Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-05T02:23:51.199Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

16 - The Electronic Cyclops: Fifties Television

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Richard Butsch
Affiliation:
Rider University, New Jersey
Get access

Summary

Television inherited the practices of radio listening. It was born within the institution of radio and when it appeared, it appeared within the preexisting, fully established context of advertising-supported network broadcasting. The television set arrived on the market as a fully developed appliance. There was no period of amateur experimentation and no crystal-set phase. It moved immediately into the living room, becoming the new hearth around which the family gathered. While people were intrigued by television, the level of amazement in no way approached that of the 1920s. Television was simply radio with a picture.

Nevertheless, it moved in quickly. NBC estimated there were 60,000 television sets in the United States in July 1947. By 1950, 9 percent of all U.S. households had a television; by 1955, 64.5 percent. It spread faster than radio. In the first ten years, 1948-58, there was one television set for every four Americans, versus one radio for seven Americans in the comparable decade of 1922-32.

As with radio, the early television audience was skewed upscale. High prices for early televisions retarded sales and restricted it to the affluent. The cost of televisions ranged from $100 to $4,100 in late 1948 with an average sale price of $375. Short supply of all but the most expensive sets also restricted sales to high-income groups.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Making of American Audiences
From Stage to Television, 1750–1990
, pp. 235 - 251
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2000

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×