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What is Broadcast Television?
Age will always play a role in how and from where you receive media or news. Broadcast networks like BBC, CBS, and FOX continue to maintain strong viewership in modern times. However, cable TV still has more influence than broadcasting when it comes to reaching a broader audience across all generations (OER Commons).
Televisions became heavily popular in the 1940s and 1950s, establishing itself as one of the most influential mediums in human history. Initially, television content was broadcast for free, but unfortunately, the television sets were expensive. The content was delivered over public airwaves from broadcast towers to antennas on the viewer's television set. This made content accessible to viewers at no additional cost other than the TV set. The invention of broadcast television revolutionized society as a whole. It allowed society to have access to live, visual coverage of political events, cultural moments, and entertainment programs (Poepsel).
The Introduction to Pilot Episodes
For a television series to be produced, it needs to be picked up by a network. Typically, the network will evaluate the script, the concepts, and the potential appeal to viewers before making a decision. If a network is interested, they'll commit to a show and fund a pilot episode. These are "a sample episode of a proposed television program or trial programs" (Baran, 2021, p. 192). The pilot episode is then aired to gauge audience response before they commit to an entire season. If the pilot is successful, the network will move forward with a full season, eventually securing production. Filming and producing a pilot episode is a complex and demanding process that can be both strenuous and emotionally taxing on the production crew and actors. There is immense pressure to create a show-stopping episode that will showcase the potential of the series. The success of the pilot is crucial; it serves as a make-or-break moment for the show's future.
Grasping the intensity of a pilot episode can be hard. Check out this video for a direct look into what it's like to create one! It provides valuable insights into the process and importance of developing a successful pilot that determines the future of a show.
The first pilot episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog is titled "The Chicken from Outer Space". The episode originally aired in the late 1990s as part of a pilot presentation on the Cartoon Network. The show became a staple for pre-teens and teens in the 90s and early 2000s. The show remained popular and relevant until Cartoon Network ceased broadcasting on public television.
Retransmission Fees
Cable television originally emerged as a solution for rural areas with poor reception, hoping to provide better quality TV signals. Over time, this technology advanced, creating long-distance broadcasting, which flourished. As a result, many places started receiving more than double the number of channels available through traditional broadcast television (Lumen Learning). With this rise of cable television, broadcast television faced an immediate competitor. This led to broadcasting networks' significant shift in how content was delivered and how they could see profits. To remain financially successful, broadcast networks began to rely more heavily on retransmission fees. These fees are payments from cable operations to broadcasting networks in exchange for allowing cable to carry their programming (Baran, 2021, p. 191).
Picture Captures: The intricate processing of a network selling its rerun programs (Freepik).
Off Network
Networks such as NBC or ABC hold exclusive rights to the original airing of their programs. Once these shows become popular and achieve high levels of ratings, other platforms and channels want to air them as well. These platforms hope that airing pre-established shows with loyal viewers will boost their own ratings and revenue. To achieve this goal, they form deals with the original networks to air these programs. This is known as off-network programming or "syndicated content that originally aired on a network" (Baran, 2021, p. 191).
Initially, programs are bought by networks from producers (NBC/ABC) and then are sold on a secondary market to individual stations for reruns. For these re-runs to be successful in the secondary market, it must have been a success during its prime-time broadcast. Without this initial performance success, the secondary market of off-network programming will not hold much of its value (Whitehead, 2021, p.33).
Here is an example of modern-day off-network programming. In the image, you can see the AMC original Better Call Saul, which originally aired on AMC but is now available for streaming on Netflix. The transition between networks highlights the selling of popular shows to other platforms for syndication (Flickr).
About the Author
About the Author
My name is Larkin Schumacher, and I am a Psychology major graduating in January 2025. I enjoyed contributing to this class Wiki as it provides an opportunity for people who are interested in learning these niche topics to freely explore and learn! I chose this topic because the concept of early television fascinates me. Before working on this, I had little knowledge about early television and the processes behind it, so I am greatly appreciative of the opportunity to not only learn but also teach others.
References: Sources
References: Sources
Baran, S. J. (2021). Introduction to mass communication: Media literacy and culture (11th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education. https://www.mheducation.com/highered/product/introduction-mass-communication-media-literacy-culture-baran/M9781264204014.html (Book)
Lumen Learning. (n.d.). 9.1 The evolution of television. Lumen Learning. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-hccc-massmedia/chapter/9-1-the-evolution-of-television/ (OER)
Meyers, M. (Producer). (2020, May 7). How to create a pilot episode: Behind the scenes of making a TV show [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AoZn5LbxYc (video)
OER Commons. (n.d.). What is the media? OER Commons. https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15232/student/?section=4 (Graph)
Rebus Community. (n.d.). Chapter 5: Television through time. In Media Studies: A Critical Introduction. Rebus Community. https://press.rebus.community/mscy/chapter/chapter-5-television-through-time/ (Textbook)
Whitehead, C. (2021). The Influences of Syndication on Broadcast
Programming Decisions (Doctoral dissertation). Clemson University. https://open.clemson.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1905&context=all_dissertations (Doctoral Dissertation)
YouTube. (2019, December 6). Courage the Cowardly Dog | "The Chicken from Outer Space" | Cartoon Network. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZiDBlXznYk (Television Episode)
References: Visuals
References: Visuals
Archives New Zealand. (2016, August 25). Wellington, New Zealand, aerial view. Flickr. https://www.flickr.com/photos/archivesnz/29219153103 (image)
Freepik. (n.d.). Payment background design [Vector illustration]. Retrieved January 20, 2025, from https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/payment-background-design_1059007.htm (image)
Meyers, M. (Producer). (2020, May 7). How to create a pilot episode: Behind the scenes of making a TV show [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AoZn5LbxYc (video)
OER Commons. (n.d.). What is the media? OER Commons. https://oercommons.org/courseware/lesson/15232/student/?section=4 (Graph)
Netflix Catalog with Better Call Saul by Stock Catalog, used under CC BY 2.0 / Cropped from original. Available at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/stockcatalog/40062283060/in/photostream/
(image)
YouTube. (2019, December 6). Courage the Cowardly Dog | "The Chicken from Outer Space" | Cartoon Network. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZiDBlXznYk (Television Episode)
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