Television

The Role of Television in Our Life

Television also called TV is one of the most important means of communication. It brings moving pictures and sounds from around the world into millions of homes. Most of studies and reports on the effects of television show that these effects are mostly negative. The results showed a drop in children’s creativity. Some people become addicted to TV and nothing else interests them. Although most studies show the negative effects of television, there are some positive influences as people become exposed to different people and different places. Television extends our knowledge about the world in which we live. People can see different lands, new planets, unusual animals and birds, mountains and valleys.

History of TV

The idea of a machine able to broadcast both sound and vision goes back to 1875. But it wasn’t until 1926 that a Scottish engineer turned the idea into practical reality. Now his invention dominates the modern media.

John Logie Baird produced the first television pictures just eight years after the First World War. They were in black and white and were not very clear, but he had proved that the principle worked. Early sets cost as much as a small car and not many were sold. Soon, though, his original system was improved and in 1936 Britain’s first regular TV program went on the air. But Great Britain was not the only country producing programs. Other European nations, including Germany, were also involved in the early days of television. As, of course, was America – and it’s there that the real TV revolution began after World War Two. US television boomed in the late 40s.

Commercial stations began to open in almost every city, and national networks made programmes which were seen from coast to coast. One of the American networks – CBS – even developed a colour service as early as 1951. Two years later, TV took another important step when it covered its first major international event – the coronation of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth ІІ. It was the first time that a worldwide audience of millions had seen history take place in their own homes.

By the end of the decade, TV culture was rapidly becoming a fact of life on both sides of the Atlantic. In the 60s television started to satisfy the public desire, not just for entertainment, but also for rapid, accurate information. As more and more sets were sold, the importance of TV news quickly grew.

Since 1980 there have been four major developments. The first is video, which has given viewers the power to control what they watch and when they watch. The second is satellite TV. Thanks to direct broadcast satellites, dozens of new channels are now available to anyone who buys a receiving “dish”. The third development is cable – a system of high-tech wires, which provide even more channels at a price. Fourthly, there is high definition television which now offers a much clearer and more realistic picture than was possible even a few years ago.

Britain’s first regular television service opened in 1932, when the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) began transmitting four short late-night programmes a week. The development of television was interrupted by the Second World War, but resumed after it, making its first real impact in 1953 when the BBC televised the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1955 Independent Television (ITV) began transmitting, at first only in the London area. Unlike the BBC, which funded its broadcasting with the revenue from radio and television licences, ITV derived its main income from the commercial advertising. This arrangement remains today.

In 1964 the BBC began transmitting on two channels, BBC 1 and BBC 2, the latter being mainly for drama, arts and sports programmes. BBC 2 first broadcast in colour in 1967, and BBC 1 and ITV followed suit two years later. A second commercial station, Channel 4, opened in 1962. Like BBC 2, it was intended as a mainly arts and “cultural” service, but with the specific task of catering for minority interests.

ITV programmes are produced by a number of regional companies. A national company, TV-AM, broadcasts news, current affairs and entertainment programmes every morning. The programmes of the regional companies are not restricted to their own area, except for local news coverage. Programmes such as plays and documentaries are seen nationwide. National news programmes on ITV are produced by a separate company, Independent Television News (ITN).

BBC 1 broadcasts a schedule of news, information programmes, documentaries, plays, films and light entertainment (such as comedies and quiz shows) from early morning to late at night. ITV’s schedule is similar, but its presentation is generally slicker and more “glossy”. Its programmes are broadcast round the clock.

Until the end of 1990, ITV’s programmes and their schedules were under the supervision of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), which did not itself produce television programmes, since this was done by the regional companies. The IBA was originally set up by the government in 1954 as the Independent Television Authority (ITA) to provide an additional television service to that of the BBC. It was renamed the IBA in 1972, when its responsibilities were extended to cover independent radio. Its specific functions then came to include the appointing of the ITV companies, the operation of transmitters, and the control of advertising. The IBA ceased to exist in 1993, when its television responsibilities were taken over by a new body, the Independent Television Commission (ITC). Commercial radio services were taken over at the same time by the new Radio Authority. When this change took place, the former ITV channel was renamed Channel 3. A new commercial station, Channel 5, was established in 1993.

Both the BBC and ITV broadcast educational programmes, including broadcasts for schools. The BBC also transmits programmes for Open University students.

In 1989 satellite television was first transmitted on four channels by the privately owned company Sky Television, and it was joined in 1990 by British Satellite Broadcasting (BSB), under contract to the IBA. Because both companies were losing money in their attempts to win viewers, Sky and BSB merged to form a single new company, British Sky Broadcasting, owned equally by News International (the media group that owns “The Times”, among other newspapers) and former BSB shareholders. The new company, trading under the name of Sky Television, offers five satellite channels, including the two main film channels.

Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channels for consumers as well as on-demand content. There are six main channel owners who are responsible for most viewing. There are 27,000 hours of domestic content produced a year at a cost of £2.6 billion. Analogue terrestrial transmissions are currently being switched off and this is due to be completed in 2012.

• Ukrainian media is still undergoing a development process and presents clear opportunity for investment

• State’s monopoly and control deter development of media

• Growth of advertising is a favorable factor for media development

• Internet media is developing as self-contained media

Prior to 1991, Ukrainian media was in poor condition - its level was even lower than one of the central Soviet’s media and it lacked several parts and features that are typical for western media. Despite significant development since 1991 both in quality of products and quantity of companies, the country’s media remains underdeveloped by western standards – for example, there is lack of daily nationwide broadsheet newspapers and specialized TV channels (discovery, culture, etc.), domestic production of TV commercials, films and shows is scarce. This situation presents opportunities to enter the market and start various projects in different segments of media, and the market is destined to develop.

Television

Television has the dominant position on the mass media market and grabs the lion’s share of the total audience and advertising revenues. There are three nationwide channels, which are used by the five national TV companies to broadcast their programs