Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

TELEVISION IS HERALDED AS THE "MED- ICAL LECTURE HALL OF THE FUTURE", IN WHICH OPERATIONS CAN BE WATCHED AS SURGEONS EXPLAIN TECHNIQUES. television stations throughout the country; a vastly enlarged audi- ence; the establishment of cable and radio relay facilities linking stations into inter-city networks; the general improvement of pro- grams; increased advertising sup- port; and vigorous competition, as the new industry takes form on a nation-wide scale. There are now 18 stations on the air with regular television pro- grams. In 1948, it is estimated that there will be approximately 50 tele- vision stations in operation; there may be more. A television network now links Washington, Baltimore, Philadel- phia, New York and Schenectady. In November, a radio relay link was opened between Boston and New York, so that programs can be picked up along that route. Con- gress and the White House, through this television network, can on spe- cial occasions be viewed by hundreds of thousands of people throughout the East. Congress was televised for the first time on January 7, 1947, when President Truman ad- dressed a joint session. He again was seen over a seven-station net- work in the first telecast from the White House on October 5. The World Series of 1947 was another "first" telecast. Such events to- gether with football, basketball, hockey, parades, dramas of the Theatre Guild, and other programs of national interest, emphasize the value of a television receiver in the home. Between 150,000 and 175,000 tele- vision receivers are in use. By the end of 1948, a total of approxi- mately 750,000 is foreseen, and it may reach 1,000,000. By that time, it is estimated that the New York area will have 400,000 sets; figuring six viewers to each receiver, the New York audience will be about 2,400,000. Based upon the progress to date, within a year television measured in consumer prices will approach the status of a $500,000,000-a-year industry, and it will grow in size with the years. For the first two years of commercial television — 1947 and 1948 — it is estimated that the American public will spend approximately four times as much for television receivers as it did for broadcast receivers during the first two years of sound broadcasting — 1921 and 1922. Television is built upon the deep and firm foundations of sound broadcasting, which gradually will be fused with sight. It will be sup- ported by advertising. Already those who have a television set in the home are responding to its tremendous appeal and to the serv- ice which it offers in entertainment, news and education. In ever-in- creasing numbers, people sitting comfortably at home are becoming eye-witnesses to news as it happens, to history as it is made. For exam- ple, the first royal wedding ever to be broadcast also was televised when Princess Elizabeth and Lieu- tenant Philip Mountbatten, Duke of Edinburgh, were wed on November 20. Throughout the London area, the event was telecast, and the films, flown across the Atlantic, were tele- vised the next day in New York. New Uses of Television Opportunities for television ex- tend into many fields aside from the home. It has tremendous edu- cational possibilities in the school as well as for home extension courses. It brings the radio teacher into view, permits the use of demon- strations and illustrations, and gives the blackboard a new dimen- sion. Theater television too has great potentialities because it adds time- liness and heightens dramatic ap- peal. Several demonstrations of its effectiveness were made during 1947. Warner Bros. Pictures Inc., and Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation are cooperating with RCA Victor in a program of re- search to study the development and uses of large-screen television for the motion picture industry. Industrial television is a field in which electronic "eyes" can aid in processes and production. Wher- ever sight is needed, or wherever the eye plays a part in industrial operations, entertainment, news, merchandising or advertising, tele- vision is ready to serve. Depart- ment store television will facilitate shopping tours as housewives look in and then phone their orders; the air will become a convenient show- window for an unprecedented num- ber of buyers shopping in comfort, regardless of weather or time of day. Tjfenty-seven Years of Progress As television was being enthusi- astically welcomed into the family circle, radio sound broadcasting celebrated its 27th year in 1947. More than 36,000,000 American homes are equipped with at least one radio receiver, and many of them have three or four. Five mil- lion automobiles carry radios and millions of portable sets are in use. Conservative estimates place the total of receiving sets in the United States at more than 65,000,000. New broadcasting stations placed PEOPLE AT HOME ARE BECOMING EYE- WITNESSES TO NEWS AS IT HAPPENS, TO POLITICS AS PRACTICED, TO SPORTS AS PLAYED, AND TO HISTORY AS IT IS MADE. [4 RADIO AGE]