency • Two major ranges of TV signals: • VHF – Very High Frequencies (Channels 2-13) • FM radio travels between channels 6-7---driving along hearing TV news or Friends (look in the upper 80s and low 90s) • UHF – Ultra High Frequencies (Channels 14-69)

15. TV Tech: Recording • Debut in 1956: the Jonathan Winters Show • Video Recording initially required large 2 inch reels of magnetic tape • Size was impractical for home use, but much more practical for TV studio’s • VCR (1975) was only possible thanks to helical scanning (record on a slant) • Still used in VHS (Video Home System—U.S.) • DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) – higher capacity than VHS, CD; higher quality too • Concern is pirating: MovieLink, MovieBeam • DVR (PVR) – TiVo and ReplayTV (Digital VCR) • VOD – cable company’s medium of choice

16. TV Tech: Digital Television • Already mentioned FCC ruling • Digital Television by Dec, 2006 (or when 85% of pop have HDTV-ready TVs) • Networks have to return the VHF bandwidth to the gov’t when they finally convert to digital • Thereby dropping radiowave broadcasts and Analog coverage • Aside from production facilities needing upgrades… Reruns must too be converted to digital (cost? $25,000) • HDTV doubles the number of vertical scan lines (to 1080) and widens the aspect ratio (16:9) • Provides clearer pictures and 6 channel surround sound • 6 times more information than SDTV • With digital television, things like interactive TV become more readily available and practical • DVRs, X-Boxes, and WebTV are pseudo systems

17. TV Industry: Major Players • 5 Major companies control the TV media today (2004) • Time Warner – WB, HBO, Cinemax, CNN, TNT, Cartoon Network, TBS… • Disney – ABC, ESPN (etc.), Disney Channel, Toon Disney, ABC Family shares in Lifetime, E!, A&E, and History Channel… • Viacom – CBS, UPN, Showtime, Spike, MTV, VH-1, Nickelodeon, BET, TV Land… • News Corp – Fox, FX, Fox News Channel, Fox Movie Channel, Fox Sports, Fox Kid’s, Speedvision… • General Electric – NBC, Telemundo, share of PAX, MSNBC, CNBC, part of AMC, A&E, History Channel, Bravo

18. TV Industry: Content Production by Genre • Entertainment – • prior to 1993 production companies simply sold first run rights to big networks • After Fin-Syn rules, most companies started producing in-house • Creation Stages • First 1000s of ideas are pitched to companies • Phone surveys narrow field down to several 100 • Scripts are written • A few dozen are made into pilots that are then shown to audiences in auditoriums and sometimes in regional broadcasts • Resulting reaction primarily determines whether it will reach the national airtime

19. TV Industry: Content Production by Genre (cont’d) • Network News • Can’t make money in syndication (just first run) • Evening news and magazines are mostly created in-house • Most now rely on local network affiliates, foreign services and wire services for video and content • CNN, FOX News and MSNBC have emerged as Cable news competitors • Advantage: 24 hr. coverage • Disadvantage: Much TV News coverage has come to resemble entertainment as they compete for viewers • Local News • Mostly comprised of newscasts or magazine-format shows • Quite profitable because they are popular with local people and advertisers

20. TV Industry: Content Production by Genre (cont’d) • Sports • Networks have to bid for the rights (from the leagues) to cover major events • ABC pays $500 million per year to broadcast Monday night football • They hire their own commentators, crew and producers • ABC spends another $3 million per year to produce it • PBS • Most public broadcasting programs are produced in the major cities (New York, LA, etc.) • Minority of programs (Sesame Street, Masterpiece Theater…) come from independent producers • Stations are Publicly funded at $250 million per year • Programming Executives in D.C. decide what goes on the air • Cable Production • Many cable systems produce local origination programming • UCTV and ECSU • Most Cable providers also supply local communities with a community access channel

21. TV Industry: Distribution • National Distribution • Commercial Broadcast Networks (CBS, NBC…) • These networks typically lose money • Big 3 earns over $3 Billion per year, but figure all costs and it adds up • Basic Cable Networks (ESPN, Discovery…) • Primarily derive revenue from national advertising and affiliate fees—some do open up local advertising spots • Pay Services (HBO, Cinemax…) • Revenue comes only from monthly subscriber fees • Pay-per-view • Public Broadcasting (PBS) • Is not technically a “network” but does distribute nationally through satellites • There are around 350 Public stations (including college) • Syndication • Local stations fill up time-slots with syndicated content • Cheaper than producing their own

22. TV industry: Distribution (cont’d) • Local Distribution • Group-Owned Stations (including the big 5) • Controlled by a company that owns several stations • Benefits through economies of scale • Network Affiliates • Local ABC station is not necessarily owned by Disney • Disney has a contract with them, allowing them to present content (in some cases paying them: affiliate compensation) • Independent Stations • Few still exist, however they would survive by only purchasing syndicated shows (no money for direct production) and selling local ad spots • Local Station Personnel sheet can be found on pg. 214

23. TV industry: Advertisers • Advertisers’ yearly expenditures? $36 Billion on broadcast networks and $14 million more on cable • National Advertisers • Sell general-consumption products (ex. soda) • Typically get first shot at buying blocks of air-time, called the up-front section • If they pass on the ads, then it goes to the spot ad, then scatter ad block • National Spot/Regional Advertisers • Sell products with a more limited appeal (ex. snow tires) • Local Advertisers • Auto dealers and supermarkets buy slots during local shows

24. TV Industry: Network TV • Major program classifications: • Early Morning: breakfast shows (Good Morning America) • Late Morning-Early Afternoon: soap operas and talk shows (Jerry Springer) • target housewives, older people and students • After School: cartoons, young adult comedies and teenage sitcoms (Saved by the Bell) • Early Evening: News, local and national & game shows • Prime Time: Sitcoms, dramas, and feature films • Late night: Talk shows, comedy and music • Targeting teenagers—who stay up later • Overnight: Old movies and syndicated series • Targeting shift employees, insomniacs and young adults

25. TV industry: Cable Programming • Goal is to switch viewers away from networks • Strategies employed: • Bridging: scheduling programs to run past the hour/half hour (TBS and x:15, :05) • Programming clock found in radio (Weather channel) • Niche channels for narrowcasting (OLN) • Genre channels CNN (news), ESPN (sports)