History of radio worldwide
By the early 1930s, radio has acquired an industry status in many countries. Amplitude Modulated (AM) frequency was used for radio broadcasting prior to FM frequency. In 1937, Edwin Armstrong invented the frequency Modulated (FM) radio that used FM frequency. The first commercial FM radio broadcast was made in December 1941 at Nashville. The advent of FM radio further increased the listener base on account of the level of clarity in the broadcast.
However, the advent of TV during the 190s severely eroded the listener base of the radio industry. The ban exerted on media during world war II (1942-45) added tops the industry’s woes. Post war, the TV industry grew at an incredible pace. During are initial years, TV shows were primarily adaptations o existing radio shows. However, in the mid-1950s, TV shows created a distinctive identity for themselves in the field of entertainment and communication. In the next two decades TV media extended its roots to all corner of the world and became an inseparable part of almost every household. As a result, radio programming experienced a decline in popularity.
Many of the leading radio broadcasting companies shifted their focus to TV programming on account of the shift in the audience preference. Consequently the radio industry suffered from inadequate funding. In spite of all these, in the 1950s, radio still remained one of the major mass communication media. In 1954, the number of radios in the world (257 million) exceeded, for the first time, the number of newspapers printed daily (256) million. The advent of the transistor and FM stereo, in the 1950s and 1960s respectively, also contributed to the increase in the listener base because of its size, style, and portability and improved quality of broadcasting. By the early 1970, the FM band overtook the AM band across the world and gained popularity among the young listeners. The industry faced another with the advent of satellite broadcasting technology during the mid -1970. This technology enabled TV networks to show their programs all over the world. In the 1980s, the satellite TV industry established itself family, reaching out to millions of subscribers allover the world, generating huge revenue through advertisements. And in the 1990s, in the internet evolved as a major communication channel, linking people across the world via computers. The internet soon became a craze across the world and was very popular with the younger generation during the late 1998.
In light of these developments, many analysts forecasted the end of radio broadcasting. However, many of them commented that radio broadcasting had successfully withstood competition from TV and satellite broadcasting, and would remain one of the major sources of mass communication across the world, despite the internet. Portability and free accessibility of radio indoors and outdoors mainly contributed to the success of radio broadcasting worldwide. In small and developing countries radio broadcasting remains a major means of communication. Some analysts were also of the opinion that radio broadcasting would retain its popularity in future on account of recent technological development in field like digital radio and satellite radio, which would allow it to survive and progress alongside with other advanced media.
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