RetroLisa
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RetroLisa
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before the 1950s
In the 1920s and 1930s, several radio stations and electronics firms operated experimental television stations. Commercial broadcasting was approved by the FCC in 1941, but World War II soon put a damper on things. Between 1942 and 1946, production of TV equipment came to a halt and only a handful of stations remained on the air.
Broadcasting resumed for all stations in 1946. Two years later, everything was in place: we had coaxial transmission between cities, kinescopes for recording live broadcasts, four networks, 37 operating stations and 86 more under construction.
network broadcasting
There were four networks in the 1950s: NBC, CBS, ABC and DuMont. Network programming was originally delivered in one of two ways: flagship stations used coaxial cables to send programs to their regional affiliates, and kinescopes of the live shows were sent to distant cities for later viewing. In 1951, the new technology of microwave transmission made the first coast-to-coast broadcasts possible.
During the early years, most network shows originated from New York or Chicago. Beginning in 1949, a few shows were also produced in Los Angeles. In 1952, the three major networks opened new production facilities in Hollywood and moved their operations to the west coast.
ABC
In 1949, ABC purchased the old Vitagraph Studios in Los Angeles. They opened a television facility on the premises in 1952.
CBS
In 1949, the CBS variety series The Ed Wynn Show was the first network program to originate from Los Angeles. In 1952, CBS opened a new production facility in Hollywood known as Television City. They introduced their distinctive CBS eye logo in 1951.
NBC
The NBC chimes were first heard on the radio in 1929. They were incorporated into the networks's new animated television logo in 1954. NBC's Burbank studio opened in 1952 and was officially dubbed Color City in 1955.
DuMont
DuMont was unable to compete with the other three networks, and they ceased operations in 1956.
History Of The NBC Chimes
History Of The DuMont Network
Early TV Logos
Snowy Kinescopes, Two Weeks Late
color
Both CBS and RCA developed color television in the 1940s. The CBS system was chosen as the industry standard in 1950, despite the fact that it was not compatible with black & white sets. CBS produced a handful of color programs in 1951 before halting their color experiments at the outset of the Korean War. When the war ended in 1953, RCA's system was chosen as the standard. The RCA color system was compatible with both color and black & white sets.
NBC led the way in color TV broadcasting. They were owned by RCA, which gave them a vested interest in producing as many color programs as possible to boost sales of RCA products. At first, most color programs were commercials and specials, like the 1954 Tournament Of Roses Parade. The first series to be regularly broadcast in color was The Colgate Comedy Hour in late 1953.
NBC adopted the NBC Peacock as their color logo in 1956. An animated version with music was produced in 1957. This image was updated through the years and preceded every NBC color program until the mid 1970s.
Color broadcasting was slow to catch on at first. Studio equipment and color television sets were expensive, and many network affiliates didn't have the necessary equipment to broadcast in color. Black & white programs would dominate the small screen until the mid 1960s.
Network Color Logos From The 50s & 60s
Color Television History
1954: From Black & White To Color
In Living Color On NBC
cable TV
In 1948, several men in different parts of the country pioneered the cable TV concept. It began with Pennsylvania store owner John Walson, who had difficulty demonstrating the television sets on display in his store. The closest TV station was 90 miles away, making reception virtually non-existant. To catch and transmit the signals, Walson built an antenna on New Boston Mountain and ran a wire down to his store. He offered to connect other homes along the way for a small fee, and thus was born the first documented cable system. Similar systems were created in Astoria, Oregon and Lansford, Pennsylvania by Ed Parsons and Robert Tarleton.
Many cable companies were launched in the 1950s. Cable was especially popular in rural areas and small towns, where it was often the only way for residents to get TV reception of any kind. Cable also offered more channels and a higher quality picture than broadcast TV.
When microwave transmission was introduced in 1951, cable operators erected microwave towers to bring in distant stations. Over-the-air broadcasters began to view cable TV as a threat, especially when operators chose distant stations over local stations.
During this time, there weren't any original cable channels. Cable simply carried the regular broadcast TV stations to areas that otherwise could not receive them.
UHF stations
Channels 2 to 13 are located in the Very High Frequency (VHF) band. Channels 14 to 83 are located in the Ultra High Frequency (UHF) band. The UHF band was made available to the television industry in 1952, and the first UHF station was launched that year. Unfortunately, many people were using older TV sets that couldn't receive UHF stations. Converters were available, but were not widely used. Consequently, the growth of this new branch of the industry was slow at first.
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NBC Xylophone & Chimes
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RetroLisa
| ___________________________________________________________________ | __ | _____________________________ | _______ | test patterns
Most Americans who watched TV in the 1950s have fond memories of the Indian Head test pattern. This makes perfect sense. During the early years, viewers saw this image (and others like it) more often than they saw actual programs!
In the beginning, TV stations operated in the evening only. By the late 1950s, many stations had expanded their offerings to 20 hours per day. Even so, there was still quite a lot of dead air. Test patterns (known as test cards in England) served many purposes: they provided content during transition times, gave studio technicians and home viewers an image to focus on while they adjusted their equipment, and gave people something to look at while they waited for their favorite station to sign on each day.
The Indian Head Test Pattern
The Test Card Gallery
TV Test Patterns
Indian Head Test Pattern Original Artwork | |
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RetroLisa
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local programming
Many TV stations belonged to a network. During the evening hours, they received nationwide programming from flagship stations in New York and Chicago. The network feed began in the late afternoon.
Some stations didn't belong to a network at all. When a network feed wasn't available, local programming was necessary. In the 1950s, local fare included old movies, children's shows, short variety programs, talk shows and news broadcasts. Most local shows were no more than 15 minutes long.
Late at night, scary old movies were hosted by corny actors in costume. Vampira and Roland (the Cool Ghoul) were two of the earliest horror movie hosts.
For the kids, puppet and cowboy shows rounded out the schedule. The cartoons that accompanied the main feature at the movie theater also found a new home on television. Many local shows adopted a format consisting of old cartoons and comedy shorts sandwiched in between host segments.
In 1955, the local program Sam & Friends introduced us to the Muppets, and to Kermit in particular (although he wasn't a frog quite yet).
The Muscular Dystrophy Association was formed in 1950. Beginning in 1952, the organization produced several TV specials and local telethons to raise awareness of the disease. New York City hosted its first telethon in 1955, a star-studded affair held at Carnegie Hall and broadcast by DuMont station WABD. Between 1956 and 1959, additional telethons were held in various cities at different times throughout the year. Several of these programs were hosted by Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin, who became involved with MDA in 1951.
Broadcasting In Chicago 1921-1989
Chicago Video Veteran
E-Gor's Chamber Of TV Horror Hosts
Cincinnati Radio & TV Images
popular local programs
locally produced in many cities
educational & public television
In 1952, the FCC set aside 242 channels for educational use. The first educational station was launched the following year, KUHT at the University of Houston.
In 1954, WQED in Pittsburgh was the first community-supported educational station. Instead of receiving its funding from a university, WQED was supported by subscriptions and local cultural groups.
Everyone's favorite neighbor, Fred Rogers, worked at WQED from the very beginning, serving as a producer, musician and puppeteer for The Children's Corner with Josie Carey.
In the 1950s, educational stations formed special distribution networks. This made it possible for them to coordinate their efforts and share programming. The largest of these was National Educational Television (NET), a nationwide network formed in 1952.
By 1958, there were 30 educational stations on the air.
National Educational Television (NET)
Fred Rogers: Neighbors Of All Ages
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Jerry Lewis hosted several locally-produced MDA telethons in the 1950s
Fred Rogers
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