National Educational Television

National Educational Television
Type	Broadcast television network
Country	United States
Availability	United States and parts of  Canada
Founded	1952
Owner	Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Launch date	May 16,1952
Dissolved	October 4,1970 (Renamed PBS (Public Broadcasting Service)

The color NET logo was incorporated into a model building at the beginning and end of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood from 1969 to 1970.

National Educational Television was an educational television network in the USA from 1952 to 1970. It was replaced on October 5, 1970 by the Public Broadcasting Service, which continues to the present.

History

The network was founded as the Educational Television and Radio Center (ETRC) in November 1952 by a grant from the Ford Foundation's Fund for Adult Education. It was originally a limited service for exchanging and distributing educational programs produced by local television stations to other stations; it did not produce any material by itself. In the spring of 1954, ETRC moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, and on May 16 of that year it began its operation as a "network". It put together a daily five-hour package of programming, releasing it primarily on kinescope film to the affiliated stations by mail. The programming was noted for treating subjects in depth, including hourlong interviews with people of literary and historical importance. The programming was also noted for being dry and academic, with little consideration given to entertainment value, in marked contrast to commercial television. Many of the shows were designed as adult education, and ETRC was nicknamed The University of the Air. The center's headquarters moved from Ann Arbor, Michigan to New York City in 1958 and the organization became known as the National Educational Television and Radio Center (NETRC). The center became more aggressive at this time, aiming to have the role of the U.S.' fourth television network. This included the beginning of imported programming from the BBC into the United States. It increased its output to ten hours a week. The organization changed tack again in November 1963. It renamed itself National Educational Television, and spun off its radio assets. Under the centerpiece show NET Journal, NET began to air controversial, hard-hitting documentaries that explored numerous social issues of the day such as poverty and racism. While praised by critics, many affiliates, especially those in politically and culturally conservative markets, objected to the perceived liberal slant of the programming. In 1966, NET's funding came into question when the Ford Foundation decided to begin withdrawing financial support because of NET's constant need for additional funding. In the meantime, the affiliated stations (e.g., WGBH, WETA, WNDT, WTTW, WQED, KCET) were determined to try to keep that from happening by looking for ways to help the network. The U.S. government intervened and created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 1967 to fund the network for the time being. However, the CPB's intent was to create its own public broadcasting network. This was done because many NET affiliates were alienated by the programming. These affiliates felt NET's simultaneous production and broadcasting of programming constituted a conflict of interest. PBS first began operations in 1969, with NET producing several shows. However, NET's refusal to stop airing the critically-acclaimed but also hard-hitting and controversial documentaries led to the decision of both the CPB and the Ford Foundation to shut NET down. In late 1969, both threatened to withdraw their funding grants unless NET merged with Newark, New Jersey public station WNDT-TV. On Monday, October 5, 1970, the very same day that PBS officially began broadcasting, NET and WNDT-TV officially completed their merger. NET ceased to operate as a separate network from that point, although some NET-branded programming, such as NET Journal, was part of the PBS schedule for another couple of years before the identity was finally retired. WNDT's call sign was changed to the present WNET shortly thereafter. Shows that began on NET, such as Sesame Street and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, continue to air on PBS today. The NET acronym has since been revived twice; first in the 1990s, as National Empowerment Television, a short-lived politically rightist cable network; and in 2005, when Nebraska ETV and Nebraska Public Radio were united under a single name, Nebraska Educational Telecommunications.

IDs

1st ID

Screen capture of the first NET ID. (1963-1968) [1]

Introduced in 1963, this was National Educational Television's best known ID. A red block sets down from the left side of the screen, then, a yellow block rises up from the center of the screen and a blue block sets down from the right side of the screen. Afterwards, the blocks turn into the letters "N-E-T" before coming closer to each other. Then a man's voice from 1963-1969 would say "This is N-E-T, the National Educational Television network." The 1st ID is now only available in grayscale. As he says this, the words 'National Educational Television' appears above the NET logo and bends to form a roof with an antenna on it, which connects the T. This logo was used on Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers Neighborhood (with the latter, the logo was superimposed into a building within the model set at the beginning and end of each program). The music was a choppy synth composed by Eric Siday, who also did the synth for the Screen Gems ID (referred to by some as the "S from Hell") and for CBS's color programming ID.

2nd ID

NET black and white ID. (circa 1966) [2]

This identity is rather rare, and only known to exist in black and white. It was used in 1966. First, gray dots appear and disappear rapidly. A white circle is drawn around the dots and several curved vertical and horizontal lines cover the circle to create an image of a globe. A small fire appears in the globe. Several white lines appear under the globe to make the letters "NET". The globe ultimately winds up on top of the "T". The music playing in the background during the animation is industrious-sounding. When the animation is complete, an announcer says, "This is N-E-T, the National Educational Television network."

3rd ID (Color)

NET's color ID (1969-1970) [3]

The color version of the first ident followed the same principle, except that the announcer would say "This is N-E-T, the Public Television Network." As this is said, a blue line (which replaced the words above "N-E-T") was drawn above the letters, and was bent to form its usual position. This was used from 1969 until the forced merger with New York station WNDT-TV in October 1970, officially disbanding the network.

Naming

• 1952-1958: Educational Television and Radio Center (ETRC)
• 1958-1963: National Educational Television and Radio Center (NETRC)
• 1963-1970: National Educational Television (NET)

See also

• List of United States television networks
• PBS
• PBS idents (includes IDs for NET)

External links

• NET page on museum.tv
• A Black & White recording of the 1st ident from YouTube
• Black & White recording of the rare 2nd ident from YouTube