An In-depth Look At The Transformation Of Television In Britain

One of the greatest inventions of our time is the television. Since the first broadcast signal on this gadget which was done in 1928, people all over the world have continued to awed by the content that they can access through this device. To say that television has had an unprecedented impact on human life would be an understatement.

The first gadgets to hit the market did not have a lot of processing capability as they could just produce forty lines and process 12.5 images every second. This processing power was just sufficient to produce elements that could be recognized. In this century however, the televisions being produced have a high processing capability producing crisp and clear high definition images. Going by the current trend, this can only improve with time.

During the 1950’s and 1960’s, televisions were just becoming a common feature in most households in Britain. This led to the development of storytelling and an upsurge in the innovation of digital and analogue technology. Below, we will discuss some of the most premier broadcasts aired when televisions were becoming common and popular feature in Britain.

The 1950s’

The premier television programs started airing about 25 years after the first transmission was made on television. The most well-known program of this period was a show called ‘Panorama; which was first aired in 1953. By the end of the decade, the production of TV shows had evolved and virtually all genres had a program being aired.

The 1960s’

At the turn of the decade, most of the homes in Britain had a television set. The broadcasting industry grew in leaps and bounds during this period and in the year 1960, ‘Coronation Street’ started being aired. This had the effect of making soap operas more popular among the populace. After more than 50 years, it is the longest running soap opera in the globe. As the decade was about to turn, in the year 1969, the Apollo 11 landing on the moon was broadcasted live on television marking a turning point in technological innovation. To date, the grainy video of the moon landing is still highly appreciated and watched.

The 1970s’

In this decade, Teletext started being a common feature in television. This essentially meant that viewers could get real time updates on what was happening. To get updates on political happenings and the status of weather, all one had to do was to turn on the TV. In the year 1978, the premier video cassette recorder and player was released. This introduced a radical change to the cinema experience and it marked the start of bigger and better things.

The 1980s’

In this decade, the television experience expounded exponentially and a lot of the best and most popular shows started being aired. Some of the shows aired include ‘The Simpsons’ and ‘Black Adder’. In the early 80s’, there was increased terrestrial growth in Channel 4. One of the most watched television broadcasts during this period was the famous nuptials of the royal couple; Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

The 1990s’

This decade heralded the invention of digital television broadcasts. Towards the turn of the century, there were certain shows being aired on digital television although the use of this technology was not yet widespread. The year 1997 saw the introduction of Channel 5. By this time however, the rate of invention and television coverage had grown tremendously. Most people with televisions were more attracted to private broadcasting networks such as Sky TV.

The 2000s’

The new century marked the growth of reality television programs. During this period, reality shows such as the ‘Big Brother’, ‘X-Factor’, ‘The Spoof Documentary’ and ‘The Office’ started being produced and aired. These shows transformed the nature of television ushering in a new and modern era. To date, such reality shows have continued to transform the television experience. During the last half of this decade, the premier High-Definition television programs started airing. This spelled the death of analogue broadcasts and they started being phased out as they had been overtaken by time and the new and better innovations.

The 2010s’

This new decade saw viewership of traditional television being overtaken due to the use of new innovations such as personal computers, tablets and smartphones. These new innovations gave the population an easier and more convenient way of accessing and viewing broadcast content. When Netflix began streaming programs live on the web, other tech giants followed suit. Today, this is the method commonly used by content creators and distributors use to reach their target audiences.