What Was The Role Of Television In The Early 1940's

In the early 1940s televisions were becoming popular in American homes. In the beginning of television there were no 'large networks' or 'must see TV' shows, mostly just presidential debates and sporting events were broadcasted. When the federal government made the studios sell their theater holdings they also blocked them from purchasing television stations as well. Television was gaining power just as the Hollywood Studio System was beginning to fall apart. This is something that would greatly effect the future of Hollywood. Back to the beginning of television, during the early 1940s, televisions would cost the average American family anywhere from four to five hundred dollars to purchase. There were no soap operas, television series, or made for TV movies, like there are today, in fact there were very few stations or networks available for viewing. Networks were created by radio stations at the time, they would convert their studios in order to accommodate this new technology. Although at the time Hollywood studios were not interested, they were blocked from purchasing television studios by the federal government.

People felt like they had their own personal theaters at home and saw movies as more of a luxury. During the war people stayed home to hear the latest news and were basically glued to their TV screens. The movie studios had to work harder in order to keep up interest, as interest in movies was starting to decline. Television was the new and up coming technology and it was exciting. Television was more fast paced and interesting it was live and left little room for actor error. The American public was in awe of television and the decline in movie theater attendee would attest to