OVERVIEW OF THE TELEVISION SCENE

Television pounced upon the scene during one of the worst economic
periods in our countrys history the Great Depression. As a result, TVs
introduction to a potential viewing public went largely unnoticed. People
had more than enough to do trying to provide for their families.
Despite that timing, a few people had a chance to view the future. Thats
exactly what they thought TV was, but even they could not have dreamed
of the successful industry television has become. With the advent of cable
television, there are dozens of stations now competing for the viewer and
showing an extraordinary range of programming from week to week.
Early on, there was only one station. NBC (The National Broadcasting
Company) was the first to broadcast programs a few hours a week on the
television set. Its hard to imagine TV today on such a limited basis, but
every industry has to start somewhere.
Within a couple of years,
there were a number of stations joined NBC and programming was expanded.
World War II provided a minor interruption to service since the
government had to place a restriction on broadcasting. But this only had
the industry working hard behind the scenes, getting ready for the day
when the moratorium was lifted. After the war ended in 1945, the
restrictions were repealed and the dawn of a new media era was
beginning.
Television flourished in the fifties and new programming was the rage of
the industry. Each year many of us looked forward to the introduction of
new shows to watch along with our favorites held over from the previous
programming year. Family gatherings
around the TV set were common
as more and more households obtained its own set.
Today, nearly 100 million households have a television set or two, not to
mention a video cassette recorder (VCR), all to keep up with the latest
offerings from a seemingly infinite number of channels. Satellite dishes
have expanded viewing capability well past our normal limits.
What does this mean to you? Simply put, here are your dollar-making
opportunities. The television industry is already large, yet it is
experiencing its most dramatic growth ever, thanks to the expanding
cable television market. With growth comes needs needs you could
fulfill. If you watch TV a lot, and enjoy it, this chance is for you.
These opportunities are unlimited and it doesnt matter where you reside
or how far you progressed in school. No matter where you live, there is a
cable television company with the ability to hook a television up to its
service. Cable is ready, willing and expanding and its profits show it.
The government has recently focused on this industry simply because of
the outrageous amounts of money it seems to be making. With cable
advertising income closing in on the $4 billion dollar mark, this is an
industry that hides no longer.


In fact, it has been shown that cable TV watchers tend to buy more goods
and services than non-cable TV subscribers. Thus, companies are
clamoring to get their advertising pitch out to these viewers, hoping for
the best. Its not just the Home Shopping
Network thats doing well, but
advertisers on all shows who are benefiting from this marketing boom.
People who can afford cable television monthly rates are the ones who
tend to consume more products anyway and businesses know this.
This booklet will introduce you to several opportunities in the expanding
television market. But it will be important for you to understand what
youre seeing on television. Watch the commercials on any network. See
if there is any pattern, any trend to whats being sold and how. Take notes
and see what youve learned from this viewing. Who are the ads directed
at? Are they visual? Talky? Funny? Serious? What are the products
being sold most often? Does it vary by time slot? You can make a
reference chart for yourself as you digest and interpret this information.
Your understanding of whats going on can mean the difference between
success and failure. Your ability to understand viewing patterns and what
works for advertisers will help you establish yourself as someone with
credentials to give advice on television advertising.
Television is a very innovative medium. Those in the industry are always
on the watch for individuals who possess this trait of coming up with new
ideas and concepts for those that push their wares on television. And all it
takes is the time to watch your television all channels, different times,
different days (weekend vs. weekday) and then analyzing your data to
make inferences about what works well and what doesnt work well.
The remainder of this booklet shows you where some of the opportunities
are in this exciting medium. Good luck!