100 years on, television confronts the digital age

Exactly a century ago, images sent in the form of electronic signals via radio waves heralded a new invention, one that would shape politics, culture, and much else. Where next for TV?

Al Majalla

100 years on, television confronts the digital age

Marco Mossad

last update on 06 Oct 2025

A century ago, on 2 October 1925, Scottish inventor John Logie Baird transmitted the first televised image using a mechanical prototype. It was of a mannequin in a London shop, but this was soon followed by a live transmission of his assistant’s face—the first practical demonstration of broadcasting moving images via radio waves. What Baird had done was transform light and sound into electronic signals, transmit those signals to a display device, then convert the signals back into recognisable pictures and sound. The television was born.

Baird’s experiments in 1926 would see him stage the first complete television demonstration before an audience. The invention would help transform the world. Over the next 100 years, television (or TV, as many came to call it) evolved from a rudimentary mechanical apparatus into a multifaceted digital platform, shaping people’s political, cultural, and public consciousness.

Its roots stretch back to the late 19th century, when scientists first sought to convert light into images that could be displayed on a screen. In the 1880s, German inventor Paul Nipkow designed a perforated rotating disc that transformed light into primitive images that could then be transmitted electrically. Years later, researchers developed the cathode ray tube, enabling clearer image rendering.

By 1928, just three years after Baird unveiled the first practical mechanical television, he achieved the remarkable feat of transmitting an experimental signal between London and New York. At the same time, young American inventor Philo Farnsworth introduced the first fully electronic television system, which was sharper, more reliable, and cheaper to produce. It quickly became the global standard for modern television.

Although the medium was still in its infancy, experiments in live broadcasting began in the late 1920s. In 1928, American inventor Charles Francis Jenkins established an experimental station in Maryland, known as W3X. It transmitted rudimentary black-and-white images that could be received by only a handful of devices, yet it laid the groundwork for what would follow.

AFP — A National Broadcasting Company television crew at work, December 12, 1937, at America's first mobile television station.

Shaping memory

Over the coming decades, television expanded from a technological novelty into a central force in political communication, cultural expression, and shared human experience. From wartime propaganda to the moon landing, from political debates to big sporting events, television has shaped collective memory.

Today, at the age of 100, it faces the new challenge of navigating the digital revolution. Streaming platforms and social media have redefined the nature of media and entertainment, shifting viewing habits, including from the collective to the individual. Yet some events are still capable of uniting vast audiences in real time, such as major sporting tournaments, political debates, or global news events.

A decade after the first experimental broadcasts, the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) emerged in 1939 as the first major TV network in the United States, launching regular programming from New York. At the time, television sets were tiny—barely five inches across—and prohibitively expensive, yet they captivated the attention of elites and affluent households.

During the Second World War, military applications were prioritised over civilian applications. After the war, television began its mass expansion. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) standardised the analogue broadcasting system, allowing all televisions to receive the same channels with consistent quality. This analogue standard was only retired in 2009, after the transition to digital broadcasting.

Nazi Germany once had ambitious plans for a “People’s Television” network—a cable-based system with screens installed in public spaces, broadcasting idealised portrayals of Aryan life and even the executions of Hitler’s enemies. It reflected how Germany’s Minister for Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, understood the power of live imagery. Unlike reading or radio, TV visuals impose a curated reality directly onto the viewer. The Nazis had shown as much during the 1936 Berlin Olympics, also broadcasting speeches and events to reinforce Nazi messaging.

From a technological novelty into a central medium of communication, cultural expression, and shared human experience, television has shaped collective memory

A televised century

Throughout the conflicts of the 20th century, the media became a battleground of influence. Since the 1950s, television has served as the primary source of news, entertainment, and cultural storytelling, present in nearly every household. It combined live visuals with sound at a time when no other medium offered such immediacy or reach.

In the Cold War, the Soviet Union used domestic television to entrench its narrative and consolidate Communist Party control, while the United States turned to transnational radio—most notably Voice of America—to broadcast targeted messages to populations behind the Iron Curtain, making media a non-military theatre of confrontation, where the competition was for hearts and minds.

As technology advanced in subsequent decades, a new model of political television emerged: the live coverage of unfolding events. CNN pioneered this format during the Gulf War in 1991, introducing the concept of "war live on air". Viewers around the world watched the bombing of Baghdad in real time, again redefining the medium's role. Television became a conduit through which global conflict was experienced in living rooms, minute by minute.

In democratic societies, television has proved influential at the ballot box. The 1960 presidential debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon was a watershed moment in political communication. Kennedy looked confident and composed on camera, while Nixon looked tired and uneasy. It helped sway millions of viewers, showing how a televised image could eclipse political rhetoric, and how modern politics is shaped as much in front of the lens as in legislative chambers.

Globally, television has been inextricably linked to defining historical moments. During the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s, it brought images of the battlefield directly into the home, shifting public sentiment and exerting pressure on political leaders. In 1969, more than 600 million people around the world watched the moon landing—a moment that showcased television's ability to unite humanity around a single event.

AFP — A German technician inspects a television camera installed in the Olympic Stadium, August 1, 1936.

From the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, it allowed viewers to witness history unfold in real time. In the Middle East, images from the October War of 1973 were broadcast from the frontlines, boosting morale and fostering a sense of national pride. Ramadan dramas became a staple of social life, drawing families together each evening to engage with stories that reflect societal issues and identity.

A changing landscape

In the decades that followed, satellite channels broke the monopoly of state media, ushering in a more diverse and impactful public discourse. An estimated 5.5 billion people watched television last year, with the average American viewer spending nearly three hours a day in front of the screen, but this year, combined digital streaming viewership surpassed traditional broadcast and cable for the first time, according to Nielsen, a US-based media research firm.

In the Middle East, the media landscape reflects a nuanced blend of continuity and change, and television remains influential even as digital platforms rise rapidly. In Saudi Arabia, the peak came in 2020-21, when average daily viewing time hit five hours and ten minutes. The region's broadcast and video sector is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 7.5% from 2025 to 2033, with digital platforms expected to capture more than 60% of the media and entertainment market.

Ramadan remains a striking exception. During the holy month, television viewership spikes by up to 80% compared to other times of the year, underscoring the medium's enduring role in shaping audience habits. In the era of smartphones and streaming apps, television continues to anchor communal routines and cultural rituals, but viewers are no longer tethered to programming schedules—they choose what to watch, and when. In the Middle East in recent years, there has been a drop in daily traditional TV viewership from 69% to 54% which reflects a generational pivot towards mobile devices and apps.

Perhaps the most profound transformation lies in the shrinking of the screen itself. The once-dominant television set in the living room has yielded to smartphones and tablets that deliver news, stream sports and offer on-demand access to TV series and films. This has reshaped the very nature of media consumption, with viewership becoming more individual and mobile, rather than collective and stationary. Still, despite the internet, television continues to play a vital role in framing major debates and creating shared experiences. A century after its inception, it remains a dominant force in global life.

+ / -