Two Thriving Industries.

The "television industry" actually comprised two industries: one that manufactured television receiver sets, and one that manufactured the shows that people watched. Both of these industries developed quickly in the years after World War II, and both were thriving by the middle of the 1950s. The percentage of American homes with television sets rose dramatically throughout the decade, from slightly less than 20 percent in 1950 to nearly 90 percent in 1960. By then few aspects of American life remained untouched by the new medium.

A Long Infancy.

Industry pioneers such as Sarnoff, president of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), had waited several decades to offer television for mass consumption. Sarnoff had followed research on the broadcast of images since the mid 1920s. By the late 1930s several companies, including RCA, were broadcasting experimentally in large urban areas. In 1940 there were twenty-three stations...