Английский язык спецтексты для филологов
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Lesson 7. TelevisionBritain’s first regular television service opened in 1932, when the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) began transmitting four short late-night pro- grammes a week. The development of television was interrupted by the Second World War, but resumed after it, making its first real impact in 1953 when the BBC televised the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. In 1955 Independent Television (ITV) began transmitting, at first only in the London area. Unlike the BBC, which funded its broadcasting with the revenue from radio and television licences, ITV derived its main income from its commer- cial advertising. This arrangement remains today. In 1964 the BBC began transmitting on two channels. BBC 1 and BBC 2, the latter being mainly for drama, arts and sports programmes. BBC 2 first broadcast in colour in 1967, and BBC 1 and ITV followed suit two years later. A second commercial station, Channel 4, opened in 1982. Like BBC 2, it was intended as a mainly arts and ‘cultural’ service, but with the specific task of catering for minori- ty interests. ITV programmes are produced by a number of regional companies. A national company, TV-am, broadcasts news, current affairs and entertainment programmes every morning. The programmes of the regional companies are not restricted to their own area, except for local news coverage. Programmes such as plays and documentaries are seen nationwide. National news programmes on ITV are pro- duced by a separate company, Independent Television News (ITN). BBC 1 broadcasts a schedule of news, information programmes, documen- taries, plays, films and light entertainment (such as comedies and quiz shows) from early morning to late at night. ITV’s schedule is similar, but its presentation is generally slicker and more ‘glossy’. Its programmes are broadcast round the clock. Until the end of 1990, ITV’s programmes and their schedules were under the supervision of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA), which did not itself produce television programmes, since this was done by the regional companies. The IBA was originally set up by the government in 1954 as the Independent Tel- evision Authority (ITA) to provide an additional television service to that of the BBC. It was renamed the IBA in 1972, when its responsibilities were extended to cover independent radio. Its specific functions then came to include the appoint- ing of the ITV companies, the operation of transmitters, and the control of adver- tising. The IBA ceased to exist in 1991, when its television responsibilities were taken over by a new body, the Independent Television Commission (ITC). Com- mercial radio services were taken over at the same time by the new Radio Author- ity. When this change took place, the former ITV channel was renamed Channel
Both the BBC and ITV broadcast educational programmes, including broad- casts for schools. The BBC also transmits programmes for Open University stu- dents. In 1989 satellite television was first transmitted on four channels by the pri- vately owned company Sky Television, and it was joined in 1990 by British Satel- lite Broadcasting (BSB), under contract to the IBA. Because both companies were losing money in their attempts to win viewers, Sky and BSB merged to form a single new company. British Sky Broadcasting, owned equally by News Interna- tional (the media group that owns The Times, among other newspapers) and for- mer BSB shareholders. The new company, trading under the name of Sky Televi- sion, offers five satellite channels, including the two main film channels. Despite the increasing popularity of satellite television, the non-satellite (also called ‘terrestrial’) channels form the main part of most people’s viewing. In 1990, Britain’s most watched channel was ITV, with 27 per cent of all regular viewers. Next was BBC 1, with 21 per cent. Sky Movies and Sky One followed in popularity, with Channel 4 a poor fifth (less than 6 per cent) and BBC 2 eight with only 3 per cent. All viewers must hold an annual television licence. The in- come from it is used by the government to fund the BBC. In the USA, television developed rapidly after the Second World War, the first colour transmissions being made in 1954. There are over 1000 commercial televi- sion companies, and at least three households out of ten can receive ten or more of them. Much US television is geared to news, sport and entertainment, the latter often quiz shows and films. Since the early 1970s, one of the most widely watched programmes has been the coverage of the annual Super Bowl American football final. Most television production is in the hands of ‘the Big Three’: the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). These three have recently been joined by a fourth: Fox Broadcasting, owned by Rupert Murdoch. There is also non- commercial television, the Public Broadcasting System (PBS), which is financed by grants from companies and individuals. It offers quality drama programmes, children’s programmes and national and international news programmes. More than half of all viewers in the USA subscribe to cable television, often referred to as ‘public access TV’ because members of the public are able to make or contrib- ute to many of its programmes. ‘Cable’ is available on literally dozens of channels and has become increasingly popular in recent years. Whereas the ‘Big Three’ are subject to strict regulations concerning the material shown, cable viewers can readily see (and videotape) unexpurgated action films, pornographic films, and coarse comedy shows. In Britain, by contrast, cable was watched in only a minori- ty of homes (only 275000 by t he late 1980s), although over 30 channels were available, including terrestrial, satellite and video broadcasts. The situation altered in 1991, when the Cable Authority, which issued licences, supervised pro- grammes, and promoted cable development, was taken over by the new ITC, giv- ing companies a freer hand. From Oxford Advanced Learner’s Encyclopedic Dic- tionary, p.939. |