CHAPTER 8 TIMELINE

Printed Page 227

  • Late 1880s Cathode Ray Tube
 The cathode ray tube—forerunner of the TV picture tube—is invented.
  • 1927 First TV Transmission
 Philo Farnsworth transmits the first TV picture electronically.
  • 1934 First Public TV Demo
 Farnsworth conducts the first public demonstration of television in Philadelphia.
  • 1940s Cable TV
 CATV systems originate in Oregon, Pennsylvania, New York City, and elsewhere to bring in TV signals blocked by mountains and tall buildings.
  • 1951 I Love Lucy
 I Love Lucy becomes the first TV program filmed in front of a live studio audience.
  • 1952–54 Today and Tonight Show
 NBC introduces Today and the Tonight Show, helping to wrest control of programming away from advertisers.
  • 1954 Color TV Standard
 RCA’s color system is approved by the FCC as the industry standard.
  • 1958–59 Quiz-Show Scandal
 Investigations into rigged quiz shows force networks to cancel twenty programs.
  • 1960 Telstar
 The first communication satellite relays telephone and television signals.
  • 1967 PBS
 Congress creates the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which establishes PBS and begins funding nonprofit radio and public TV stations.
  • 1968 60 Minutes
 CBS premiers 60 Minutes, establishing the standard for TV newsmagazines.
  • 1975–76 Consumer VCRs
 Beta and VHS videocassette recorders begin to be sold to consumers.
  • 1975 HBO Uplinks to Satellite
 The first premium channel is launched in the United States.
  • 1976 Cable Takes Off
 Ted Turner beams a signal from WTBS, his Atlanta broadcast station, creating the first superstation.
  • Late 1970s Franchising Frenzy
 Cable companies rush to win local cable franchises across the United States.
  • 1979 Midwest Video Case
 A U.S. Supreme Court decision grants cable companies the power to select the content they carry.
  • 1980 CNN
 Ted Turner’s 24-hour news network premiers and grows to revolutionize the news business.
  • 1981 MTV
 Warner Communications launches the influential music television channel, which is acquired by Viacom in 1985.
  • 1987 Fox and The Simpsons
 The Australian media giant News Corp. launches the Fox network, the first network launch in more than thirty-five years.
  • 1994 DBS
 The direct broadcast satellite (DBS) industry offers full-scale services, growing at a rate faster than cable.
  • 1996 Telecommunications Act of 1996
 The act abolishes most TV ownership restrictions, paving the way for consolidation. Cable is again deregulated.
  • 2003 VOD
 Digital video-on-demand (VOD) service is tested in several cable systems in the United States.
  • 2009 Digital TV Standard
 The FCC ends a TV set’s ability to receive analog broadcast signals through the airwaves with an antenna.