 Television: The Early Years RTV 3007 Intro to Television

Radio is Still in Charge  Stations still used radio to pay for TV programming  In 1947 ABC allowed pre-recorded material on radio, creating first disk jockeys by major network

The TV Boom  After World War 2, people saved money to buy TV sets.  Improvements in picture quality  Taverns rushed to acquire TV sets to show sports

Early TV Sets

1948 – US Vs Paramount Pictures  US Supreme Court anti-trust case broke up the movie industry’s vertical monopoly.  Movie studios could no longer own movie theaters  The US would no longer restrict imports of foreign films  US movie industry reinvented itself  Hollywood laid off hundreds of writers, directors, producers, actors  These Hollywood expats migrated to New York to try their hand at television

TV in 1949  About 1 million TV households in US. (Population 149 million)  Almost all TV was local & broadcast live.  National programming aired live in New York, was recorded on film, and shipped to affiliate stations in other parts of the country for airing later.  First Emmy Awards Ceremony broadcast from LA in January  Drama and comedy shows were produced like stage plays.  Variety and talk shows took their inspiration from Vaudeville,

1947 – Meet the Press  1947 – Meet the Press  Longest-running US TV program  Started as radio show in 1945: The American Mercury Presents: Meet the Press  First host: 2E2eJC/EmbeddedOffSite?guid=n _maddow_ablock_  meet-the- press/ #  Democratic and GOP National Conventions televised

TV in 1949  Texaco Star Theater with Milton Berle (Uncle Miltie).  v=ghqvldZ7Wso v=ghqvldZ7Wso  “Law and order” television was popular. Law and order series were produced as formulaic episodes.  Because of Cold War, bankers and businessmen could not be portrayed as bad guys on TV  Clips of TV shows from 1949: OsrOHAhk8 OsrOHAhk8

Follow That Man  Top-ranked TV show. Produced live. Later called Man Against Crime.  Could not gauge length of show. At the end of the show, always a scene where the star looked for clues. It would be timed to the amount of time left.  Sponsored by Camel cigarettes. Bad guys could not smoke cigarettes. The show could not cover arson because fires might tie to cigarettes. No one could cough  Broadcast live Was considered very violent.

Birth of Public Television  1950 – Council on Educational Television is created  President Eisenhower appoints Freida Hennock, first woman to the FCC, to head this commission.  1951 – Ford Foundation report showed that Americans witness more than 2970 acts or threats of violence on TV in one week  In 1952 the FCC reserves some TV channels (both VHF and UHF) for educational TV, creating National Education Television (NET) which became PBS in the 1970s.

1951 – America Loves Lucy  First TV show filmed instead of broadcast live.  Filmed before a studio audience (no laugh track).  Pioneered multi-camera technique.  Produced in Hollywood. (Ended NYC’s hold on TV)  Lucy & Desi were TV’s first “interracial couple”  Top-rated TV show after 1 year  January 19, 1953 – Lucy character has her baby on TV. Nearly 70% of all TV sets were tuned in to watch.

1951 – America Loves Lucy  Because Lucy & Desi owned the rights to the show, they became the first multi- millionaire TV stars.  Since its initial broadcast in 1951, I Love Lucy has never stopped airing on TV. 

TV in 1952  TV moves to pre-recorded content rather than live broadasts  TV expands internationally – Europe, Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Cuba  Political parties focus on TV over radio.  Eisenhower wins TV through scripted presentations: arrival of hero, speech, departure of hero.  Nixon’s Checkers speech. (17:00)  Radio changes its format to compete with TV