A European Television History [Hardcover]

European Television History brings together television historians and media scholars to chart the development of television in Europe since its inception. The volume interrogates the history of the medium in divergent political, economic, cultural and ideological national contexts

• Taking a comparative approach to the topic, the volume is organized around a set of common questions, themes, and methodological reflections
• Deals with European television in the context of television historiography and transnational traditions
• Case study chapters written by scholars from different European countries to reflect their specific areas of expertise

List of Contributors vii

Acknowledgements ix

1 Introduction: Comparative European Perspectives on Television History 1
Jonathan Bignell and Andreas Fickers

2 Early TV: Imagining and Realising Television 55
Knut Hickethier

3 Institutionalising European Television: The Shaping of European Television Institutions and Infrastructures 79
Christina Adamou, with Isabelle Gaillard and Dana Mustata

4 Searching for an Identity for Television: Programmes, Genres, Formats 101
Jérôme Bourdon, with Juan Carlos Ibáñez, Catherine Johnson and Eggo Müller

5 TV Nations or Global Medium? European Television Between National Institution and Window on the World 127
Sonja de Leeuw, with Alexander Dhoest, Juan Francisco Gutiérrez Lozano, François Heinderyckx, Anu Koivunen and Jamie Medhurst

6 American Television: Point of Reference or European Nightmare? 154