Little did we know how radio and television broadcasting have evolved in years since their invention a little more than a century ago. The world saw its first radio broadcast in 1906 and the first public regular television broadcast in 1936 as initiated by British Broadcasting Company (BBC).
The first experimentation of electronic broadcasting was conducted in the closing years of the 19th century. This was the time when experiments were made leading to the development of radio and television broadcasting that we know today.
Our present generation knows only of three electronic media broadcasting namely: radio, television and webcasting. But we only have a little knowledge of the method of broadcasting prior to the development of radio and television receivers in the 1920s and 1930s respectively.
Did you know that the oldest form of electronic broadcasting in the world was telephone broadcasting? Yes, there existed a dedicated system for telephone broadcasting before the world saw its first commercial radio broadcasting using radio receivers in 1920. The first telephone broadcasting began in 1881 when French inventor Clement Ader introduced the Theatrophone system.
In a telephone broadcasting, a subscriber was able to listen to live opera and theatre performances through the use of Theatrophone system. It was a system where a person could listen over telephone lines a live broadcast of opera and theatre and nothing more. This may sound hilarious today but the system was already a technological advancement of the conventional telephony system during that time.
The telephone broadcasting continued to grow and included newspapers and entertainment services in 1890s. The subscriber base also grew as the 19th century drew to a close. The telephone-based broadcasting services were primarily found in major European cities.
The first audio radio broadcast began in 1906 when Reginald Fessenden from Brant Rock, Massachusetts performed an experiment using a rotating machine, known as Alexanderson alternator, and rotary spark-gap transmitter. Several test broadcasts followed with improved transmission signals until in August 1920 when radio station WWJ in Detroit received its license to operate commercial radio broadcasting.
Although test broadcasts were conducted in the early years of the 20th century, commercial television broadcasting was not available until 1930s. The world’s first scheduled television service was in the United States in1928 when electromechanical television sets were already commercially available.
Cable radio broadcasting was already available in 1928 while cable television (cable TV) was introduced in 1932. The cable technology used a coaxial cable to transmit radio signals either through radio or television medium. The programs available via this technology are offered via subscription.
The introduction of digital terrestrial television is a major improvement in television broadcasting technology. The technology uses a conventional aerial antenna instead of satellite or cable television connection. The primary purpose of digital terrestrial broadcast is a reduced used of spectrum but hold more capacity. This leads to the production and increasing availability of HDTV sets in the market today.
The switching from analog broadcasting to digital terrestrial television broadcasting has been implemented as early as 2001 in some countries. Other countries adopted the technology rather late while other countries such as India and Indonesia are not adopting at all. Most Western and Northern European television stations are now in full digital terrestrial television broadcasting.