Broadcasting Begins

Abstract

The BBC had the urgent need to get a high definition television service up and running motivated by the fast approaching December 31, 1936, expiration of their original radio charter. If they began a regular television service before that date, they hoped to establish a precedent allowing them to continue broadcasting television in addition to their regular radio service as a part of the renewal of their charter (Marshall 2011, p. 312). High definition in the mid-1930s was deemed to be a system with hundreds of lines, far more than the scant tens of lines offered by mechanical television. And so the BBC mandated a competition between Baird and Marconi-Emi to determine who might best supply them with a broadcast system. From the outset Marconi-EMI was the obvious choice, not simply because of the quality of the images an all-electronic system afforded, but in addition it was a company with substantial financial resources and a remarkably accomplished staff of researchers. On the other hand, Baird’s outfit appeared to be a one-man band of comparatively limited technical depth and resources promoting an outmoded technology. The BBC was probably counting on the competition between the two to lessen the embarrassment of telling the disappointing truth to Baird and his colleagues, with whom they had been cooperating for 6 years. Moreover, Baird had the backing of the press, and the appearance of an evenhanded selection process was beneficial for public perception; in fact it was an imperative as far as a publically chartered company was concerned. So with nothing to lose and everything to gain, the BBC mandated a two company competition to objectively determine which of the two systems they would choose for the world’s first television broadcast service.