The history of American commercial iptv premium is very fascinating. When televisions were first invented and started catching on with the masses, nobody could imagine the huge worldwide impact the fondly nicknamed ‘idiot box’ will have on the society. But it did happen. The number of televisions in American homes was something around 6000 in 1946. It increased to around 12-13 million in 1951. By 1955, almost 50% of American families owned a black and white television. This widespread public demand for television increased with the introduction of cable televisions in 1960s which enjoyed as many as 80000 or more subscribers in New York only in 1975 and color televisions. Television became one of the greatest inventions in the world and complete revolutionized the way American society functioned. In the words of Alexander, “I came, I saw, I conquered”.
The 1950s were considered as the golden age of television with breakthroughs in television broadcasting. There were magazine format tv shows like Today in 1952 and The Tonight Show in 1953 and shows like Peter Pan in 1955 which all attracted as many as 60-70 million viewers. ABC Network ran youth-oriented tv shows like Disneyland in 1954 and The Mickey Mouse Club in 1955 which became extremely popular in USA. Broadcasting companies like NBC and CBS were inspired by theater and introduced dramatic and critically acclaimed tv shows like Studio One (1948), Kraft Television Theater (1947), Playhouse 90 (1956) etc. There were commercially successful tv shows like Twelve Angry Men, Marty, the hugely popular I Love Lucy etc. There quiz contests with high prize money like The $64,000 Question.
American politics, political journeys, poll news, presidential nominations etc were also broadcasted by television. The Huntley-Brinkley Report was a popular newscast on NBC network in 1956 increasing demand for television news. The election of John F. Kennedy, coverage of the Vietnam War, the wildly popular The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite made television journalism even more popular. Walter Cronkite became a household name in America. The three networks that dominated the American television scene were NBC, ABC and CBS.
American television has traveled a long and exciting journey and the future looks promising as well. The history needs to be chronicled and preserved so that our future generation can appreciate its greatness.
