Communications. Television technology

Television technology was invented in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the United States, Britain, Germany, and elsewhere. As early as the 1920s, many experts predicted that television would soon become popular. One research scientist predicted in 1925 that all American households would have TV sets by 1930.

The diffusion of television was retarded, however, by the Great Depression of the 1930s and subsequently by World War II. Not until after the war ended in 1945 did television begin to diffuse rapidly. In 1945 there were only seven commercial television stations operating in the United States. Shortly thereafter, Americans embraced television as zealously as they had the automobile; in fact, production of television sets boomed from 6,476 in 1946 to 1.7 million in 1949.

At this time, critical decisions by the Federal Communications Commission resulted in long-lasting impacts on the geography of television. Although ultra-high-frequency television capability was already feasible, the Commission authorized the development of stations only on very-high-frequency (VHF) channels. Because only twelve VHF channels (Channels 2 through 13) exist, the number of stations in any metropolitan area was restricted to six or seven.

This strongly encouraged centralization in American television and worked to the advantage of the major national networks. By 1950 over half of all commercial programming was provided by NBC, CBS, and ABC. Of the ninety-eight American television stations in operation in 1950, ninety-two were network-affiliated. Only six stations, three in New York and three in Los Angeles, remained independent. Ten years later, 96 percent of operating stations in the United States were network-affiliated.

The dominance of television by the major networks worked to the advantage of large industrial corporations that bought advertising time on nationally broadcast network programs. In 1951, the largest advertisers on American television included Proctor & Gamble, General Foods, Colgate-Palmolive, Ford Motor Company, and several national tobacco companies. Television advertising contributed to the concentration of industrial production in the hands of a few major corporations that could afford large advertising budgets.

The dominance of the three major networks went unchallenged until the recent emergence of a series of technological innovations. The invention of the videocassette recorder (VCR) enabled viewers to record television programs and watch them at a later time. In addition, viewers could fast-forward through commercials. The camcorder, a unit consisting of a lightweight hand-held TV camera and a VCR. enabled ordinary individuals to create their own television programs. Tornadoes, fires, and other disasters filmed by amateurs have been shown on national and international television networks.

An even more dramatic challenge to the dominance of the major networks has been the advent of cable television. Originally, cable television was developed to provide television service to places distant from large cities. The geographic range of VHF stations is limited to a radius of sixty or seventy miles. Cable technology enabled these signals to be picked up at collection points and transmitted to distant subscribers.

Thus, the diffusion pattern of cable television is the reverse of the traditional hierarchical pattern. Cable television diffused from outlying rural areas to major metropolitan areas. Many of the major cable stations are highly specialized. ESPN and Prime Ticket carry sports exclusively; TNN is devoted to country music: and several stations specialize in religious programming. The audience level needed to sustain cable programming is considerably lower than that needed to sustain the major commercial networks (Figure 9-20).

Figure 9-20 Television. Television is an important form of entertainment, not only in North America, but around the world

Cable television has also enabled the possibility of two-way mass communication. Many cable television programs are locally based and sponsored. Some permit viewers to telephone in their opinions or otherwise communicate interactively with program sponsors.

Television-Program Settings. The initial centralization of television franchising ensuredthat the major networks and their studios would dominateprogramming. The three major networks were all based inNew York, which became the center of television production. By the mid-1950s, movie studios in southernCalifornia had branched out into television production.Since that time. American television has been dominatedby programs originating in New York and Los Angeles.

Not surprisingly, a disproportionate share of these programs are set in or around these cities. Relatively few are set elsewhere, although in recent years a sizeable number of other cities have been represented. For example, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was set in Minneapolis and "Dynasty" was based in Denver. The venues of other shows are evident from titles like "WKRP in Cincinnati." "Hawaii Five-Oh." "The Streets of San Francisco." "Miami Vice." and "Dallas."

Even though the action in these shows allegedly took place in other cities, close examination reveals that many were actually filmed in southern California. Viewers of "Scarecrow and Mrs. King." which supposedly takes place in Washington. D.C., will notice palm trees in the background and cars with California license tags on the streets. Such place substitution in the filming of movies and television programs is by no means unusual. "The Paper Chase." which allegedly takes place at Harvard Law School, was filmed at the University of Southern California.