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TelevisionBeginning of cableThree major networks- ABC, CBS, and NBC
Home Box Office started in 1980
Ted Turner unveiled Cable News Network (CNN)
Rupert Murdoch paid a billion dollars for 20th Century Fox, and with Barry Diller, created Fox
1986: 82% of American adults watched television daily
Average household had the television set on for 7 hours a day
Sunday was the most popular night for televison
Most popular: mini-seriesMade for tv moviesAmericans watched an average of 39 minutes of tv everyday
1985: 68% of all American households (60 million) had cable television
88% of those subscribed to pay cable service like HBO or Showtime
New technology: videocassette recorder, home video games, remote controls
TV Guide: “the remote control switch revolutionized the way we watched TV in the 80’s”
Primetime soap operas- Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest, and Knots Landing
Sitcoms- The Cosby Show, Cheers, Family Ties
The Simpsons- debuted in 1989- Bart Simpson had previously been on Fox’s The Tracey Ullman Show
Crime dramas- Magnum P.I. and Hill Street Blues
Miami Vice- television imagery
Yuppies: thirtysomething and Moonlighting
TV talk shows- Geraldo
Music VideosTime Magazine Dec 26, 1983 cover: Video Rocks! A Musical Revolution
Music video came into its own when MTV premiered on August 1, 1981
Music business revived and reborn
Image was nearly everythingArtist was able to define and redefine image almost at will
“illustrated radio”“a subliminal fashion show”
Some artists felt it elevated image above music
Industry had been in a decline in 1979, revenues plunged more than 10% that year
“I Want My MTV” a phrase popularized by Dire Strait’s megahit “Money For Nothing”
Target audience was 12-24 years old
1987: MTV was available in nearly 36 million homes- up from 2.5 million in 1981
$47 million profit when in 1986 they started VH-1 for older viewers and Nickelodeon for pre-teens
Video was a 3-5 minute promotional tool to sell albums
Record companies paid $20,000 to $50,000 for video production of singles
A new video was provided for MTV for free, and placed in rotation based on viewer response
Major record labels started to court Hollywood studios
Music video approach could succeed in a feature film format
1983: FlashdanceSoundtrack earned $47 million, moving 50,000 to 100,000 tracks a day
Vision Quest, Electric Dreams, Footloose
The director of Footloose actually prepared for his job by watching MTV music videos
The Big Chill, Purple Rain, To Live And Die In LA- music and music videos could sell movies
Three singles from Footloose were Billboard hits before it even premiered in Feb 1984
NBC and TBS- Friday Night Videos and Night Tracks
1984- NBC had Miami Vice- MTV inspired score and cinematography, Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas changed the look of evening drama
Macy’s created a Miami Vice section in it’s men’s department
Soundtrack was a best sellerCritics said it sacrificed a plot for visual impact
Much attention was paid to sets and fashion- earned 1 5 Emmy nominations
Duran Duran- first to release a “video album”
Michael Jackson’s $1.1 million video for Thriller appeared on MTV the album’s sales rose 600,000 units in just five days
Madonna- no one topped taking advantage of image based music revolution
Tub skirts, white lace tights, tank tops, black lace corsets, flourescent bracelets, cross shaped earrings
1985: Madonna’s 1st album sold nearly 3 million units in the U.S.
Like a Virgin- quadruple platinum
Desperately Seeking Susan- big success
Live concert- sold out in 34 minutes
Self-absorption, materialism of teen culture
“Madonna’s whole image is like a finger flip to feminists and earnest liberals.”
Video “Like a Prayer” she caused turmoil by killing a black saint and dancing seductively in front of burning crosses
Radio was forced to play a greater variety of music- video dance clubs sprung up
Whitney Houston, Steve Winwood, etc started to appear in video commercials
MoviesSummer of 1982 was huge-Poltergeist, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Rocky III, The World According to Garp, An Officer and A Gentleman, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
People sought cinematic escape from realities of nation struggling with a deep recession and high unemployment
Biggest hit was E.T.
Grossed a record $89.6 million in the first 25 days
Reached $200 million mark in 66 days