What Was The Very First Television Show (& 9 More Questions About TV History, Answered)

TV lovers want to know everything about their favorite medium. What programs were the first to put their stars on the map?

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TV lovers want to know everything about their favorite medium. It has brought news, entertainment, and education into the homes of several generations now, leading fans and critics to follow it with a serious gaze and a hunger for more. With nearly a century of history in the rearview, there is plenty to talk about when it comes to television.

From networks and cable channels to other big developments and milestones, here are answers to ten questions about television history. What programs were the first to put their stars on the map?

10 What Was The Very First Television Show?

In the experimental days of television, the very first full-length program broadcast in the US was a drama in one act called The Queen’s Messenger by J. Harley Manners.

The WGY radio station in Schenectady, New York aired the drama on September 11, 1928. They had already been showing broadcasts three times per week, according to Thomas Hutchinson in the text Here is Television. A clip of The Queen’s Messenger can be seen on YouTube.

9 When Did Regular Programming Begin?

In the United States, popular culture history paints the 1930s as a decade of radio listening, and it’s true that many families gathered around to hear President Roosevelt’s fireside chats. Although NBC had fifteen hours of programming a week by 1939, this “regular program schedule,” as described by Hutchinson in Here is Television, seems thin compared to the networks’ offerings a decade later.

The late 1940s drew more eyes to the television set after World War II, and the 1950s solidified the medium’s popularity. Hutchinson notes in his book that England was far ahead of America, airing King George VI and Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation procession, London stage plays, sporting events, and more from 1936 to 1939.

8 What Was The First Sitcom?

According to the Guinness World Records, the first sitcom in the history of television was Pinwright’s Progress (1946-1947) in the UK, which starred James Hayter as J Pinwright. The United States followed in 1947 with Mary Kay and Johnny, starring Mary Kay and Johnny Stearns.

7 When Were ABC, CBS, & NBC Established?

ABC was established as an independent entity in 1943 but existed in other forms before that. CBS was established in 1927, and NBC was founded by RCA (Radio Corporation of America) in 1926, technically making it the first of the major networks to exist. There were other networks that are now defunct, most notably DuMont, which ceased operations in 1956.

6 What Were The First Kids’ Shows?

The BBC can take credit for the first televised children’s programming. Their Children’s Hour in 1946 came from their radio show of the same name, which had been on the air since 1922. Kukla, Fran, and Ollie began in the US in 1947 as a puppet show for children.

The same year brought Howdy Doody, the famous puppet that entertained little ones with Clarabell the clown until 1960 and continued to delight children through reruns.

5 What Was The First Cartoon For Television?

Crusader Rabbit (1950-1957) was the first animated series that was made for TV. It was created by Alexander Anderson and Jay Ward. Anderson was the nephew of Paul Terry, a competitor of Disney animation.

He and Ward ran into some lawsuits with Crusader Rabbit, but they also created Rocky and Bullwinkle, two iconic characters of the toon world.

4 When Was Cable Invented?

Cable had its beginnings in 1948 when Oregon, Arkansas, and Pennsylvania sought to improve remote regions’ television signals with the use of antennas. The first pay television channel did not launch until 1972, and it was HBO, Home Box Office.

With this development came the implementation of satellite transmission. The 1980s saw additional pay channels in addition to basic cable, which was a commonality by the 1990s.

3 What Were The First Home Video Endeavors?

Like cable, home video was a field to pioneer in the 1970s. Though the 1950s brought the Quadruplex and the 1960s offered helical scan and open reel tapes, the 70s can be thanked for the first videocassettes, and Sony coined the short-lived Betamax tapes.

Obsolete media fans wouldn’t want to forget LaserDisc endeavors such as MCA DiscoVision. VHS use also presented a new option in watching television–time-shifting programs in order to view them after their original airdates.

2 What Was The First Channel Devoted To Young Viewers?

Nickelodeon was the first television channel just for kids. It began as a smaller channel called Pinwheel and officially launched as its own brand in 1977. In their documentary, The Orange Years, Scott Barber and Adam Sweeney do an excellent job telling the story of Nickelodeon from its launch to its heyday in the 1990s.

They interview actors from iconic shows like Clarissa Explains It All, All That, Double Dare, The Adventures of Pete & Pete, and so many others, as well as key industry leaders like Geraldine Laybourne and Anne Sweeney.

1 How Did The TV Streaming World Begin?

Some people marvel at the fact that television has changed so much in recent years. The youth of today consume content differently than children and teenagers of decades past, but change is a constant. Netflix vs. the World, written by Gina Keating and directed by Shawn Cauthen, is a documentary chronicling Netflix’s launch and infamous rivalry with Blockbuster.

Some would say that business deals decided the fate of how humans watch television. Others might point to additional cultural touchstones in streaming like YouTube, which launched in 2005, or music streaming, which was pervasive both legally and illegally in the 2000s.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/first-ever-television-show-tv-history-questions-answered/