Growth of Television Viewers in the 1950's

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Growth of Television Viewers in the 1950's

During the nineteen twenties and thirties, depended on each other for

entertainment. The wealthier people would go to the opera to see other

people perform or to a play. One source tells us of other activities

that people used to do to amuse themselves before television became

popular:

'I can recall great big picnic parties. We used to go off on our

bikes. About seven or eight families would get together and ride off

to the North Downs for a picnic and rounders and cricket'.

The people who could not afford these things would settle for a more

low key form of entertainment such as picnics and family outings. As

time progressed, televisions began to emerge but only the very wealthy

were able to afford them. If you had a television it was a symbol of

how much money you had and showed your social status. At first

televisions were very expensive at and if you had one it was a luxury.

However, today nearly every household owns at least one television,

maybe even more. The television has almost become a household

appliance that virtually every family has. It had not always been this

way so what was responsible for the rapid increase in television

viewers? Was it the introduction of new transmitters that allowed

people better access to a television? Was it a fall in the price of

televisions making them more affordable for the less wealthy people?

Was it the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II? All of these questions

help us to find out why the television has become so popular.

Many people can remember watching the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

in 1953 in their living rooms or anywhere whe...

... middle of paper ...

...get a new television

set and why the number of television viewers increased in the 1950s.

Another reason why television was so popular was that more companies

were broadcasting programmes and different channels emerged meaning

that there was something to satisfy everyone.

The number of television viewers rose during the 1950s due to all of

the factors mentioned and also simply due to the fact that technology

was developing. For some people the television was a reminder of just

how fast technology was developing and of course it was a new form of

entertainment. The coronation was an opportunity for people to see

exactly what a television could do. This probably gave people the

incentive to purchase their own television sets. However it was not

the sole reason for why the number of viewers increased in the 1950s.

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