The history behind what we now know as a television goes back to 1920 when it was invented; nevertheless, it wasn’t until 1950´s when televisions became a house hold item. During the first years after the television´s invention, not many people had them in their houses; the reason being their price; it was too high for the masses, and decided to lower the price, without any success. Televisions were still not purchased by the majority of Americans; they just could not afford it. But, when their popularity started to rise, it happened almost overnight. In 1949, there were approximately, 1 million television sets and that number increased drastically; so much so that by 1950 there were 50 million sets in the houses of Americans.
Paul Gottlieb Nipkow was a German technician who invented the Nipkow disk, named after him; his invention was the most successful for television transmissions at the time. During the 20th century, as television sets became more and more affordable for the average American, companies started switching from analog signals for broadcasting, to digital signals; this was, sending the signal to the TV set along cable television system, which brought along with it, more accessories and commodities for society. After more people started buying TV sets, so did the demand for cable television, and that opened the door for the introduction of the service for house and internet services.
It is safe to say that Paul Gottlieb Nipkow was responsible for the television advancement and changing society in the 20th century forever. From advertising to marketing, cartoons, tv shows and news; as this new technology came about, so did advancement in other indirect areas. During the 1950´s, commercials were more about cars, kitchen appliances and beer. Transatlantic images were now able to go thru, along with the entrance of TV sets into American homes, so did new shows, such as Mickey Mouse, I love Lucy, The Tonight Show and many more. As far as news, it made Americans more and more aware of events happening outside their territorial limits. Beyond their county, city, state, country or continent. World War II was able to be transmitted.
