Television History

Television was invented in the late 1920s (John Logie Baird's mechanical system, Philo Farnsworth's electronic system). Regular broadcasting began in Britain (BBC, 1936) and the US (NBC, 1941). Television transformed society: the 1960 Nixon-Kennedy debate showed the power of visual image in politics; the Moon landing (1969) was watched by 600 million; the Vietnam War's impact was amplified by nightly news coverage. American TV's Golden Ages: the 1950s (I Love Lucy, The Ed Sullivan Show, early drama); the 1990s (The Simpsons, Seinfeld, The Sopranos); and the streaming era (2010s–present, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, The Wire). The shift from network broadcasting to cable to streaming fragmented audiences but raised quality dramatically — the 'Peak TV' era produced 500+ scripted series annually.