COM 215
Media History
Television and Cable
“I find television very educating. Every
time somebody turns on the set, I go
into the other room and read a book.”
― Groucho Marx
Outline
 Early Television
 Development of Cable
 3rd and 4th screens
 Discussion
[Break: 7:25pm]
 Media Specificity – Flow and Liveness
 Major Programming Trends
 Single Camera vs. Multi-camera
 Alternative Television
 TVTV, VideoFreex, Paper Tiger TV
Early TV
Cathode Ray Tube
Scanning Disk
Early TV
Image Dissector Tube
Scanning Disk
Early TV: setting technical standards
Regulating Television
Communication Act of 1934
1948 FCC halts new licenses
1952 NTSC solves interference,
issues new licenses
1954 Color standard approved (CBS)
VHF, UHF
1967 Public Interest Programming
Early Forms of Sponsorship
Single Sponsorship Model
Early Forms of Sponsorship
Single Sponsorship Model
Television’s potential
Quiz show scandal “Twenty One”
Television’s potential
1961 FCC Commissioner Newton
Minnow’s “Vast Wasteland” speech
History of Cable TV
Cable TV (cont.)
Telstar (1960)
HBO (1975)
TBS (1976)
Narrowcasting . . .
Third and fourth screens
How does digital technology
change viewing habits?
What are the consequences
for culture and society?
“electronic hearth” and “digital encounter”
Major Programming Trends
Network News – “the Cronkite Moment”
Medium Specificity
TV defined not by content, but
simultaneous experience
“flow”
“the defining characteristic of
broadcasting”
“liveness,” “pseudo-liveness”
Television: Technology
And Cultural Form
Medium Specificity
Flow and liveness in digital age
DVRs, TIVO, online streaming,
syndication
Live chats, liveblogging, Voting on
American Idol
Spoiling, fast pace of fan
communities
Television: Technology
And Cultural Form
Major Programming Trends
Comedies
sketch
sitcom
domestic comedy
Major Programming Trends
Major Programming Trends
Multicamera setup
Major Programming Trends
Drama
Anthology dramas and miniseries
Episodic series
Chapter shows
Serials
Hybrids
Major Programming Trends
Single Camera shoot
Major Programming Trends
Reality TV
“Naked and Afraid”
Fake Reality TV?
“Siberia”
Regulatory Challenges
1970 Prime Time Access Rule (PTAR)
1970 Financial Interest and Syndication
Rules - fin-syn
1972 (1965) must-carry rules
1972 access channel mandates
Midwest Video Case
Electronic publisher or common carrier
Telecom Act of 1996
90% have only one local cable company
Discussion: Regulatory Challenges
How has the regulation of television and cable shaped
television programming (kinds of programs produced and
allowed to air)?
 1970 Prime Time Access Rule (PTAR)
 1970 Financial Interest and Syndication Rules - fin-syn
 1972 (1965) must-carry rules
 1972 access channel mandates
 Midwest Video Case
Electronic publisher or common carrier
 Telecom Act of 1996
90% have only one local cable company
TV Ratings – recap
Nielson Ratings (= ad rates/CPM)
Methods (narrowcast, quantitative)
who and how many (ratings and share)
DMA’s
Impact on programming (live or die)
Current trends
Social Media
Television Studies