1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: Get in touch with technology with tech Stuff from how 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot Com. Eitherre and welcome to tech Stuff. 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: I'm your host job in Strickland. I'm an executive producer 4 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:17,800 Speaker 1: with how Stuff Works in iHeart radio and I love 5 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,400 Speaker 1: all things tech. And we are continuing our story about 6 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:26,040 Speaker 1: our ci A and its history. It's celebrating one hundred 7 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:30,040 Speaker 1: years in two thousand nineteen, so we're looking at how 8 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:32,800 Speaker 1: this company came to be, and we left off in 9 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: the last episode talking about how our ci A formed 10 00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:38,440 Speaker 1: r k O Pictures, largely in an effort to establish 11 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: its sound on film technology called r C A photophone. 12 00:00:43,080 --> 00:00:45,720 Speaker 1: That effort began in nineteen twenty nine, just as the 13 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:50,239 Speaker 1: world was hurtling toward the Great Depression, which wasn't that 14 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:53,520 Speaker 1: great if you ask me. But in October of that year, 15 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: of the stock market crashed and a panic ensued, ultimately 16 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: wiping out the fortunes of millions of investors large and small. 17 00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 1: The effect on numerous industries was devastating. Millions of people 18 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:12,200 Speaker 1: were out of work. Businesses like theaters and restaurants were closing, 19 00:01:12,520 --> 00:01:17,840 Speaker 1: but one industry remained strong, and that was radio. Radios 20 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: were seen as an important element in the home because 21 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:25,480 Speaker 1: they provided a means of escape through entertainment programming, they 22 00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: allowed families to keep up with the news of the world. 23 00:01:28,480 --> 00:01:31,480 Speaker 1: The radio would even play an important part in economic 24 00:01:31,520 --> 00:01:35,160 Speaker 1: recovery when on March twelve, nineteen thirty three, which is 25 00:01:35,160 --> 00:01:37,880 Speaker 1: still in the middle of the Great Depression, US President 26 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,720 Speaker 1: Franklin Delano Roosevelt FDR and O the Words, addressed the 27 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:45,240 Speaker 1: country in a broadcast fireside chat to talk about the 28 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:50,000 Speaker 1: bank crisis. Roosevelt urged Americans to be patient and to 29 00:01:50,080 --> 00:01:53,560 Speaker 1: trust the government as it worked to stabilize the banks. 30 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:55,720 Speaker 1: That helped reverse a trend in which people had been 31 00:01:55,760 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: participating in numerous runs on banks uh and they were 32 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 1: in fear of losing their savings, so they were withdrawing 33 00:02:02,120 --> 00:02:04,840 Speaker 1: all their money from the banks, and it helped make 34 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: stabilization a reality and helped set the ground for recovery now. 35 00:02:09,360 --> 00:02:15,120 Speaker 1: In the mid nineteen thirties, FDR started the Rural Electrification Administration, 36 00:02:15,240 --> 00:02:19,200 Speaker 1: which was tasked with extending electric utilities to rural areas, 37 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: particularly farms. The national estimate for rural farms with electricity 38 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:27,320 Speaker 1: was just at ten percent in the mid nineteen thirties. 39 00:02:27,560 --> 00:02:30,480 Speaker 1: Some areas like Texas were even lower, with only two 40 00:02:30,480 --> 00:02:34,240 Speaker 1: point three percent of farms having electricity. But as more 41 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: communities were getting access to electricity, more people began to 42 00:02:37,800 --> 00:02:41,200 Speaker 1: invest in radios, and so the industry continued to do 43 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:44,960 Speaker 1: well even through the depression, and the depression wouldn't end 44 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:48,600 Speaker 1: until nineteen thirty nine. That put our c A in 45 00:02:48,639 --> 00:02:53,440 Speaker 1: a particularly strong position. It had the National Broadcast Company 46 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:57,800 Speaker 1: or NBC, and it's Blue and Red Networks. That was 47 00:02:58,000 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: a network of radio stations to networks of radio stations 48 00:03:01,400 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 1: technically stretching across the country that would broadcast material that 49 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: had been created in our CIA's New York and New 50 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 1: Jersey studios. This was the golden age of radio. Popular 51 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: formats included music, such as live performances from famous concert 52 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:20,079 Speaker 1: halls and opera houses, but there was also a boom 53 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:24,080 Speaker 1: in radio drama and radio comedy, as well as news 54 00:03:24,120 --> 00:03:27,600 Speaker 1: and game shows. All of those formats were debuting around 55 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,440 Speaker 1: this time. These were programs that would precede the era 56 00:03:30,520 --> 00:03:34,880 Speaker 1: of television, and we're sort of experiencing these are new 57 00:03:35,120 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: today in the form of podcasts. We're getting a lot 58 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 1: of those sort of things like the various radio programs 59 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: and radio dramas. You can find lots of examples of 60 00:03:43,560 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 1: that on podcast today, and they kind of have their 61 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:51,080 Speaker 1: history back in these old radio programs. Some of the 62 00:03:51,080 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 1: more notable programs that played on NBC included the Jack 63 00:03:54,720 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: Benny Program, Dick Tracy, The Spike Jones Show, Dragnet, Burns 64 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:05,280 Speaker 1: and Allen and dozens more. Tons of programs came out 65 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 1: around this time. Now, one thing I find really interesting 66 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: is that NBC sort of created its own rivals. It 67 00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: was an effective monopoly heading into the late twenties. In fact, 68 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:20,719 Speaker 1: it really was a monopoly. It owned a huge network 69 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:24,359 Speaker 1: of radio stations. There were still some independent radio stations, 70 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:27,960 Speaker 1: but there were no competing networks. There was, however, a 71 00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:32,200 Speaker 1: talent agent named Arthur Judson, and he was getting really 72 00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 1: fed up WITHINBC. He was frustrated. He kept meeting with 73 00:04:37,160 --> 00:04:40,240 Speaker 1: resistance when he was trying to get his clients onto 74 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:44,400 Speaker 1: radio programs that were carried by NBC. And so Judson 75 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 1: did what any reasonable person would do. He created his 76 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:51,359 Speaker 1: own network of radio stations, and originally it was called 77 00:04:51,360 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 1: the United Independent Broadcasters. But shortly after Judson founded this 78 00:04:55,920 --> 00:04:59,560 Speaker 1: effort in n he agreed to a merger with the 79 00:04:59,680 --> 00:05:02,680 Speaker 1: column be a phonograph and records company, and this new 80 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: company became known as the Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting Company. The company, however, 81 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:11,960 Speaker 1: didn't do so well. It was up against NBC, which 82 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: was a giant in radio, and so they weren't really 83 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,559 Speaker 1: able to mount a strong offense while they were starting 84 00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: to accrue a whole lot of debt and they came 85 00:05:24,200 --> 00:05:27,479 Speaker 1: up with a big loss of money, uh, and that 86 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:33,039 Speaker 1: led to an acquisition. In nine a rich dude named 87 00:05:33,080 --> 00:05:35,880 Speaker 1: william S. Paley, who had come into a lot of 88 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:40,560 Speaker 1: money due to his father's successful businesses, bought the struggling 89 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:46,520 Speaker 1: concern and he renamed it the Columbia Broadcasting System or CBS. 90 00:05:46,520 --> 00:05:50,479 Speaker 1: So you could argue that our c A created NBC 91 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:55,560 Speaker 1: directly and CBS indirectly. And we're not done with all 92 00:05:55,560 --> 00:05:58,440 Speaker 1: of that yet. But first let's get back to our 93 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:02,760 Speaker 1: c A. In the time around nineteen thirty and nineteen 94 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:06,159 Speaker 1: thirty one, R. C. A. Victor would create the first 95 00:06:06,279 --> 00:06:08,800 Speaker 1: record albums to be played back at the speed of 96 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:12,240 Speaker 1: thirty three and a third revolutions per minute. Now, this 97 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 1: isn't what we would call a long play or LP 98 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:17,839 Speaker 1: record today, even though it was at thirty three and 99 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 1: a third revolutions. Now, I kind of covered all of 100 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,400 Speaker 1: this in the history of turntables, so I'm just going 101 00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:27,360 Speaker 1: to give a relatively brief overview. In the early days 102 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: of flat disc records, most records were made out of 103 00:06:31,120 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 1: a shell ick compound material because it could hold up 104 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:38,160 Speaker 1: to multiple playbacks. They needed something that was going to 105 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 1: maintain its shape as you played it over and over again. However, 106 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 1: shellec was not ideal. It was an abrasive material. It 107 00:06:48,279 --> 00:06:51,080 Speaker 1: had bumps on it, and that meant that a needle 108 00:06:51,160 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 1: going through the groove would occasionally hit these bumps and 109 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:56,200 Speaker 1: it would cause the needles to move around a bit 110 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:59,640 Speaker 1: and create noise in the process, So it wasn't ideal. 111 00:07:00,080 --> 00:07:02,760 Speaker 1: Standard playback speed at the time was seventy eight revolutions 112 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:05,560 Speaker 1: per minute for a couple of big reasons. One was 113 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:10,880 Speaker 1: technical limitations. The motors manufactured at that time were largely 114 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:14,880 Speaker 1: in the thirty six hundred rpm range, so that was 115 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:18,760 Speaker 1: readily available. They were inexpensive, so that's what these these 116 00:07:18,840 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 1: various companies were going after. They went with these motors 117 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: that would turn at three thousand six centered revolutions per minute, 118 00:07:24,800 --> 00:07:29,120 Speaker 1: and then they would use a gear ratio to uh 119 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:33,200 Speaker 1: change that revolutions per minute for the actual platter. So 120 00:07:33,240 --> 00:07:36,000 Speaker 1: the motors turning at three thousand six center revolutions per minute, 121 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:39,240 Speaker 1: and the gear ratio that was most frequently used, the 122 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: one that was again easy to get therefore cheap, was 123 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: a forty six to one ratio gear. So if you 124 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:49,280 Speaker 1: do that math, you say, like, all right, for every 125 00:07:49,480 --> 00:07:53,800 Speaker 1: forty six times this thing turns, this other thing turns 126 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:57,200 Speaker 1: one time, you end up with the seventy eight revolutions 127 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:00,720 Speaker 1: per minute. The higher speed had a secondary function. It 128 00:08:00,800 --> 00:08:04,840 Speaker 1: helped smooth out some of that noise that would otherwise 129 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:07,840 Speaker 1: be present when you're playing back one of these seventy 130 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: eight RPM records. It wasn't a perfect solution, but it 131 00:08:13,000 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 1: was better than playing them back slower, because if you 132 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 1: played them back more slowly, the noise was amplified. You 133 00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:23,160 Speaker 1: you just heard it more. But when Warner Brothers started 134 00:08:23,160 --> 00:08:26,280 Speaker 1: its vitaphone system for films, which I talked about in 135 00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 1: the last episode, the company realized that it would need 136 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: a more efficient system than one that played back at 137 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: r p M. So, if you remember, the vitaphone system 138 00:08:36,120 --> 00:08:38,840 Speaker 1: was where you would record the audio for a film 139 00:08:39,040 --> 00:08:43,280 Speaker 1: onto a disk, and then you would synchronize the playback 140 00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:46,320 Speaker 1: of the disc with the playback of the film, and 141 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:48,880 Speaker 1: that's how you got a talking picture like the Jazz Singer. 142 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:54,200 Speaker 1: But using a seventy eight RPM disc was not a 143 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:57,280 Speaker 1: great idea for that because at that speed it only 144 00:08:57,320 --> 00:09:01,000 Speaker 1: takes about five minutes for a a back device like 145 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:04,520 Speaker 1: a turntable to play through one side of a twelve 146 00:09:04,520 --> 00:09:08,840 Speaker 1: inch disk. Slowing down the RPMs. Reducing the number of 147 00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:12,400 Speaker 1: RPMs would increase the playback time. It would take longer 148 00:09:12,440 --> 00:09:15,679 Speaker 1: for the needle to travel through the groove, and so 149 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:19,040 Speaker 1: Warner Brothers used a gear ratio that had a hundred 150 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:22,280 Speaker 1: eight to one and that created the thirty three and 151 00:09:22,320 --> 00:09:26,040 Speaker 1: a third revolutions per minute speed. R c A decided 152 00:09:26,360 --> 00:09:29,840 Speaker 1: to embrace that approach and introduced new thirty three and 153 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:33,920 Speaker 1: a third rpm turntables in nineteen thirty one that would 154 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:38,040 Speaker 1: playback discs that were recorded at that speed. These turntables 155 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 1: still use the larger groove that the seventy rb M 156 00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:45,439 Speaker 1: records had. However, this is before the micro groove invention. Now, 157 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:49,680 Speaker 1: if you know your history of turntables, you've heard that 158 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:53,679 Speaker 1: the company that introduced the long play album, the LP. 159 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:58,440 Speaker 1: The vinyl LP was Columbia Records, and that this didn't 160 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:01,760 Speaker 1: happen until the nineteen forty these And that's true. When 161 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:05,280 Speaker 1: Columbia Records would bring this innovation forward, it did so 162 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 1: on a new material that was called vinyl, made from 163 00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:12,520 Speaker 1: PVC plastic, and it introduced the micro groove technology that 164 00:10:12,559 --> 00:10:16,280 Speaker 1: brought the width of the groove to the records down 165 00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:19,319 Speaker 1: to about a millimeter wide, and that meant you could 166 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 1: fit way more grooves on each side of a record, 167 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:25,040 Speaker 1: and you could extend playtime to about twenty two minutes 168 00:10:25,080 --> 00:10:27,959 Speaker 1: for a twelve inch disc. But if our Cia introduced 169 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:30,720 Speaker 1: a thirty three and a third format in nineteen thirty one, 170 00:10:31,920 --> 00:10:34,720 Speaker 1: why does Columbia Records get the credit for a thirty 171 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:37,880 Speaker 1: three and a third album in the nineteen forties. Well, 172 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:41,280 Speaker 1: it's because our Cier's efforts were a total failure. The 173 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:44,560 Speaker 1: company had tried to introduce a brand new format and 174 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:48,120 Speaker 1: technology right at the beginning of the Great Depression, and 175 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:51,240 Speaker 1: while families were willing to make payments on their radio sets, 176 00:10:51,240 --> 00:10:54,000 Speaker 1: because a lot of families were buying these things on credit, 177 00:10:54,960 --> 00:10:59,160 Speaker 1: they would end up paying for their radio, say they 178 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:01,839 Speaker 1: were leaves that would get rid of other luxuries, but 179 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:03,600 Speaker 1: they would keep that radio because it was such an 180 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:07,600 Speaker 1: important element of home life. They were not ready to 181 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:10,480 Speaker 1: dip in and buy a whole new piece of electronic equipment. 182 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:12,040 Speaker 1: They didn't have the money for it, they didn't have 183 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:14,040 Speaker 1: the interest in it. They would rather just stick with 184 00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,839 Speaker 1: the thing they already had. So the economics just weren't 185 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:21,640 Speaker 1: there for our Cia, so the company ultimately abandoned the 186 00:11:21,640 --> 00:11:24,839 Speaker 1: thirty three and a third format. When Columbia Records was 187 00:11:24,880 --> 00:11:28,040 Speaker 1: ready to debut its technology more than a decade later, 188 00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 1: executives reached out to our Cia to see if the 189 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:33,280 Speaker 1: company would want to license the technology and build its 190 00:11:33,280 --> 00:11:36,920 Speaker 1: own thirty three and a third turntables. But David Sarnoff, 191 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:39,400 Speaker 1: who you'll remember from the last episode was the very 192 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:43,600 Speaker 1: strong willed guy who was in charge of our Cia, refused. 193 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:46,600 Speaker 1: He did not like the idea of conforming to someone 194 00:11:46,640 --> 00:11:49,760 Speaker 1: else's standards, particularly since our Cia had tried to do 195 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:53,840 Speaker 1: it earlier. Instead, he would push our Cier to market 196 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:56,680 Speaker 1: its own disc format, which would play back at forty 197 00:11:56,760 --> 00:12:00,959 Speaker 1: five revolutions per minute, and thus another format war began. 198 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:05,080 Speaker 1: The speed wars. Our Cer would sell seven inch discs 199 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:08,240 Speaker 1: that would play back at forty five rpm, and Columbia 200 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:10,319 Speaker 1: focused on twelve inch discs at thirty three and a 201 00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 1: third rpm. This took place in the late nineteen forties, 202 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:18,079 Speaker 1: and by nineteen fifty, after seeing several artists leave our 203 00:12:18,160 --> 00:12:21,559 Speaker 1: c A to join Columbia, the company finally gave up 204 00:12:21,600 --> 00:12:23,520 Speaker 1: and began to create its own thirty three and a 205 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:27,360 Speaker 1: third rpm long playing records. The forty five RBM disc 206 00:12:27,559 --> 00:12:30,760 Speaker 1: would become the favorite format for singles and juke boxes, 207 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:33,079 Speaker 1: so it wasn't a total loss. R c A still 208 00:12:33,200 --> 00:12:36,040 Speaker 1: made money off of its format, it just did not 209 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:38,920 Speaker 1: become the standard. I have a lot more to say 210 00:12:39,080 --> 00:12:41,920 Speaker 1: about our ci A and its innovations, but first let's 211 00:12:41,920 --> 00:12:52,199 Speaker 1: take a quick break to thank our sponsor. Okay, we 212 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:55,120 Speaker 1: gotta jump back to the nineteen thirties. Now, we went 213 00:12:55,160 --> 00:12:57,480 Speaker 1: ahead a little bit to talk about the thirty three 214 00:12:57,480 --> 00:13:01,200 Speaker 1: and a third versus forty five rpm speed wars that 215 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 1: stretched all the way into the late nineteen forties back 216 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: to the nineteen thirties. In nineteen thirty two, under pressure 217 00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:11,160 Speaker 1: from the United States federal government, the partners that formed 218 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:14,440 Speaker 1: our ci A all jumped ship at issue was the 219 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:17,840 Speaker 1: monopoly like status that our CIA enjoyed as both an 220 00:13:17,840 --> 00:13:21,079 Speaker 1: operator of radio stations and as an arm for these 221 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:24,959 Speaker 1: various companies to develop and sell technologies. So, in other words, 222 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:29,079 Speaker 1: the government that had created this monopoly now felt that 223 00:13:29,120 --> 00:13:31,440 Speaker 1: maybe things have gone a bit too far, because remember, 224 00:13:31,440 --> 00:13:36,200 Speaker 1: the United States made this monopoly, they encouraged it, and 225 00:13:36,240 --> 00:13:40,000 Speaker 1: now they were saying, well, this is getting a bit uncomfortable. 226 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:44,200 Speaker 1: So General Electric, Westinghouse and A. T and T All 227 00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:47,120 Speaker 1: sold their interest in our Cia to the new company. 228 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:50,599 Speaker 1: It became an independent company called the r C A Corporation. 229 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:55,680 Speaker 1: David Sarnov would remain in charge of this new independent company. 230 00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:59,840 Speaker 1: Our CIA was a pioneer and another big consumer electronic category, 231 00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:03,480 Speaker 1: which would be television. Our Cia had employed Vladimir's Warkin, 232 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:07,120 Speaker 1: the television developer who had fought for the title of 233 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:10,000 Speaker 1: inventor of television, a title that most people would give 234 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:14,760 Speaker 1: to his rival Filo Farnsworth. Farnsworth first demonstrate electronic television 235 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:18,040 Speaker 1: back in nine seven. Zorekin, however, had worked with a 236 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 1: guy named Boris Rosing in Russia who had been working 237 00:14:21,760 --> 00:14:26,880 Speaker 1: on a similar experiment more than a decade before. Farnsworth's demonstration, 238 00:14:27,080 --> 00:14:30,200 Speaker 1: but Rossing's work had not really reached a level of 239 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:33,720 Speaker 1: sophistication interesting enough for big business at the time, and 240 00:14:33,800 --> 00:14:39,000 Speaker 1: it was crewed by comparison to Farnsworth's invention. Sarnov would 241 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:41,080 Speaker 1: hires Warrikin to head up a division in our c 242 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:44,920 Speaker 1: A to develop electronic television technology with the goal of 243 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:48,400 Speaker 1: creating a consumer product in the future. Now as a whole, 244 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:53,000 Speaker 1: our c A would invest around fifty million dollars into 245 00:14:53,040 --> 00:14:57,280 Speaker 1: this project, which is a princely sum today, but remember 246 00:14:57,520 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 1: this was back in the late twenties and into the 247 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:05,560 Speaker 1: third season forties. That was a truly gargantuan sum of 248 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:08,920 Speaker 1: money back then, and it shows how Sarnoff, the man 249 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,080 Speaker 1: who had proposed the radio music box before becoming the 250 00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:14,640 Speaker 1: head of our CIA, could see how the future of 251 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:19,880 Speaker 1: an entertainment might unfold. He was convinced that television would 252 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:23,000 Speaker 1: be the next big thing after radio, and you certainly 253 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,880 Speaker 1: could say he was absolutely right. Now, all of that 254 00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:30,000 Speaker 1: work that this investment would bring about would gets shown 255 00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:33,520 Speaker 1: off on a very large stage the nineteen nine World's 256 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:36,400 Speaker 1: Fair in New York City. R c A demonstrated the 257 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:40,840 Speaker 1: electronic television system there and broadcast the first televised address 258 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:44,760 Speaker 1: by a US president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. That same year, 259 00:15:44,800 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 1: our CI A would pay Farnsworth some licensing fees to 260 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:50,560 Speaker 1: use some of his patents, and our CIA began selling 261 00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:54,280 Speaker 1: television sets. They were pretty darn small. The picture tubes 262 00:15:54,400 --> 00:15:58,080 Speaker 1: measured five by twelve inches or twelve point seven by 263 00:15:58,120 --> 00:16:02,000 Speaker 1: twenty five point four centimeters. So you might wonder how 264 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:06,880 Speaker 1: do these electronic television's work. The heart of the technology 265 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:11,440 Speaker 1: is the CRT, or a cathode ray tube. This is 266 00:16:12,000 --> 00:16:15,720 Speaker 1: not just how the images get generated, it's also what 267 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 1: serves as the screen that you look at in these 268 00:16:19,520 --> 00:16:23,360 Speaker 1: old televisions. I'm talking about the old big TVs, the 269 00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:26,960 Speaker 1: wide deep TVs, not flat screen or anything like that. 270 00:16:26,960 --> 00:16:31,200 Speaker 1: That's a different method to produce the same sort of result. 271 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:36,240 Speaker 1: So the CRT is essentially an electron generator. A CRT 272 00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:41,320 Speaker 1: is kind of like a giant lightbulb, a more sophisticated lightbulb. 273 00:16:41,720 --> 00:16:46,400 Speaker 1: Inside the CRT is a filament, a small piece of 274 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:51,040 Speaker 1: material that's meant to heat up and then shed electrons. 275 00:16:51,280 --> 00:16:53,800 Speaker 1: If you run current through the filament, it causes it 276 00:16:53,840 --> 00:16:56,880 Speaker 1: to heat up and as the atoms in the filament 277 00:16:56,960 --> 00:17:00,000 Speaker 1: gain energy they begin to shed these electrons. The elect 278 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:05,880 Speaker 1: trons pop off of the atoms. Positively charged elements called anodes, 279 00:17:06,280 --> 00:17:10,439 Speaker 1: attract the electrons. Because opposite charges attract right electrons have 280 00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:13,119 Speaker 1: a negative charge, they get attracted to things that have 281 00:17:13,200 --> 00:17:17,240 Speaker 1: a positive charge. The old CRT sets had essentially a 282 00:17:17,320 --> 00:17:20,800 Speaker 1: focusing anode which would pull the stream of electrons into 283 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:24,320 Speaker 1: a very tight beam, and an accelerating anode, which would 284 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:28,280 Speaker 1: you know, accelerate the stream of electrons. The destination for 285 00:17:28,320 --> 00:17:31,960 Speaker 1: this stream of electrons is the backside of the television 286 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:35,440 Speaker 1: screen itself. So you're looking at a screen on a TV. 287 00:17:36,040 --> 00:17:40,560 Speaker 1: On the reverse side of that screen, that's the backside 288 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:45,760 Speaker 1: for you. That is where the electrons are making impact. Uh. 289 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:47,800 Speaker 1: It's like looking at the fat end of a light 290 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:51,200 Speaker 1: bulb if you think about it. That's what the television 291 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:54,080 Speaker 1: screen is. So on the back side of this TV 292 00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:57,320 Speaker 1: screen is a coding a phosphor, which is a material 293 00:17:57,359 --> 00:18:01,000 Speaker 1: that will give off light when it's sighted by energy, 294 00:18:01,040 --> 00:18:04,399 Speaker 1: in this case, when it's struck by electrons. And coding 295 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:06,119 Speaker 1: the rest of the inside of the tube is a 296 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:09,520 Speaker 1: conductive material that's meant to soak up electrons as they 297 00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:12,600 Speaker 1: build up on the screen side of the tube. Wrapped 298 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:15,879 Speaker 1: around the base of the CRT are two sets of 299 00:18:15,960 --> 00:18:20,119 Speaker 1: steering coils. One set runs parallel to the base of 300 00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:24,119 Speaker 1: the CRT and one set wraps across the base of 301 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:27,760 Speaker 1: the CRT. These are copper windings, the kind you would 302 00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:31,280 Speaker 1: find in an electromagnet. In fact, they are essentially electromagnets, 303 00:18:32,000 --> 00:18:34,920 Speaker 1: and when you run electricity through the coils, you create 304 00:18:34,960 --> 00:18:39,280 Speaker 1: magnetic fields. These sets of windings are at perpendicular angles 305 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:41,480 Speaker 1: to each other. Right, you've got the parallel kind and 306 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,639 Speaker 1: the perpendicular kind. And one set is used to steer 307 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:48,240 Speaker 1: the beam of electrons vertically and the other one steers 308 00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:51,119 Speaker 1: the beam of electrons horizontally. And if you change the 309 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:54,159 Speaker 1: voltage in the coils, that directs the electron beam to 310 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:58,639 Speaker 1: specific points on the screen. Now, when you turn on 311 00:18:58,760 --> 00:19:02,240 Speaker 1: this electron beam, it starts to paint the back side 312 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:05,720 Speaker 1: of the screen. That is, it's shooting electrons at the 313 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:08,280 Speaker 1: phosphors on the back side of the screen, causing those 314 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:12,280 Speaker 1: phosphors to glow. The beam scans across the screen one 315 00:19:12,359 --> 00:19:15,480 Speaker 1: line at the time, from the top to the bottom. 316 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:18,159 Speaker 1: So the beam first moves left or right across the 317 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:20,560 Speaker 1: top of the screen. When it reaches the right side, 318 00:19:20,840 --> 00:19:24,600 Speaker 1: the beam turns off the electron flow and then rapidly 319 00:19:25,160 --> 00:19:29,360 Speaker 1: redirects back to the left and down one line, so 320 00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:32,920 Speaker 1: it goes down a notch, and then it does it again. 321 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:34,800 Speaker 1: When it gets all the way down to the bottom 322 00:19:34,920 --> 00:19:37,119 Speaker 1: right side of the screen, the beam turns off and 323 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:40,360 Speaker 1: it returns back to the upper left position and starts over. 324 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:43,840 Speaker 1: It would take a while before broadcast standards would really 325 00:19:43,840 --> 00:19:46,880 Speaker 1: define how all televisions would work in the United States, 326 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:51,480 Speaker 1: but eventually it evolved into this approach where a CRT 327 00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:56,240 Speaker 1: television would paint a screen sixty times per second. However, 328 00:19:56,680 --> 00:20:00,280 Speaker 1: it would only paint half the lines per for frame, 329 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:03,840 Speaker 1: so in the first frame it might paint all the 330 00:20:03,920 --> 00:20:07,120 Speaker 1: odd lines so one, three, five, seven, and so on, 331 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:11,160 Speaker 1: and the second frame would have the electron beam paint 332 00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:15,760 Speaker 1: all the even lines. So while the electron beam would 333 00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:18,960 Speaker 1: be moving across the screen sixty times per second the 334 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:23,040 Speaker 1: entire frame of odd and even lines, the total screen 335 00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:26,919 Speaker 1: would be painted thirty times per second. Eventually, TVs had 336 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:30,960 Speaker 1: a standard of five twenty five lines, so every second 337 00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:34,720 Speaker 1: the electron beam would paint a total of fifteen thousand, 338 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:39,119 Speaker 1: seven hundred fifty lines. So our c shows off this 339 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:43,920 Speaker 1: technology in nine. The company also broadcast the first televised 340 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:47,600 Speaker 1: baseball game on May sevent ninety nine. It was between 341 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:51,119 Speaker 1: Columbia University and Princeton. I don't know who won. I 342 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:53,760 Speaker 1: didn't look it up, but it was all done on 343 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:57,800 Speaker 1: a single camera, which I imagine created a somewhat limited 344 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:04,159 Speaker 1: effect for watching on TV, especially considering that at the 345 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:08,280 Speaker 1: time you needed a whole lot of light to get 346 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:12,840 Speaker 1: a good picture on these on these televisions because the 347 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:16,679 Speaker 1: cameras were limited, early television broadcasts were tricky in general. 348 00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:19,280 Speaker 1: The camera technology, like I said, required a whole lot 349 00:21:19,280 --> 00:21:21,920 Speaker 1: of light to create a strong enough signal to send 350 00:21:21,920 --> 00:21:24,040 Speaker 1: out to t VS, and a lot of light meant 351 00:21:24,080 --> 00:21:27,800 Speaker 1: that television personalities, you know, actors, newscasters, that sort of thing. 352 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:31,879 Speaker 1: They were all pretty much exclusively white people at that time. 353 00:21:32,320 --> 00:21:34,760 Speaker 1: They would appear washed out on screen because they had 354 00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:37,960 Speaker 1: so much light on them. To deal with that, the 355 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:42,440 Speaker 1: actors would often have to wear dark makeup, frequently green makeup. 356 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:45,000 Speaker 1: It would show up better. And remember all TVs at 357 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:47,880 Speaker 1: this point are black and white sets, so no one 358 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 1: knew that the people were all green because they're seeing 359 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:56,600 Speaker 1: a black and white image. The actors, newscasters, etcetera. Would 360 00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 1: often also wear black lipsticks so that their lips would 361 00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:03,679 Speaker 1: actually be visible on screen. Early TV sales were a 362 00:22:03,680 --> 00:22:06,080 Speaker 1: little slow. The nation was still climbing out of the 363 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:10,000 Speaker 1: Great Depression, and it was an expensive new technology. And 364 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:13,400 Speaker 1: another event meant that the entire industry would be put 365 00:22:13,400 --> 00:22:16,600 Speaker 1: on pause for several years. And that little event would 366 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:19,840 Speaker 1: be World War Two. Now, if you listen to my 367 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:22,960 Speaker 1: last episode, if you haven't, you should, you know that 368 00:22:23,040 --> 00:22:25,879 Speaker 1: the First World War was what led to the formation 369 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:28,760 Speaker 1: of our CIER in the first place. World War two 370 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:32,040 Speaker 1: would slow down the consumer electronics business, but our ci 371 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:36,200 Speaker 1: A wasn't put into moth balls and storage. They weren't struggling. Instead, 372 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:39,520 Speaker 1: the company opened up the r c A Research Laboratories 373 00:22:39,600 --> 00:22:43,120 Speaker 1: in Princeton, New Jersey, and for years the company had 374 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:46,280 Speaker 1: relied upon its close association with General Electric for R 375 00:22:46,320 --> 00:22:49,440 Speaker 1: and D. But now it could pursue its own research 376 00:22:49,480 --> 00:22:53,080 Speaker 1: with its own facility with I think a hundred scientists 377 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:56,000 Speaker 1: when they first opened up, and much of that early 378 00:22:56,119 --> 00:22:59,080 Speaker 1: research would be dedicated to the war effort on the 379 00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:01,840 Speaker 1: part of the United States. Our c A would develop 380 00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:05,919 Speaker 1: a smaller version of its Icono scope for the military. 381 00:23:06,119 --> 00:23:10,720 Speaker 1: The iconoscope was uh the television camera tube that Zorakin 382 00:23:10,880 --> 00:23:14,520 Speaker 1: had developed. So I described how the cathode ray tube 383 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:18,840 Speaker 1: worked in a effort to display images. The econoscope was 384 00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:23,159 Speaker 1: how these images were initially captured to be transmitted to 385 00:23:23,400 --> 00:23:27,840 Speaker 1: a television And it's an element that has a particularly 386 00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:34,120 Speaker 1: peculiar shape. It would be inside the television camera. I've 387 00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:37,320 Speaker 1: seen the shape referred to as a barrel shaped bulb 388 00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:41,199 Speaker 1: and an angled neck. And there were a couple of 389 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:43,840 Speaker 1: different versions of the econoscope that did not take that 390 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:46,960 Speaker 1: particular shape, but most of them did. I do not 391 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:50,760 Speaker 1: think I can adequately describe what this looks like. I don't. 392 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:53,640 Speaker 1: I don't think it's within my powers of description. So 393 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:56,960 Speaker 1: I suggest if you are interested in seeing what these 394 00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:59,679 Speaker 1: things look like, because they're kind of funky looking, you 395 00:23:59,760 --> 00:24:03,440 Speaker 1: go onto an image search and look for icona scope 396 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:07,040 Speaker 1: I C O IN O S c O p E 397 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:12,800 Speaker 1: because they do look pretty unusual. So they consisted of 398 00:24:12,840 --> 00:24:16,120 Speaker 1: a few parts. One part was called the target. This 399 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:19,080 Speaker 1: was the area of the icono scope that would receive 400 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,479 Speaker 1: the focused light coming from the camera's lens. All right, 401 00:24:22,520 --> 00:24:24,280 Speaker 1: So you've got a scene in front of you. Let's 402 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:28,040 Speaker 1: say that it's a news scene. There's a desk, a 403 00:24:28,080 --> 00:24:32,680 Speaker 1: news anchor. You have very bright lights shining on that scene, 404 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:35,359 Speaker 1: and that light is some of that light anyway, is 405 00:24:35,440 --> 00:24:39,720 Speaker 1: traveling through the camera's lens and it gets focused onto 406 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:43,920 Speaker 1: this target. The target itself has an array of photo 407 00:24:43,960 --> 00:24:48,320 Speaker 1: sensitive dots on it, or pixels if you like, and 408 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:54,239 Speaker 1: they would end up generating a different voltage based upon 409 00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:57,960 Speaker 1: how much light was hitting them. An electron beam would 410 00:24:57,960 --> 00:25:01,399 Speaker 1: sweep across the target. The electron beam is generated by 411 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:05,160 Speaker 1: an electron gun that's in that angled neck I had 412 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:09,679 Speaker 1: explained about just a minute ago. So you get this 413 00:25:09,760 --> 00:25:13,480 Speaker 1: proportional current flow from the dots based upon how much 414 00:25:13,520 --> 00:25:16,200 Speaker 1: light is hitting them, and the electron beams sweeps across 415 00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:21,200 Speaker 1: this and then it would send this signal out through 416 00:25:21,320 --> 00:25:25,160 Speaker 1: to an amplifier for transmission to television receivers that would 417 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:28,920 Speaker 1: then reverse this process. Our ci A developed a lightweight 418 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:32,199 Speaker 1: version of this for the United States military. By the 419 00:25:32,200 --> 00:25:35,040 Speaker 1: time the war would end, the company and the rest 420 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:39,399 Speaker 1: of the industry would move toward alternative camera designs that 421 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:43,160 Speaker 1: didn't rely so heavily on brightly lit environments, which, as 422 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 1: it turns out, are a difficult thing to insist upon 423 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:49,960 Speaker 1: during wartime operations, so a lot of the television based 424 00:25:50,040 --> 00:25:53,080 Speaker 1: technologies that are c A developed for the military were 425 00:25:53,119 --> 00:25:56,000 Speaker 1: of limited use. I'll explain more in just a second, 426 00:25:56,119 --> 00:25:59,480 Speaker 1: but first let's take another quick break to thank our sponsor. 427 00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:09,880 Speaker 1: One of the things the modified iconoscope would be used 428 00:26:09,920 --> 00:26:14,640 Speaker 1: for was in a very early attempt to create unmanned drones. 429 00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:18,880 Speaker 1: In nineteen forty one, the United States military converted some 430 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:23,320 Speaker 1: manned aircraft so that they could be controlled remotely. The 431 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:26,200 Speaker 1: camera would mount on top of the drone and beam 432 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:29,080 Speaker 1: back a signal to the operator, which meant there didn't 433 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:33,320 Speaker 1: need to be visual contact between the remote pilot and 434 00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:37,080 Speaker 1: the actual aircraft. In ninety two, the military was able 435 00:26:37,119 --> 00:26:39,560 Speaker 1: to pilot such a drone on a test flight to 436 00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:42,920 Speaker 1: land on a target ship, and it was controlled from 437 00:26:42,920 --> 00:26:45,800 Speaker 1: a control aircraft at a distance of thirty miles or 438 00:26:45,840 --> 00:26:50,359 Speaker 1: fifty kilometers from that target ship. Pretty incredible now. One 439 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:54,680 Speaker 1: of the projects that used this technology was called Operation Afrodite, 440 00:26:54,840 --> 00:26:58,560 Speaker 1: in which old B seventeen and B twenty four bombers 441 00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:02,360 Speaker 1: were loaded up with explosives and launched under human control. 442 00:27:02,840 --> 00:27:06,960 Speaker 1: You would have a tailing aircraft following behind and at 443 00:27:06,960 --> 00:27:10,480 Speaker 1: a certain distance from the intended target. The human pilot 444 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,520 Speaker 1: of that B seventeen or B twenty four would bail 445 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:17,639 Speaker 1: then parachute out of the bomber. The trailing aircraft would 446 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:20,000 Speaker 1: have two pilots aboard it. One of them would be 447 00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:23,200 Speaker 1: controlling the actual trailing aircraft and the other one would 448 00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:26,439 Speaker 1: be manning the remote controls for the bomber. Actually, in 449 00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:30,720 Speaker 1: several cases it would require two pilots to control the 450 00:27:30,720 --> 00:27:36,320 Speaker 1: the remote controlled aircraft. Joe Kennedy, brother to John Kennedy, 451 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:40,040 Speaker 1: a former US President, actually died while serving as a 452 00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:44,160 Speaker 1: volunteer pilot for this operation. Our c A also developed 453 00:27:44,359 --> 00:27:47,960 Speaker 1: technologies that would be used in glider bombs, and also 454 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:51,159 Speaker 1: a program called the t d r drone, but the 455 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:55,280 Speaker 1: technical limitations of camera and television technologies meant these were 456 00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:58,720 Speaker 1: of limited use. The tdr drone was probably the most 457 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:02,959 Speaker 1: successful of all the different experiments, but at that stage 458 00:28:03,440 --> 00:28:05,480 Speaker 1: uh the United States had entered a part of the 459 00:28:05,520 --> 00:28:08,120 Speaker 1: war where it was more about brute force and less 460 00:28:08,119 --> 00:28:12,400 Speaker 1: about precision strikes, and so the tdr drone only had 461 00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:16,480 Speaker 1: limited use during the war, but the military contracts really 462 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:21,879 Speaker 1: helped justify Starnov's massive investment in developing television technology and 463 00:28:21,920 --> 00:28:24,040 Speaker 1: admit that our CI a had the money to build 464 00:28:24,040 --> 00:28:28,040 Speaker 1: out its manufacturing facilities. So on top of those projects, 465 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:30,800 Speaker 1: are Cia engineers at the R and D facility also 466 00:28:30,840 --> 00:28:35,280 Speaker 1: worked on radar antenna phosphors for radar screens, They worked 467 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:39,200 Speaker 1: on acoustic fuses for various types of munitions, and they 468 00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:43,280 Speaker 1: also helped develop things like infrared cameras and navigation equipment. 469 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:47,000 Speaker 1: It became one of the indispensable companies that the United 470 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:50,000 Speaker 1: States would rely upon to develop wartime technologies that weren't, 471 00:28:50,200 --> 00:28:55,320 Speaker 1: you know, weapons and of themselves. Meanwhile, as the war 472 00:28:55,480 --> 00:28:58,640 Speaker 1: raged in Europe, our Cia would make another big move 473 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:03,200 Speaker 1: back at home. In ninety three, the company was forced 474 00:29:03,320 --> 00:29:07,240 Speaker 1: to sell off its NBC Blue network and sold it 475 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:10,600 Speaker 1: to a guy named Edward J. Noble. Now, if you 476 00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:15,120 Speaker 1: remember from our last episode, NBC was originally two different networks. 477 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:18,080 Speaker 1: You had a Blue network and you had a Red network. 478 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:21,200 Speaker 1: The heart of the Blue network was a radio station 479 00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:24,520 Speaker 1: that had originally been established by Westinghouse, and the heart 480 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:27,440 Speaker 1: of the Red network was a radio station originally created 481 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:30,640 Speaker 1: by A. T and T. The Blue network was mostly 482 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:35,400 Speaker 1: known for non sponsored content like news reports and culture broadcasts, 483 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:39,280 Speaker 1: and the Red network was the one known for commercially 484 00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:43,240 Speaker 1: sponsored entertainment and was the more popular and more profitable 485 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:46,280 Speaker 1: of the two networks. Well. A few years earlier, in 486 00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:50,760 Speaker 1: ninety four, the Mutual Broadcasting System filed a complaint to 487 00:29:50,800 --> 00:29:54,440 Speaker 1: the FCC and said that NBC and CBS had a 488 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:57,640 Speaker 1: d woppoli over the national radio market, that those two 489 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:02,760 Speaker 1: companies had pretty much come completely dominated the industry, and 490 00:30:02,800 --> 00:30:06,040 Speaker 1: this case made its way through the court system because 491 00:30:06,040 --> 00:30:09,400 Speaker 1: the FCC agreed and ordered NBC to divest itself of 492 00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:13,720 Speaker 1: either the NBC Blue Network or the NBC Red Network. 493 00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:17,040 Speaker 1: R c A appealed to the Supreme Court but lost, 494 00:30:17,360 --> 00:30:20,040 Speaker 1: which led to the sale of the less popular Blue 495 00:30:20,080 --> 00:30:23,800 Speaker 1: network to Edward J. Noble, who had made his fortune 496 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:31,320 Speaker 1: in life savers the candy not the emergency flotation device anyway. 497 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:36,520 Speaker 1: Noble paid eight million dollars for NBC Blue A Prince Lisa, 498 00:30:37,200 --> 00:30:43,120 Speaker 1: and on June NBC Blue would officially be renamed the 499 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:47,880 Speaker 1: American Broadcasting Company, or ABC, and so our c A 500 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:51,160 Speaker 1: had a hand in creating all three of the original 501 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:56,640 Speaker 1: major broadcasters in the United States. Radio and television broadcast companies. 502 00:30:57,160 --> 00:31:03,040 Speaker 1: The company directly created NBC, it inadvertently created CBS, and 503 00:31:03,040 --> 00:31:07,080 Speaker 1: then created the network that would become ABC. At the 504 00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:09,360 Speaker 1: end of World War Two, our c A was in 505 00:31:09,400 --> 00:31:12,719 Speaker 1: a strong position to build out the consumer television market. 506 00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:16,040 Speaker 1: The company had used its military contract money to build 507 00:31:16,040 --> 00:31:19,959 Speaker 1: out manufacturing facilities, and it can now rededicate those facilities 508 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:24,000 Speaker 1: to making consumer goods instead of military equipment. Our c 509 00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:27,160 Speaker 1: A started selling black and white television sets in nineteen 510 00:31:27,320 --> 00:31:31,840 Speaker 1: forty six, so remember they had demonstrated it in nineteen 511 00:31:31,880 --> 00:31:34,160 Speaker 1: thirty nine, but World War two pretty much put a 512 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:37,360 Speaker 1: complete stop to that effort. So in forty six they 513 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:40,720 Speaker 1: start selling these sets and to create content, our c 514 00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:44,080 Speaker 1: A would rely upon NBC, which would not just make 515 00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:48,000 Speaker 1: radio content, but now television content as well. Many of 516 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:52,040 Speaker 1: the popular radio series would be converted into TV series, 517 00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:56,440 Speaker 1: and this created a new challenge because now personalities couldn't 518 00:31:56,480 --> 00:32:00,560 Speaker 1: just sound great, they needed to look great too. This 519 00:32:00,720 --> 00:32:03,600 Speaker 1: was kind of the opposite of how things changed when 520 00:32:03,640 --> 00:32:06,800 Speaker 1: sound came to motion pictures, because before sound, it was 521 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:10,600 Speaker 1: important that you look really good for the camera. After sound, 522 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:14,160 Speaker 1: you also had to sound good for the microphones. Now 523 00:32:14,160 --> 00:32:17,120 Speaker 1: this leads us up to nineteen and what I call 524 00:32:17,240 --> 00:32:22,160 Speaker 1: the Great Talent Raid. CBS, which was also getting into 525 00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:27,280 Speaker 1: television production, needed some good looking stars and NBC had 526 00:32:27,320 --> 00:32:31,120 Speaker 1: a lot of them. So William S. Paley, the guy 527 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:35,640 Speaker 1: who had purchased CBS, who had formed it out of 528 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:39,360 Speaker 1: the company that Judson had tried to create years earlier, 529 00:32:39,920 --> 00:32:44,840 Speaker 1: ordered a talent raid on NBC. This involved CBS executives 530 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:49,480 Speaker 1: offering lucrative contracts to many of NBC's big stars. And 531 00:32:49,760 --> 00:32:53,520 Speaker 1: previous to this there had been sort of an understanding, 532 00:32:53,560 --> 00:32:58,360 Speaker 1: a gentleman's agreement, if you will, that the two networks 533 00:32:58,480 --> 00:33:02,520 Speaker 1: would not dare raid each other for talent. And now 534 00:33:02,600 --> 00:33:07,800 Speaker 1: Paley says, you know what, Yeah, So they ended up 535 00:33:07,880 --> 00:33:11,640 Speaker 1: luring people like George Burns and Gracie Allen and Jack 536 00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:15,840 Speaker 1: Benny to jump ship from NBC to CBS. So our 537 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:18,960 Speaker 1: c A and NBC built the network and a lot 538 00:33:18,960 --> 00:33:21,400 Speaker 1: of the technologies that led to the rise of television, 539 00:33:21,720 --> 00:33:23,840 Speaker 1: and CBS was able to pull a fast one and 540 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:27,360 Speaker 1: make the transition from radio to television smoothly by hiring 541 00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:31,240 Speaker 1: away some of NBC's talent. Saranov had been a little 542 00:33:31,280 --> 00:33:34,720 Speaker 1: slow to adapt to the world that Paley had been forging. 543 00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:37,720 Speaker 1: Sarnov was really good at leading his company to sell 544 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:41,920 Speaker 1: radio sets and televisions, and Paley had been more effective 545 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:45,760 Speaker 1: at designing programming so as to say that the stuff 546 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:49,200 Speaker 1: that it would actually air on those radio sets and television's. 547 00:33:49,480 --> 00:33:53,160 Speaker 1: Paley had embraced advertising as a source of revenue. He 548 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:57,880 Speaker 1: was also wholeheartedly into creating sponsored content, in which a 549 00:33:57,920 --> 00:34:00,280 Speaker 1: company would pay for the production costs of a show 550 00:34:00,600 --> 00:34:04,040 Speaker 1: in return ver receiving heavy promotion, sometimes in ad breaks, 551 00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:08,960 Speaker 1: sometimes even within a show itself. Sarnov wasn't really crazy 552 00:34:08,960 --> 00:34:10,759 Speaker 1: about that type of business. He thought of it as 553 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:14,799 Speaker 1: being distasteful, and reportedly he wouldn't meet with ad executives 554 00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:18,440 Speaker 1: at all. He delegated all of that to his direct reports. Paley, 555 00:34:18,440 --> 00:34:21,440 Speaker 1: on the other hand, would seek out those ad executives, 556 00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:24,719 Speaker 1: and so while NBC had a huge headstart on CBS, 557 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:27,920 Speaker 1: Paley was able to catch up pretty quickly, even before 558 00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:31,719 Speaker 1: the TV era had begun. Sarnof did rise to meet 559 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:34,680 Speaker 1: Paley's challenge and had the benefit of our c A 560 00:34:35,160 --> 00:34:39,239 Speaker 1: backing NBC up, whereas Paley was running CBS without a 561 00:34:39,280 --> 00:34:43,640 Speaker 1: larger corporation behind it. In nineteen fifty Just four years 562 00:34:44,040 --> 00:34:47,680 Speaker 1: after our CIA had introduced a consumer television black and 563 00:34:47,680 --> 00:34:51,080 Speaker 1: white set, the company showed off a new innovation. It 564 00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:54,399 Speaker 1: was one that would change television dramatically. This would be 565 00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:58,400 Speaker 1: color television, and it would take some time for the 566 00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:01,600 Speaker 1: format to become the standard and American households, but it 567 00:35:01,680 --> 00:35:03,680 Speaker 1: was another big innovation from our CI, a that had 568 00:35:03,719 --> 00:35:07,320 Speaker 1: a major impact on technology and culture. In our next episode, 569 00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:10,839 Speaker 1: I will explain how color television works. I'll explain how 570 00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:15,000 Speaker 1: our CIA's version of color television became the standard for 571 00:35:15,160 --> 00:35:19,000 Speaker 1: broadcast in America, and we'll also talk about some of 572 00:35:19,000 --> 00:35:21,720 Speaker 1: the other businesses that our CIA got involved in, including 573 00:35:21,719 --> 00:35:27,160 Speaker 1: things like semiconductors, electron microscopes VCRs, and how the fifties 574 00:35:27,160 --> 00:35:30,480 Speaker 1: through the seventies would be a boon time for the company, 575 00:35:30,680 --> 00:35:33,960 Speaker 1: but it would lead to some troubled times a little 576 00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:37,560 Speaker 1: later on, and what would happen in the eighties. So 577 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:39,920 Speaker 1: we'll be following all of that in our next episode. 578 00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:42,160 Speaker 1: I hope you enjoyed this one. If you have any 579 00:35:42,239 --> 00:35:45,240 Speaker 1: suggestions for future topics I should cover on tech Stuff, 580 00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:47,800 Speaker 1: send me a message. You can email me the address 581 00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:51,560 Speaker 1: is tech stuff at how stuff works dot com, or 582 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:55,279 Speaker 1: you can visit our website that's tech Stuff podcast dot com. 583 00:35:55,320 --> 00:35:57,680 Speaker 1: You'll find other ways to contact me and the archive 584 00:35:57,800 --> 00:36:00,719 Speaker 1: of all of our episodes on there. Don't forget to 585 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:03,520 Speaker 1: visit our merchandise store over at t public dot com 586 00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:06,719 Speaker 1: slash tech stuff. Every purchase you make goes to help 587 00:36:06,760 --> 00:36:09,440 Speaker 1: the show, and we greatly appreciate it, and I'll talk 588 00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:18,239 Speaker 1: to you again really soon. 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