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May 1949 Radio & TV News
 [Table of Contents]
Wax nostalgic about and learn from the history of early
electronics. See articles from
Radio & Television News, published 1919-1959. All copyrights hereby
acknowledged.
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According to a tally crafted by
Radio & Television News magazine in 1949, the total number of television
sets sold in the United States in 1947 and 1948 was 964,206. There were approximately
146 million people at the time per the
U.S. Census. If there was an average of 4 people per household,
that works out to around one television set for every 36 houses. Some households
already had TV sets during that time, but far fewer than half owned a television.
Nobody owned a color TV then because no commercial broadcaster used a color camera.
Color was still a future feature being hyped in
Mechanix
Illustrated and
Scientific
American, like flying cars and personal computers. Today, of course, everybody
that wants a television has a television... or two... or three. Effectively, every
smartphone and computer is a TV (via Internet, not direct OTA transmissions) as
well. In 1949, almost all TVs were owned by people who paid for them themselves.
Today, many sets are bought by people who have been subsidized by fellow citizens
forced to help pay for them via tax policies.
Television Set Shipments by Areas
 Editor's Note: The figures herein are presented
through the courtesy of the Radio Manufacturers' Association (RMA). In view of the
fact that not all television set manufacturers are members of RMA, add approximately
10 per-cent to all of the figures above. Admiral Radio Corporation for one, and
all kit manufacturers, do not belong to RMA, and their production of sets accounts
for at least 10 per-cent additional.
Posted August 19, 2022
(updated from original post
on 6/7/2016)
Color and Monochrome (B&W) Television
Articles
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