Radio - Broadcasting, Technology, Music

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<div class="col-auto"> <div class="topic-left-rail md-article-drawer position-relative d-flex border-right-sm border-left-sm open"> <div class="drawer d-flex flex-column open"> <div class="left-rail-section-content"> <div class="topic-left-rail-header text-truncate bg-gray-50 position-relative text-right d-flex align-items-center"> <div class="tlr-title px-20 py-15 text-left"> <em class="material-icons text-gray-400 d-lg-none" data-icon="toc"></em> <a class="font-serif font-weight-bold text-black link-blue" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/radio">radio</a> </div> <button aria-label="Close" class="js-sections-close-button btn-link btn-sm btn d-lg-none position-absolute top-0 p-10 right-0" > <em class="material-icons font-26" data-icon="close"></em> </button> </div> <div class="section-content pl-10 pr-20 pl-sm-50 pr-sm-60 pl-lg-5 pr-lg-10 pt-10 pt-lg-0 bg-gray-50 clear-catfish-ad"> <div class="toc mb-20"> <div class="font-serif font-14 font-weight-bold mx-15 mb-15 mt-20"> Table of Contents </div> <ul class="list-unstyled my-0" data-level="h1"><li data-target="#ref1"><div class="pl-25"><a class="link-gray-900 w-100" href="/topic/radio">Introduction & Top Questions</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref301713"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><div class="ml-25"></div><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio#ref301713">Radio’s early years</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"></div></li><li data-target="#ref301714"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-Golden-Age-of-American-radio">The Golden Age of American radio</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301715"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-Golden-Age-of-American-radio#ref301715">A new commercial medium</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301716"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-Golden-Age-of-American-radio#ref301716">The need for regulation</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301717"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-Golden-Age-of-American-radio#ref301717">The role of advertising</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301718"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-Golden-Age-of-American-radio#ref301718">The development of networks and production centres</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301719"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-Golden-Age-of-American-radio#ref301719">Ratings systems</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301720"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/A-new-art-form">A new art form</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301721"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/A-new-art-form#ref301721">Radio acting</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301722"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/A-new-art-form#ref301722">Sound effects</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301723"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/A-new-art-form#ref301723">Radio music</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301724"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/A-new-art-form#ref301724">Golden Age programming</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301725"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/A-new-art-form#ref301725">Origins in vaudeville</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301726"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Comedy">Comedy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301727"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Comedy#ref301727">Situation comedy</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301728"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Variety-shows">Variety shows</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301729"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Variety-shows#ref301729">Anthology shows</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301730"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Variety-shows#ref301730">Film-based anthology shows</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301731"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Variety-shows#ref301731">Police and detective dramas</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301732"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Westerns">Westerns</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301733"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Westerns#ref301733">Horror and suspense</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301734"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Westerns#ref301734">Science fiction</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301735"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Westerns#ref301735">Soap operas</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301736"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Juvenile-action-and-adventure-series">Juvenile action and adventure series</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301737"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Juvenile-action-and-adventure-series#ref301737">Sports</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301738"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Juvenile-action-and-adventure-series#ref301738">News</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301739"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/American-radio-goes-to-war">American radio goes to war</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301740"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/American-radio-goes-to-war#ref301740">The end of American radio’s Golden Age</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref301741"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-Golden-Age-around-the-world">The Golden Age around the world</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301742"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-Golden-Age-around-the-world#ref301742">Canada</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301743"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-Golden-Age-around-the-world#ref301743">Great Britain</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301744"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Continental-Europe">Continental Europe</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301745"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Continental-Europe#ref301745">Luxembourg</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301746"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Continental-Europe#ref301746">Germany</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301747"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Continental-Europe#ref301747">France</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301748"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Continental-Europe#ref301748">Soviet Union</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301749"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Continental-Europe#ref301749">Asia</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301750"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Continental-Europe#ref301750">China</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301751"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Continental-Europe#ref301751">India</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301752"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Continental-Europe#ref301752">Japan</a></li></ul></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301753"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Continental-Europe#ref301753">Latin America</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301754"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Continental-Europe#ref301754">Brazil</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301755"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Continental-Europe#ref301755">Mexico</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref301756"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Reinventing-radio-1945-60">Reinventing radio, 1945–60</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301757"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Reinventing-radio-1945-60#ref301757">Postwar rebuilding</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301758"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Reinventing-radio-1945-60#ref301758">Growth of the BBC</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301759"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Reinventing-radio-1945-60#ref301759">Economic and political concerns</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301760"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-rise-of-Top-40-radio">The rise of Top 40 radio</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301761"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-rise-of-Top-40-radio#ref301761">The FM phenomenon</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301762"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-rise-of-Top-40-radio#ref301762">Radio in developing countries</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref301763"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/New-initiatives-1960-80">New initiatives, 1960–80</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301764"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/New-initiatives-1960-80#ref301764">FM growth</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301765"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/New-initiatives-1960-80#ref301765">Pirates and public-service radio</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301766"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Radio-in-developing-markets">Radio in developing markets</a></li></ul></div></li><li data-target="#ref301767"><div class="d-flex align-items-center"><button class="h1-link-drawer-button btn btn-xs btn-circle d-flex rounded" type="button" aria-label="Toggle Heading"><em class="material-icons font-18" data-icon="keyboard_arrow_right"></em></button><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Radio-in-developing-markets#ref301767">Radio since 1980</a></div><div class="ml-40 toc-drawer sub-toc-drawer"><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301768"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/Radio-in-developing-markets#ref301768">Pressures on public-service radio</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h2"><li data-target="#ref301769"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-changing-sound-of-radio">The changing sound of radio</a><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301770"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-changing-sound-of-radio#ref301770">In Europe</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301771"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-changing-sound-of-radio#ref301771">In the United States</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301772"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-changing-sound-of-radio#ref301772">In Latin America</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li data-target="#ref301773"><a class="w-100 link-gray-900" href="/topic/radio/The-changing-sound-of-radio#ref301773">In Asia</a></li></ul><ul class="list-unstyled" data-level="h3"><li 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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/radio-and-television-broadcasting" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">The Canadian Encyclopedia - Radio and Television Broadcasting</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Courses/Orange_Coast_College/The_Introduction_to_Mass_Communication_Book/06%3A_Radio" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Social Science LibreTexts - Radio</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://case.edu/ech/articles/r/radio" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Case Western Reserve University - Encyclopedia of Cleveland History - Radio</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/a-short-history-of-radio.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Federal Communications Commission - A Short History of Radio (PDF)</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://pressbooks.wtamu.edu/mediacommunication2e/chapter/the-evolution-of-radio/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">West Texas A&M University Pressbooks - Media Communication, Convergence and Literacy, Second Edition - The Evolution of Radio</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/326834486.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">CORE - Digital Transformation of Radio Broadcasting: An Exploratory Analysis of Challenges and Solutions for New Digital Radio Services</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://www.elon.edu/u/imagining/time-capsule/150-years/back-1890-1930/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Elon University - Imagining the Internet - 1890s – 1930s: Radio</a></li> <li><a class="external" href="https://uen.pressbooks.pub/writingforelectronicmedia/chapter/radio/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">UEN Digital Press with Pressbooks - Radio</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Randy-Skretvedt/5492" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Randy Skretvedt</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Radio producer, writer, and scholar of 20th-century show business. Author of <em>Laurel & Hardy: The Magic Behind the Movies</em>.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Randy Skretvedt</span>, <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/contributor/Christopher-H-Sterling/5658" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">Christopher H. Sterling</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">Professor of Media and Public Affairs and of Public Policy and Public Administration, George Washington Unversity, Washington, D.C.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> Christopher H. Sterling</span><span class="text-gray-700 mx-5">•</span><a class="see-all border-gray-700 gtm-byline" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/radio/additional-info#contributors">All</a> </div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 qa-editor-popup font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/radio/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Key People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Orson-Welles" topicid="639348">Orson Welles</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Dylan-Thomas" topicid="592795">Dylan Thomas</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Bob-Hope" topicid="271454">Bob Hope</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Rupert-Murdoch" topicid="398054">Rupert Murdoch</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Reginald-Aubrey-Fessenden" topicid="205416">Reginald Aubrey Fessenden</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related Topics: </dt> <dd><a href="/technology/broadcasting" topicid="80543">broadcasting</a></dd> <dd><a href="/technology/radio-technology" topicid="1262240">radio technology</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/mass-communication" topicid="2220027">mass communication</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/public-service-radio" topicid="1805106">public-service radio</a></dd> <dd><a href="/topic/program-broadcasting" topicid="734752">program</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/radio"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><span class="marker h5"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref301756"> <section data-level="2" id="ref301757"><h2 class="h2">Postwar rebuilding</h2> <span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Building on its wartime experience, radio expanded exponentially after 1945, with many countries adding new languages and services and a number of fairly small nations playing a prominent role on the air. Indicative of the changing world scene, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/British-Broadcasting-Corporation" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">British Broadcasting Corporation</a> (BBC) international service added <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Russian-language" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Russian language</a> programs late in 1946.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">For many countries, the years after <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-II" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">World War II</a> were focused on rebuilding or replacing prewar radio stations and network links. In 1945–50 Allied occupation authorities in Germany and <span id="ref1124010"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Japan" class="md-crosslink ">Japan</a> required dramatic changes in both programs and management, chiefly in order to <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="diminish" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/diminish" data-type="EB">diminish</a> centralized control and excessively nationalistic content. The number of radio transmitters in Japan grew from 195 in 1953 (after the occupation ended) to 400 a decade later, in part because of the introduction of a parallel system of privately owned stations.</p><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">After <span id="ref1124009"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Germany" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Germany’s</a> defeat, the occupying powers immediately decentralized radio to the <em>länder</em> (states) and encouraged regional, cultural, and news content. These stations were supervised in part by elected advisory councils of local citizens. The Soviet zone, which became the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/East-Germany" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">German Democratic Republic</a> (or East Germany), operated a centralized state-controlled radio service (paralleling that of Moscow) until 1989. The British and American zones largely copied the BBC’s public-service example. Germans took over management of the various <em>länder</em>-based West German radio services in the late 1940s.</p><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD4 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Reconstruction in other European countries included both <span id="ref1124046"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/amplitude-modulation" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">AM</a> and long-wave services. Given the total destruction of their <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/broadcasting" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">broadcasting</a> systems, Poland, Greece, and much of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Soviet-Union" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Soviet Union</a> virtually had to start over. The number of transmitters in Europe increased from 566 in 1950 to more than five times that number by 1962, those in Russia alone increasing fourfold (to more than 400) in the same period. <span id="ref1124012"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Radio-Luxembourg" class="md-crosslink ">Radio Luxembourg</a> resumed its highly successful commercial service heard throughout Europe and Britain, again attracting large audiences. While most stations operated with funds from listener license fees, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/advertising" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">advertising</a> time was sold on some stations in Austria, Germany, Ireland, <span id="ref1124119"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Italy" class="md-crosslink ">Italy</a>, Portugal, and Spain.</p><span class="marker MOD4 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD5 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">In the postwar period, Australia continued its dual system of government and private stations, while <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Zealand" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">New Zealand</a> relied upon government stations alone—although one network was supported by advertising. The first radio services also began to appear on many of the populated islands in the Pacific.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD5 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD6 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">From the first wave of decolonization in the late 1950s, the potential of radio to assist in economic development was slowly recognized, if not so widely <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="implemented" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/implemented" data-type="MW">implemented</a>. In most developing countries, radio stations were found clustered in major cities, with little or no service available in rural regions. Many externally funded experiments that applied radio to some aspect of the developmental process ended when the money ran out. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/UNESCO" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">UNESCO</a> and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/World-Bank" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">World Bank</a> were the chief supporters of such experiments, as radio was seen as the most useful mass medium in places where literacy levels were low and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/television-technology" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">television</a> or newer media were prohibitively expensive to install and maintain.</p><span class="marker MOD6 mod-inline"></span></section> <section data-level="2" id="ref301758"><h2 class="h2">Growth of the <span id="ref1123909"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/British-Broadcasting-Corporation" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">BBC</a></h2> <span class="marker PREMOD7 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="160489" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/91/151191-050-F2615FDF/Book-cover-police-drama-Dick-Barton.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/488788/160489"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/91/151191-050-F2615FDF/Book-cover-police-drama-Dick-Barton.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/91/151191-050-F2615FDF/Book-cover-police-drama-Dick-Barton.jpg?w=300" alt="Book cover based on Dick Barton—Special Agent" data-width="664" data-height="904" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/91/151191-050-F2615FDF/Book-cover-police-drama-Dick-Barton.jpg" data-href="/media/1/488788/160489">Book cover based on <em>Dick Barton—Special Agent</em></a><span>Book cover based on <em>Dick Barton—Special Agent</em>, a police drama broadcast on the BBC Light Programme (1946–51).</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">BBC radio inaugurated the Third Programme in September 1946 to provide <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="erudite" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/erudite" data-type="MW">erudite</a> talk and high-quality <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/music" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">music</a> programming “for the serious minded, for the educated and those who wish to be so.” In many ways, this was the peak of traditional public service, very much in the prewar <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Charles-Walsham-Reith-1st-Baron-Reith" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">John Reith</a> tradition. The <span id="ref1124016"></span>Third Programme, though it appealed to less than 10 percent of the British <span id="ref1123806"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/audience-communications" class="md-crosslink ">audience</a>, was widely emulated in Europe and on the slowly growing number of American educational radio stations. Soon there were three separate BBC program services: Home, Light, and Third. Each of the three provided different content for different audiences, the stated intent being to elevate listener taste slowly to “more worthwhile” content. The Home Service continued as the main BBC service and was always the best balanced of the three. It included substantial time devoted to both serious and lighter music, educational and children’s broadcasts, most of the BBC’s talk and discussion programs, and 60 percent of its news. It generally served up to a third of the British radio audience at any one time. The <span id="ref1124022"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Light-Programme" class="md-crosslink ">Light Programme</a> first aired in July 1945 in an attempt to hold listeners who were increasingly returning to a <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="revitalized" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/revitalized" data-type="EB">revitalized</a> and entertainment-oriented Radio Luxembourg. Reaching 70 percent of BBC listeners, it focused more on popular (light and dance) music, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/theatre-art" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">drama</a>, and outside (remote) broadcasts. The Third Programme devoted more than half its airtime to “serious” music, drama, talk, and culturally oriented discussion. The BBC described its newest service as being designated <em>for</em> the educated rather than <em>to be</em> educational. Individual program offerings on the three services changed little from year to year.</p><span class="marker MOD7 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD8 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Twice in this period, beginning in 1949 and again in 1960, the BBC was the focus of parliamentary inquiries, which after extensive research recommended continuing the BBC’s structure and its ban on advertising. The inquiries also resulted in many suggestions, some attempting further to popularize the radio service. Between the BBC’s separate radio and television services, tension was <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="palpable" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/palpable" data-type="MW">palpable</a> as they competed for funds and personnel. Other European <span id="ref1124260"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/public-service-radio" class="md-crosslink ">public-service</a> broadcasters faced similar tensions because of the voracious appetite of television for both money and programs.</p><span class="marker MOD8 mod-inline"></span></section> <section data-level="2" id="ref301759"><h2 class="h2">Economic and <span id="ref1124041"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/international-relations" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">political concerns</a></h2> <span class="marker PREMOD9 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="154158" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/73/113373-050-97824B5F/Technicians-master-control-board-radio-broadcast-Voice.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/488788/154158"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/73/113373-050-97824B5F/Technicians-master-control-board-radio-broadcast-Voice.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/73/113373-050-97824B5F/Technicians-master-control-board-radio-broadcast-Voice.jpg?w=300" alt="Voice of America" data-width="820" data-height="814" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/73/113373-050-97824B5F/Technicians-master-control-board-radio-broadcast-Voice.jpg" data-href="/media/1/488788/154158">Voice of America</a><span>Technicians at a master control board for a Voice of America radio broadcast.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">European and American radio services faced both political and financial crises through the 1950s and ’60s. The BBC external service had a difficult time with its own government when it included negative press comment on the British role in the 1956 <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Suez-Crisis" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Suez Crisis</a>. Later that same year <span id="ref1124023"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Radio-Free-Europe" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Radio Free Europe</a> (RFE) was roundly attacked for appearing to have encouraged the bloody and failed <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Hungarian-Revolution-1956" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Hungarian uprising</a> against the Soviet Union. (A dozen years later radio services would again be criticized, this time for encouraging the brief, largely bloodless <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Prague-Spring" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Prague Spring</a> resistance to Soviet control.) British and American international radio services consistently suffered from a lack of <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="sufficient" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/sufficient" data-type="EB">sufficient</a> domestic political support (and, in the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/United-States" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">United States</a>, from occasional communist witch hunts), often being the subject of fierce infighting about funding priorities. From the 1950s through the 1980s, the Russians and their satellite nations spent huge sums on electronically “jamming” incoming Western broadcast signals.</p><span class="marker MOD9 mod-inline"></span> <span class="marker PREMOD10 mod-inline"></span><div class="assemblies"><div class="w-100"><figure class="md-assembly m-0 mb-md-0 card card-borderless print-false" data-assembly-id="160112" data-asm-type="image"><div class="md-assembly-wrapper card-media" data-type="image"><a href="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/151189-050-12F58D60/Willis-Conover-Louis-Armstrong-Voice-of-America-1955.jpg" class="gtm-assembly-link position-relative d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center media-overlay-link card-media" data-href="/media/1/488788/160112"><picture><source media="(min-width: 680px)" srcset="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/151189-050-12F58D60/Willis-Conover-Louis-Armstrong-Voice-of-America-1955.jpg?w=300"><img src="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/151189-050-12F58D60/Willis-Conover-Louis-Armstrong-Voice-of-America-1955.jpg?w=300" alt="Willis Conover interviewing Louis Armstrong" data-width="1500" data-height="1200" loading="eager"></picture><button class="magnifying-glass btn btn-circle position-absolute shadow btn-white top-10 right-10" aria-label="Zoom in"><em class="material-icons link-blue" data-icon="zoom_in"></em></button></a></div><figcaption class="card-body"><div class="md-assembly-caption text-muted font-14 font-serif line-clamp"><span><a class="gtm-assembly-link md-assembly-title font-weight-bold d-inline font-sans-serif mr-5 media-overlay-link" href="https://cdn.britannica.com/89/151189-050-12F58D60/Willis-Conover-Louis-Armstrong-Voice-of-America-1955.jpg" data-href="/media/1/488788/160112">Willis Conover interviewing Louis Armstrong</a><span>Willis Conover (left) interviewing Louis Armstrong for the Voice of America, 1955.</span><button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"><span class="link-blue">(more)</span></button></span></div></figcaption></figure></div></div><p class="topic-paragraph">The United States continued officially to sponsor the <span id="ref1123970"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Voice-of-America" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Voice of America</a> (VOA), operating first from studios in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/New-York-state" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">New York</a> and then moving to Washington, D.C., in the early 1950s, with transmitters in many different countries. It also secretly supported two other postwar radio services with narrower <span id="ref1123807"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/audience-communications" class="md-crosslink ">audience</a> aims. The supposedly private RFE, which broadcast to Eastern Europe beginning in 1950, and <span id="ref1124043"></span>Radio Liberty (RL), which broadcast into the Soviet Union beginning in 1953, were actually secretly funded by the <span id="ref1124042"></span><a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Central-Intelligence-Agency" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Central Intelligence Agency</a> until the early 1970s and more openly from then on. Transmitters were built in Germany and elsewhere in Europe. American efforts were expanded with Radio Martí (for broadcasts into Cuba) in the late 1970s and Radio Free Asia (for <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="transmission" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/transmission" data-type="EB">transmission</a> into mainland China) in the 1990s. Content was sometimes quite benign: for nearly 40 years the most popular VOA program was Willis Conover’s program of American <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/jazz" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">jazz</a> music, which achieved a worldwide audience of 100 million, though it was totally unknown in the United States, where VOA was forbidden to operate.</p><span class="marker MOD10 mod-inline"></span></section> </section><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article> </div> </div> </div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":11,"pagesTotal":16,"pageId":488788,"pageLength":1219,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.133.9"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-133/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.133.9' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"B","adLeg":"B","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"PAGINATED","gisted":false,"pageNumber":11,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":true} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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