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Television mesmerised us from the moment it entered American
households in the late 1940's. TV Sets had previously only been
available to a small circle of industry insiders and the very rich,
but in 1948 a more advanced technology made the magic box available
commercially, and a new era began. In less than a decade television
became a staple of the American way of life.
Television's immediate success was not a fad. It stuck because a
generation of talented and popular radio personalities joined the
new and uncertain medium and created memorable characters, shows and
programs.
Daring and innovative programming converted millions to the small
screen, and to this day our expectations of television have their
roots in those halcyon and golden years of television.
The 1950s is generally seen as the formative decade of
television, when the medium moved from its scientific origins to its
place as a ubiquitous household item.
The fifties certainly marked the medium's most rapid growth,
surpassing even that of radio broadcasting in the 1920s. In the
early 50s very few homes possessed a television set, and in Britain
there was only one TV station - the BBC. Most people went to the
cinema if they wanted to see moving pictures and the wireless was
the king of home entertainment.
The British nation came to a standstill on June 2nd 1953 as 20
million people across the country huddled in corners peering avidly
at a small piece of furniture with a grey screen.
They were watching magic pictures of the coronation of Elizabeth
II in Westminster Abbey. For many it was their first glimpse of an
invention that has gone on to change the face and behaviour of the
world.
Fewer than two million British homes owned a TV set at the
beginning of 1953, and these were mainly in London, Manchester,
Birmingham, Cardiff and Glasgow. But in the build-up to the
coronation, 526,000 sets were sold as coronation fever swept the
nation.
The first commercial British channel, ITV, was launched on
September 22 1955. ITV's impact was immediate. The British public
were fascinated by its newscasters, cash quiz shows and American
programs - and commercials.
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