Live television actually has its beginnings in Germany. In 1929, Germany began delivering regular broadcast on the television, a newly patented technology that, at the time, was rare and not widely owned. However, Germany was exceptionally innovative when they broadcast the 1936 Olympic Games to stations in Berlin and Leipzig so that the public could gather and watch the games.

It took a while for true TV broadcasting to become popular in the United States; however, it finally arrived in 1946. Regular TV broadcasting brought the emergence of live television, which last until about 1956.  There were many great and memorable events featured live on television, including:

• The 1953 coronation of Her Majesty Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, the first coronation to be broadcast.
• John F. Kennedy’s funeral in 1963 was the highest watched live broadcast up until this point.
• Apollo 11’s 1969 first moon landing by humans.
• The 1986 Challenger explosion.

There are many shows that were live and extremely popular, including As the World Turns and Howdy Doody. As the World Turns is an influential soap area in the U.S. as it debuted as a 30 minute show when all shows prior were only 15 minutes in length. It premiered in 1956 and was shot live from then until about 1975, when it switched to one-hour length shows. It is noted as the most widely watched TV drama from 1958 to 1978.

With a Canadian circus and western theme, Howdy Doody, quickly became the poster-show for NBC. From 1947 to 1960, the show altered the style of childrens television programming and set the stage for similar shows to be created. The beloved freckled-marionette was so influential that NBC used the show to attract attention to color television sets in the hopes of increasing profit on this new technology.

The history of live television is one that is seldom known. In today’s society, the difficulty and skill necessary to put on worthwhile live entertainment is greatly unappreciated and undervalued. The intricacy of orchestrating a live television program is beyond the scope of what many people can imagine. This period in television history should be greatly appreciated for it led the way for society to create better and more flawless entertainment shows.

Educational Access is focused on educating the community, whether through upcoming events or broadcasting educational programs. Finally, Government Access broadcasts upcoming elections or political events for the local and State government, while allowing local officials to use the channel as well. This service is great as it keeps the community connected on each of these three very distinct yet important issues.

It is quite evident, when examining the evolution of mass media, that media privileges were never in favor of the working or common man. As the mass media grew in society it became more and more restricted to the very elite of American society. Some quote the first ever documentary “Nanook of the North” as the initial interaction the public had with television. This is because Robert J. Flaherty allowed Nanook to have say in some of the directing of the documentary.

However, what is better stated as the development of Public-Access Television is the attempt by New York’s own Fred Friendly, a television advisor to the Ford foundation and the chair of the Mayor’s Advisory Task Force on CATV and Telecommunications. In 1968 Friendly wrote a report advising the creation of two channels set aside by cable companies for use by the public for a small fee.

In 1970, controversy emerged as other influential figures argued that the fee restricted the use of the channels by minorities. However, the fee was soon dropped as a requirement and two companies, the Sterling Information Services and the Teleprompter corporations signed the agreement, listing four channels available for use, two for the government and two for the public.

In July 1971, a year after signing the contract, public-access television went live for the first time in the United States in Manhattan, NY. The potential audience was estimated at around 80,000, the number viewers subscribed for cable in Manhattan. Shortly after launching, public-access television was broadcasting approximately 200 hours of programs per week.

An influential figure in the planning programs and raising awareness of this public service was Theadora Sklover. One of her most famous quotes regarding the creation of this service describes that their “biggest problem lies in informing the public that they can go on television…. People are used to thinking of TV as something someone else does, not as something they do.”

This highlights a key aspect of public-access television that not many people knew about its services. As part of her efforts, Sklover contacted members of the community and created local cable committees where people were trained to use video equipment. She recruited over 200 professional producers, directors, writers, camera specialists, and technicians who volunteered their services to train local members of the community.

In the same year, a man by the name of George Stoney founded the AMC, the American Media Center at New York University. This is considered to be the biggest stepping stone for public-access television with Stoney as the godfather. The creation of AMC allowed citizens the opportunity to raise concerns and fix conflicts they had with local political leaders. AMC also founded the Federation of Local Cable Programmers (FCC), which has been a very important public access advocacy organization.

Since the 1970s, public access television has grown to be included not just in the United States and Canada, but in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Africa, and Australia.

From this unsuccessful remote came another highly unsuccessful and not well thought out remote control called the Flash-O-Matic. This was a light that viewers would shine on their television in one of the four corners of the screen. Each corner had different individual light sensitive cell that were activated by the flash light. It is clear that this invention was quite complex and highly evolved for its time, however, viewers would often get confused as to the operation of each corner and it became frustrating. Another drawback was that, were sunlight to shine on the television screen, it would alter the functions of the cells and would often destroy its operations completely.

The last major alteration to the remote control in the 1950s, was the introduction of ultrasonic waves as a mechanism to operate the television. With this came the first cordless remote that operated on wave frequencies, the Space Command. The downsides to this remote were that it was sensitive to metal and that dogs would often bark when any button on the remote sent an ultrasonic wave to the television. Although it was not the best design for television remote controls, the ultrasonic wave remote was used for about two decades until infrared remote controls were introduced.

The switch to infrared, also known as IR, occurred in the 1980s. This remote functions by using a low frequency light beam that is so low that it goes undetected by the human eye. This infrared light beam is detected by the receiver in the television.  These infrared remote controls gave viewers an almost limitless amount of power and control over their television. It allowed them to switch through the growing number of channels steadily becoming available on cable without having to physically get up and change the channel by pressing buttons.

This remote, while offering plenty of advantages to viewers, had a few drawbacks for networks. Since viewers were able to switch through their favorite channels easily, they would not watch the credits and would flip to a different station. In an effort to retain viewers, NBC invented the “squeeze and tease” technique. This involved squeezing the credits into a third of the screen and then airing the final broadcast minutes simultaneously. Remotes also changed the way commercials were viewed. Opposed to having them between shows, they were broken into 30-second segments that were aired in between shows, making the transition between shows more direct.

A great advantage of the IR remote was that it offered a wider array of operations than any remote prior. The IR remote was also a stepping stone toward an even better and more advanced remote control, the Universal Remote. The first Universal Remote was introduced in 1985, however, was not first bought until 1987 when it was bought by Apple’s CL-9. The programmable remote had macro capabilities and was actually able to be uploaded to a computer.

Not much has changed in the way of remote controls, except until recently. With the introduction of Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch came the revelation that there are applications available, called RedEye, that controls TVs, DVD players, stereos, and other technological devices through a wireless connection.

Throughout the past half century, viewers have experienced immense technological advances in the way of television remote controls. With each new and upcoming design and invention, it becomes exceedingly easier for viewers to experience comfort when flipping through their favorite television shows and programs. No doubt the next half century will demonstrate a similar evolution in television remote controls.

You may not realize it, but cable TV was actually first started in 1948. It was originally known as Community Antenna Television or CATV. John Walson and Margaret Walson had started the Service Electric Company earlier in the decade, but 1948 was when they rolled out their programming.

In the mountains of Pennsylvania, Wilson was unable to get a steady television signal. So, he put up a huge antenna, then ran a wire in his store to pick up the stations. Soon, many people around the mountain wanted a cable to their home. The Wilsons obliged and modern cable television was born.

From this humble beginning, cable TV has spawned into a powerful, multinational force to be reckoned with. Of course, if you look around the Internet, you are going to find that the Wilson’s aren’t the only ones who lay claim to having the first cable television system. However, the story is the one that is most well known. The company is still around today.

In 1950, Robert Tarlton started up a commercial business to get television programming to remote customers via a land line or cable.  The company was a huge success at the time and got a lot of press coverage. Soon, the idea of cable television really began to spread. It would still be a while before it became popular on a big scale, but these were the humble beginnings.

By the 1960s, the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) was passing legislation to control cable television. Over the next couple decades, the modern face of cable television began to form. The popularity of cable television continued to increase, even with very limited programming.\

The Birth of Basic Cable

In 1976, Ted Turner started the first basic cable TV station – WTBS the TBS Superstation. Via satellite, the programming was available all over. Other people soon followed with their own basic stations that were available to any and all cable subscribers.

The Beginning of Premium Cable

In 1975, HBO (Home Box Office), began making available premium, commercial free content – for a price. The premium cable station quickly became popular over the years – and is still around today, providing great original content. Because of how it was broadcast and because there was a fee (it wasn’t available to everyone) the content tended to be a lot racier on premium cable stations – adding to their popularity.

Cable TV in the 21st Century

In the 21st century, cable TV is still around, but it has changed dramatically over the years. From 24 hour news channels to a wealth of other “stations” available, there are many great advances in cable television that have happened over the years. As for the future, there’s no telling. It may fade slightly because of the rise in high speed wireless technologies, but you can be sure it’s going to be around in some form or another for years and years to come.