Television

1
Chapter 5

• Television
• and the Power
• of Visual Culture

2
Some guiding questions

• How did TELEVISION first develop?
• What was the role of sponsors?
• When was the Network Era of TV? How did it end?
• How are TV programs produced and marketed today?
• What is the role of TV in our culture and society?

3
Food for thought

• How does TELEVISION impact your daily life?

4

• What are some of the SOCIAL, CULTURAL, and
  ECONOMIC factors surrounding the mass medium of
  TELEVISION?

5
EARLY TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS

• Late 1800s cathode ray tube
• 1880s Nipkows scanning disk
• 1920s Zworykins iconoscope
• 1920s Farnsworths image dissector tube
• 1930 Farnsworth patented first electronic
  television

6
Early TV broadcasting 1940s

• 1941 ten stations on VHF band
• 108 stations by 1948 (major cities only)
• FCC concerned about frequency allocation
• FCC FREEZE on new licenses 1948-1952

7
The Explosion of Television

• Soon after the FCC freeze was lifted in 1952,
  over 400 television stations were in operation

8
SINGLE SPONSORSHIP

• Early radio and TV programs usually conceived,
  produced and supported by one sponsor.
• Shows were extended advertisements.
• Sponsors, not networks, had total control over
  content.

9
The Collapse of Sponsorship How networks gained
control of programming

• Increased program length (raised production costs
  for sponsors)
• New concept of magazine programming, with sales
  of spot ads
• Introduction of Spectaculars (TV specials) with
  multiple sponsors
• Quiz Show Scandals (1958-1959)

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What effects did the QUIZ SHOW SCANDALS have on
television and its audience?
11
NETWORK ERA of Television1950s-1970sNBC,
CBS, ABC
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Changes in TV industry (late 1950s)

• Networks moved entertainment divisions to
  Hollywood.
• Network news operations (information divisions)
  remained in New York.

13
TV and Information Culture

• Nightly news began in 1948.
• Modeled after radio news
• Primarily a verbal report by an authoritative
  anchorperson
• Images provided support
• 15-minute format

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• What advantages did television news have over
  newspapers or radio news?
• What disadvantages?

15
TVs ENTERTAINMENT CULTURE THE GOLDEN AGE OF
TELEVISION

• Situation/domestic comedy
• Variety shows/sketches
• Anthology dramas
• Episodic drama series
• Continuing serials

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• Which of these TV genres still exist today?

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DECLINE OF THE NETWORK ERA

• TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES
• GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS
• EMERGENCE OF NEW NETWORKS

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TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES

• Cable/Satellite TV services
• Non-network stations
• VCRs and home videos

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• How did the VCR affect Americans television
  viewing habits?

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GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS

• Prime-Time Access Rule (PTAR), 1970
• Financial Interest Syndication Rules
  (FIN-SYN), 1970-1995
• Justice Department ruling limiting networks
  in-house production, 1975

21
Emerging New Networks

• FOX TV, 1987
• UPN (Paramount), 1995
• WB (Warner Brothers), 1995

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ECONOMICS OF TELEVISION

• How are programs produced and distributed?

23
PRIME-TIME PRODUCTION

• Programs created by film studios and independent
  production companies
• Programs licensed to networks for a licensing fee
  (for 2 airings)
• Networks sell ad slots to advertisers
• DEFICIT FINANCING Production companies lose
  money on network airing, but recoup it in
  syndication

24
DISTRIBUTION of TV Shows

• Networks send national programming to affiliate
  stations.
• Each network has 150-200 affiliates.
• Network ownership of affiliates (OOs) was
  limited by FCC.
• Local affiliates sell local ad time.
• Affiliates have local control and choice.

25
SYNDICATION OF TV PROGRAMS

• Local TV stations and cable firms can buy
  syndicated programs.
• They acquire exclusive local market rights for
  specific length of time.
• Syndicated programs dominate hours outside prime
  time (fringe time).

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Types of Syndication

• Off-network
• First-run
• Hybrid

27
TV Ratings Systems

• Survival of programs depends upon whether
  advertisers are happy with demographics of the
  audience.
• RATING statistical estimate of percentage of
  households watching that program.
• SHARE statistical estimate of percentage of
  households with TVs turned on watching that
  program.

28
Alternatives to commercial TV

• PUBLIC TELEVISION
• PUBLIC ACCESS TV
• E.g. Paper Tiger Television
• How could your voice and vision be seen and
  heard?