Chapter 5
TELEVISION
and the Power of
Visual Culture
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?
Food for thought:
How does
TELEVISION
impact your daily
life?
What are some of the
SOCIAL, CULTURAL,
and ECONOMIC factors
surrounding the mass
medium of TELEVISION?
EARLY TECHNOLOGICAL
DEVELOPMENTS
Late 1800s: cathode ray tube
1880’s: Nipkow’s scanning disk
1920’s: Zworykin’s iconoscope
1920’s: Farnsworth’s image
dissector tube
1930: Farnsworth patented first
electronic television
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
The Explosion of
Television
Soon after the FCC freeze
was lifted in 1952, over 400
television stations were in
operation
SINGLE SPONSORSHIP
Early TV programs usually
conceived, produced and
supported by one sponsor
Shows were extended
advertisements
Sponsors, not networks, had
total control over content
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 Scandal (1958-1959)
What effects did the
QUIZ SHOW
SCANDALS have on
television and its
audience?
NETWORK ERA
of Television:
1950s-1970s
NBC, CBS, ABC
Changes in TV industry
(late 1950s)
Networks moved
entertainment divisions to
Hollywood
Network news operations
(information divisions)
remained in New York
TV and Information Culture
Nightly news began in 1948 (Camel
News Caravan, NBC)
modeled after radio news
primarily a verbal report by an
authoritative anchorperson
images provided support
15-minute format
What advantages did
television news have
over newspapers or radio
news?
What disadvantages?
TV’s ENTERTAINMENT
CULTURE: THE GOLDEN
AGE OF TELEVISION
Situation/domestic comedy
Variety shows/sketches
Anthology dramas
Episodic drama series
Continuing serials
Which of these
TV genres still
exist today?
DECLINE of the
NETWORK ERA
TECHNOLOGICAL
CHANGES
GOVERNMENT
REGULATIONS
DEVELOPMENT OF
NEW NETWORKS
Technological
Changes
Cable/Satellit
e TV services
VCRs and
home videos
How did the VCR
affect Americans’
television viewing
habits?
GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS
Prime-Time Access Rule
(PTAR), 1970
Financial Interest &
Syndication Rules (“FINSYN”), 1970-1995
Justice Department ruling
limiting networks’ in-house
production, 1975
Emerging New
Networks
FOX TV, 1987
UPN (Paramount),
1995
WB (Warner
Brothers), 1995
ECONOMICS OF
TELEVISION
How are programs
produced and
distributed?
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
DISTRIBUTION of TV Shows
Networks send national programming
to affiliate stations
Each network has 150-200 affiliates
Network ownership of affiliates (O&O’s)
was limited by FCC
Local affiliates sell local ad time
Affiliates have local control and choice
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)
Types of Syndication
Off-network
First-run
Hybrid
TV Ratings Systems
Survival of programs depends upon
whether advertisers are happy with
demographics of the audience
RATING= statistical estimate of % of
households watching that program
SHARE= statistical estimate of % of
households with TV’s turned on watching
that program
Alternatives to
commercial TV
PUBLIC TELEVISION
PUBLIC ACCESS TV
e.g. Paper Tiger Television
How could your voice and
vision be seen and heard?