Television has changed the way we live. Television has become the main source of entertainment for many people. It is also an important form of communication since many people watch news shows, political shows, commercials, etc.  According to A.C. Nielsen, the television rating company, the average American watches over four hours of television a day. Other than sleeping, it is the most common daily activity.  

People use TV's for three main things: advertising, entertaining, and giving information.

The word television comes from two very old words.  “Tele” means "far" in Greek.  “Vision” means "to see" in Latin. 

A Brief History of Television

The first television broadcast lasted only two minutes. There was no sound.  Only twenty-nine people saw it. John Baird sent that program in 1926.  His television was a mechanical system.  His television set showed pictures divided into 30 lines, so he didn't get a very good picture.  Now television pictures have 560 lines and the picture is much better.

Even before this time, other people were trying to invent electronic television.  In 1897, Karl Braun invented the cathode-ray tube.  By 1907, the cathode-ray tube, used inside a camera could produce television pictures.  Fifteen years later, Vladimir Zworykin invented the iconoscope, which could send a picture. This was the model for the current television. In 1930, Charles Jenkins sent the first commercial.     

In 1939 at New York’s world fair, television was demonstrated with a speech by President Franklin Roosevelt.

In 1945, more than 25,000 people came to Gimbels Department Store in Philadelphia in three weeks just to watch TV.

The first sporting event on TV was shown in 1946. It was the Joe Lewis vs. Billy Conn heavyweight fight.  There were 150,000 people watching on 5000 TV's which is about 30 people at each set!  Most of those people were watching TV for the first time.

On June 21, 1951, the first color program was made. Only 25 sets could receive color pictures.  Twelve million sets saw a blank screen. It wasn’t until 1965 that all shows were in color.

The first kid's network show started in 1954 and was called Captain Kangaroo.

The first color commercial was also shown in 1954 for Castro Decorators. Also in 1954, there was more advertising done on television than in any other way.

In 1956, Robert Adler created the first remote control.   

There were four  stations in the 1960’s, and now if you have cable or satellite TV, there are more than a hundred.

On July 20, 1969 television transmitted the first man on the moon. His name was Neil Armstrong. 

In 1980, Nielsen produced its first electronic ratings system.  Before that time, they kept diaries. The Nielsen ratings tell how many people watch each show and then the networks know how much to charge for commercials.

VCR’s became popular in the 1980’s.  The VCR is a machine that can play tapes. Before the VCR, people had to watch shows and movies when they were on TV. Now, people can just record or rent shows and movies and watch them any time.  Today DVD's are also very popular.

Kinds of Television Shows

There are ten different kinds of television shows which include sitcoms, reality shows, talk shows, game shows, dramas, sports, news, kids’ shows, westerns, and variety shows.          

Sitcom is short for situation comedy.  It is a show that puts people in funny situations so the audience will laugh. Some examples of sitcoms in the US are Seinfeld, Friends, and Home Improvement.

A reality show is a show that does not have a script. Many reality shows are live. Some examples of reality shows are Survivor, Fear Factor, and The Apprentice. 

A talk show has a host that interviews celebrities. Some examples of talk shows are the Oprah Winfrey Show and the Tonight Show.  

A game show is a show that takes regular people and makes them answer questions to win prizes. Some examples of game shows are Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, The Price Is Right, and Jeopardy.  

TV dramas are shows about serious subjects and usually have police, lawyers or doctors. Examples of dramas are NYPD Blue, ER and CSI.

A sports show is just like going to see a sport in person except you don’t have to leave your chair. Some popular sporting events that are shown on television include the NFL, NBA, NBL, soccer, and golf.

A news show tells about current events. Examples of news shows are the CBS Nightly News, 60 Minutes and Nightline.

A kids’ show is a show made just for kids. Some examples of kids’ shows are Warner Bros. cartoons, Sesame Street, and Mr. Rogers.

Westerns are shows that are set in the “old west” and show cowboys and horses. The networks aren't currently making many western TV shows but some of the old favorites were Gunsmoke, Bonanza, and Maverick.

Variety shows have a host that introduces a “variety” of acts and performances. We don’t see variety shows too much on TV these days, but they were very popular in the past. Examples of variety shows include The Ed Sullivan Show, The Sonny and Cher Show, and Texaco Star Theatre Starring Milton Berle (who was the first TV star). 

Television Trivia

Who made the first remote?
1. Fred Flintstone
2. Robert Adler
3. Charles Jenkins
4. Vladimir Zworykin

How many hours a day does the average human being spend watching television?
1. 3
2. 1
3. 4
4. 24

What language did the word "television" come from?
1. Spanish
2. Latin
3. Gobbledygook
4. French 

Television keeps changing. There are more programs, larger screens, and better picture quality.  We don’t know what will happen in the future, but one thing is sure; we will be watching television.  

Citations

Books

Fields, Alice. Television.  New York: Watts, 1980.

Kent, Zachary. The Story of  Television.  Chicago: Children's Press, 1990.

Laswell, Mark. TV Guide: Fifty Years of Television.  New York:  Crown, 2002.

Online Sources

Bellis, Mary.  "History of Television Timeline." Inventors. 10 December 2004 <http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/bl_television_timeline.htm>.

"The History of Film & Television." The History of Television. 10 December 2004 <http://www.hightechproductions.com/historyoftelevision.htm>.    

Images

Permission to use drawing of cathode-ray tube is granted  under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia.  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page>.

Copyrighted clip art images of wrestlers, remote, microphone, wheel of fortune, football, performers, man on the moon, and television  from "Microsoft Office Online" <http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?lc=en-us&cag=1> (October-March, 2004-2005). Clip art available only to licensed users for non-commercial purposes.

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