Broadcasting: outline

• Radio and Television history

• Broadcasting policy:
1) Spectrum
– Roots of goverment intervention
– Alternatives and trade-offs
2) Ownership concentration
• Cable's rise
Broadcasting history (Radio)
• 1881: The "musical telephone" was a major attraction at
the International Electrical Exhibition in Paris. The
Compagnie du Théatrophone, was established in Paris,
distributing music by telephone from various theatres
to special coin-operated telephones installed in hotels,
cafés etc., and to domestic subscribers. The service
continued until 1932
• 1895 Guglielmo Marconi sends a radio signal more than
a mile.
• 1919: Radio Corporation of America formed
Pooled patents (Westinghouse, ATT, GE)
• 1920: first US Commercial radio broadcast
No restrictions on who can broadcast
• 1926: RCA forms NBC to encourage receiver sales (later
forced to divest "Blue Network", which became ABC)
• 1927: CBS formed
• 1927 Radio Act: Licensing
 Broadcasting History (TV)

• 1930s: experiments with "radio

with pictures" RCA
• 1940: National TV System
Committee (NTSC)
• 1946: TV service starts in US
12 VHF channels licensed initially
• 1950s: TV overtakes radio
• 1952: channel expansion – additional 70 UHF channels
(less desirable)
• 1953: Color TV
• 1980: 83% of households have color TVs
• Since 1990: 98% of households have TVs, cable passes
90% of US homes
Ownership concentration rules
• Radio station ownership limits
– 1940s: 7 AM and 7 FM stations
– 1985: 12 AM and 12 FM stations
– 1992: 18 AM and 18 FM
– 1994: 20 AM & 20 FM stations
– 1996: nationwide ownership limits for radio stations
eliminated.
• TV station ownership limits
– 1940s: 3 stations
– 1953: 5 stations
– 1984: 12 stations, max. reach of 25%
– 1996: any number, max. reach of 35%
• Cross-ownership rules
– 1975 ban of newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership
– Limits on number of broadcast station in single market
1920's radio policy debate
• Fundamental tension:
press freedom vs scarce spectrum
• Alternatives debated?
• Relative merits?
• Market for spectrum
– Why not initially?
– Primary vs secondary market
 Spectrum and licenses
• Channels: artificial structure on ethereal resource
AM radio: 10 kHz / channel
FM radio: 200 kHz / channel
TV: 6 MHz / channel
• Spectrum scarcity leads to government allocation of licenses
• Who gets licenses? Typically powerful players
- existing radio stations received TV licenses
- existing TV station receive HDTV spectrum
- after initial allocation, secondary market
• License renewals: over 10,000 in the US since 1950s, only 50
contested, only 20 denied.
• Alternatives:
- spectrum auctions (primary market)
- unlicensed spectrum
• Trends: redefined basis for spectrum property rights
Spectrum policy trends
• Reallocation of spectrum from Federal
government use to non-Federal government use
• Allocation of more spectrum for mobile as
opposed to fixed applications
• Use of auctions to assign spectrum to particular
users (started 94)
• Increased licensee flexibility in the use of
assigned spectrum
• Continued support for unlicensed services
• Increased competition in the provision of all
telecommunications services, including radio-
based services
• Increased reliance on voluntary standards.