Characterizing the battle between David Sarnoff and Philo Farnsworth is a classic David vs. Goliath. The little guy against the giant corporation conglomerate that set out to crush Philo every way possible to take his control of Philo’s patents on his dissector tube. Philo’s electric Television was far superior to what Sarnoff was producing at RCA. Sarnoff did not like being second best and did everything in his power to beat Philo and take his design. Through lengthy court battles over patents, Philo was able to prove that it was his invention and not that of RCA’s under the leadership of Sarnoff. The emotion of motivation that people use to drive them to accomplish anything from a simple task to a monumental breakthrough is interesting. In this situation between Philo Farnsworth and David Sarnoff one can see that Philo is motivated to serve the greater good to break radio with images, better known as Television to the masses. While David Sarnoff is motivated by power and being the first and the best and don’t stop at all costs. Sarnoff believed that television would have life transforming possibilities. Television was going to be the new way to not just entertain the people, but a way to bring sporting events and news to the masses. He fought so hard and bitterly to control it because he wanted to be the trailblazer that made it happen.
During World War II television technology helped the war effort, and the war helped propel the progress of technology of television. Even though the war efforts put the growth of commercial television on everyone’s back burner, that didn’t stop the use of the cathode-ray tube from being used as the secret weapon that helped by playing a large part in winning the war. After Pearl Harbor commercial television programing grew increasingly into public service essentially the birth of the emergency broadcasting system still used today. Television was being placed into classrooms, fire houses, police stations, and residents to reach the masses about blackouts, poison gas attacks, and decontamination procedures. During this time college basketball and boxing were also televised for the benefit of hospitalized soldiers. A major innovation that the cathode ray tube was used for was in RADAR and LORAN systems. Zworykin and the RCA research team were estatic in their development of the image orthicon. They had so much pride in it that began calling it Immy. This lead to later feminizing the name into Emmy. This eponym also served as the annual creative and production awards given by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences beginning in 1949.
After World War II the FCC issued their latest decisions concerning what technical standards and frequency allocations would be allowed in resuming commercial television in America. RCA and other manufacturers favored the establishment of postwar television using prewar standards. CBS and ABC however did not embrace these 1941 standards. CBS requested that the FCC slow the schedule of starting commercial television to implement more recent technology from wartime innovation in TV. CBS also wanted the FCC to reconsider the newly enhanced color system as an industry standard. The major comclomerents replied to the request that they had already invested millions of dollars in facilities and equipment that the NTSC set the standards for. The major companies also asserted that commercializing TV sooner rather than later would be beneficial in jumpstarting the economy in a postwar era. Also, during this time, as far as television was concerned the FCC allocated VHF (very high frequency) band (channels 2 to 13) which was inadequate to meet TC’s needs in continuing growth because of the restrictions on the number of channels that were available in any one market. These 7 channels are where you would find your local affiliates for a determined area. The range of VHF in terms of miles is up to 100 miles. The FCC saved UHF (ultra high frequency) for channels 14-83 with a bigger spectrum to accommodate CBS’ color system. The range of UHF in terms of miles is 100 plus miles. This lent to the side of NBC and Gillette the ability to host the Jow Louis-Billy Conn heavyweight title fight from Yankee Stadium. This would be NBC’s first regional telecast. The broadcast covered New York, Schenectady, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. To this day local television is still present. Local affiliates of ABC, NBC, and CBS carry local news and local program to give back to the community and it is part of the FCC criteria to be able to renew their licensing.
Commercial television was characterized as a home invasion taking over the American living room as a loud-mouthed, sometimes delightful, often shocking, thoroughly unpredictable guest. This home invasion of television wreaked havoc on schedules for meals, homework completion, and bedtimes. The biggest fear was how television would take over your way of living and change children’s habits. Proponents of television hoped that it would help cement together the family members with a sense of renewed domestic values and that members of the family would now stay home during their leisure time rather than run their separate ways around town. On the other hand, many people felt that television would destroy the family unit. Wive’s wouldn’t get their daily chores done and children would turn into passive, pale, and bug eyed with an addiction to television.
Many of the most successful pioneering sitcoms depict urban, ethnic, working-class families struggling to make ends meet. These comedic sitcoms were viewed by the same type of working middle class Americans the shows betrayed as a way of easing their own working-classes struggles and a way to relate in humor. This still holds true to today. These shows I feel also influence families in the 1950’s to work to achieve more because these sitcoms showed their characters achieving more. The sitcoms were almost like a peer pressure that the normal person could relate to.
Pat Weaver strategic goal was to have a home-grown public service initiatives code-named Enlightenment Through Entertainment which was for children programming. Operation Wisdom which encouraged TV documentaries. Weaver’s most lasting innovation was the Today Home and Tonight plan. This idea was designed specifically to expand NBC’s offerings well beyond prime time. It opened up other segments of the broadcast day that was typically serviced by radio and local television. He was the first network executive to think so creatively in developing TV series that complemented what viewers were doing at home at specific times of the day. The economic rationale of this plan was to maximize the largest possible audiences at all times.
CBS’ chief programmer Michael Dann was dead set against changing CBS’ programming from the feel-good status queue to a much riskier all-or-nothing programing strategy. This defiance to want to change and with the support of Bill Paley supporting Robert Woods new edgy programming strategy Dann decided to leave CBS. Wood wanted a new series that was a new generation younger, edgier, and more topical series at CBS. With the change of leadership and thought process of television from yesteryear green-lit a situational comedy that ABC was considering doing since the late 60’s. Tandom Productions’ Norman Lear and Bud Yorkin developed an original pilot Those Were the Days inspired by a British series Till Death Us Do Part. All in the Family debuted on January 12, 1971 on CBS. The premise of the show was that the Bunkers were a lower-middle-class blue collar family from Queens, New York. Archie the patriarch was a loud-mouth bigot. He was married to Edith (Jean Stapleton), his daughter Gloria (Sally Struthers), and her Polish American husband all living together. (Edgerton) Each week’s episode would be started off by some sort of firework disagreement between Archie and Mike. Basically, the blue collar worker against the liberal student with long hair and dressed like a hippie. Even though All in the Family won Emmys for “Outstanding Comedy Series,” “Outstanding New Series,” and “Outstanding Continued Performance by a Leading Actress in a Comedy Series” it displayed very intense in your face topics like racism and added a comedic twist on it. If it wasn’t for Edith being the levelheaded openly accepting character that countered Archies bigotry the show probably wouldn’t have been as successful. This show would definitely not be made in today’s culture. All in the Family is the first continuing series to ever tackle issues such as Vietnam, racism, women’s rights, homosexuality, impotence, menopause, rape, alcoholism and many other relevant themes. This phenomenal popularity changed the face of television by making it much easier for other prime-time shows to incorporate these and other controversial subjects in their story line.
Fred Silverman worked at CBS from 1970-1975 as the vice president of programming. During his time there he transformed the channel with a series of groundbreaking sitcoms. (Britannica) The Mary Tyler Moore Show, All in the Family and M*A*S*H was a stark contrast to what was being broadcasted at the time like Hee Haw and The Beverly Hillbillies. Silverman’s foresight of toeing the line and adding these shows together into a Saturday night line up quickly secured the No. 1 channel. When Silverman moved All in the Family from Tuesday to Saturday evening, helped the Mary Tylor Moore Show with its great proximity to the nation’s no. 1 show. However, Silverman wasn’t quiet finished making Saturday Night’s line from being no. 1 he sandwiched M*A*S*H in between All in the Family and the Mary Tylor Moore Show. By these decisions Fred Silverman was considered the most talented programmer in television.
The CEO of ABC Leonard Goldenson was planning to retire soon and decided to sell ABC to Capital Cities. Leonard and Thomas S. Murphy negotiated a friendly takeover. About a month after the sale comes Ted Turner, the Atlanta-based cable entrepreneur with a hostile takeover strategy on CBS. Turner owned Turner Broadcasting System which had the Cable News Network (CNN), CNN Headline News, Superstation WTBS, the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Hawks along with other properties. Turner’s aggression showed the growing strength and stature of cable television. However, CBS stopped the takeover by repurchasing 21 percent of its own stock, driving the network deeper into debt. TV business went from family ownership to huge communication conglomerates. These conglomerates can be seen today in the television streaming groups. Disney+ took over Hulu, ABC, and ESPN, and inside of Hulu they have a contract with other networks with FOX, FX, ESPN, AMC, NBC, and CBS. Amazon Prime has deals with cable networks like STARZ, MAX, Paramount. Paramount has CBS, Nickelodeon, MTV Entertainment Group, Showtime, The Movie Channel, and many more. The television industry is back into a “wild west” as the major communication companies again navigate their way to deliver entertainment at a price to the consumer. Television is a business not run by yesteryear commercials to pay for programming but by the consumer through subscriptions.
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