Rohan Abeygunawardena ACMA, CGMA.

On July 20th, 1969, American Astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the Moon. As he took the first tentative steps on the moon’s surface he uttered the immortal words “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

At the same time, the television camera on the lunar module captured these historic moments. The television (TV) camera used by NASA (The National Aeronautics and Space Administration of USA) was a small robust camera first developed in 1928 by the Scottish innovator John Logie Baird.

The signals were received by tracking stations on Earth, and the footage was then broadcast to a global audience of over 600 million people worldwide. They watched the historic event, live on TV in black and white. The Moon landing was the most-watched event in television history during the sixties.

Unfortunately, countries like Sri Lanka (Then Ceylon) did not have a TV at that time, but many people were inquisitive as to what was happening on the moon (or Handa Mama, the Uncle Moon of Sri Lankan Children). Fortunately, Radio Ceylon (or SLBC) arranged to air the moment on the 20th of July night, probably by curtsey of BBC. Thousands of Sri Lankans gathered around their radios to listen to the running commentary of the moon landing and the historic words of Neil Armstrong. The very next day Neil Armstrong’s words were headline news in the Ceylon Daily News. The Sunday Observer and Times of Ceylon carried the photographs of the event the following weekend.

However, few lucky people working at Sri Lanka’s first satellite earth station which was commissioned at Padukka in 1968 could get access to live telecasts and pictures from the Moon during the Moon landing.

As the Minister of State, J.R. Jayewardene proposed the introduction of TV to Sri Lanka in 1965. However, the proposal was not accepted by the then-government of Dudley Senanayake.

Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike was keen to hold the 5th Non-Aligned Nations Conference in Colombo. It was held on 16–19 August 1976 at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH). The telecommunication authorities made arrangements to telecast the proceedings all over the world using facilities at the Earth station. Sri Lankans were however deprived of watching the proceedings due to the non-availability of TVs in the country.

J.R. Jayewardene who came to power with five sixth (5/6th) majority in the parliament at the July 1977 election, decided to introduce TV.

The first TV station was established in the country in Pannipitiya by Independent Television Network (ITN) a brainchild of two cousin brothers Anil Wijewardene and Shan Wickremesinghe with the help of an American Investor. Initial transmission was made on 13th April 1979 and was limited to a 15-mile (24 km) radius of the city of Colombo. Though the station relayed colour TV programmes many people bought Black and White sets as colour TVs were much more expensive at the time.

But as a result of early viewers experiencing many disruptions and interference to programmes and complaining to the government it was acquired by the state on 5th June 1979. The late Mr. D. Thevis L. Guruge was appointed the Competent Authority and he contributed significantly to the development of the organisation. The unending soap opera ‘Kopi Kade’ first telecasted on August 4, 1986, with the story ‘Vahen Oro’ has been his brainchild to discuss social issues, and communicate the message to the general public.

Then on February 15, 1982, Rupavahini began broadcasting TV programmes with an opening speech from President J. R. Jayewardene. The funding for this TV station was donated by the Japanese government and two powerful transmitters covering the entire country were built and installed by Japanese technicians.

In 1992 government decided to allow private TV stations to be established and broadcast their programmes.

Since then there have been 12 TV stations and 44 channels in operation and it has become a very persuasive mass communication medium in Sri Lanka.

• Communication Revolution

The foundation for the development of electronic communication systems was laid by Professor Samuel Morse of New York University. He developed a device for transmitting electrical signals along wires by making and breaking an electrical connection with code encoding. It was named ‘Telegraph.’

The first electronic text message or communication made through his telegraph system was established between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, a city in Maryland on May 24, 1844. His message was ‘What hath God wrought?’ It can be translated as ‘See what God has done!’ He did this by introducing a coding system later named ‘Morse Code.’

Until Professor Morse developed the telegraph system, the printing press invented by Johannes Gutenberg was the main communication medium.

The Dutch introduced the printing press to Sri Lanka in 1737 and the British improved it further when they took over the maritime areas in 1796.

While printing remained the key format for mass messages the telegraph allowed instant communication over vast distances.

British brought telegraph technology to Sri Lanka with the establishment of a telegraphic circuit between Galle and Colombo in 1858. The system was used as the main communication methodology among the stations when a railway network was established commencing in 1864 between Colombo and Ambepussa.

The introduction of the Teleprinter in 1887, through a series of inventions by several engineers automated much of the work under the telegraph system. The device replaced skilled operators versed in Morse code with typists and machines communicating faster via Baudot code invented by Émile Baudot in the 1870s. A network of teleprinters connected by a system of switched exchanges led to an international message-transfer service called Telex.

In 1876 Alexander Graham Bell (a Scottish-born Canadian-American inventor, scientist and engineer) came out with an apparatus that allowed the human voice to travel through wires over long distances. This device was named ‘Telephone.’

Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, an Italian inventor and electrical engineer, studied the experiments carried out by others and developed the first apparatus for long-distance communication without wires in 1896. This technology allowed for the transmission of sound or other signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves.

Thus Marconi’s invention was called ‘Radio.’

Continuing with experiments on electromagnetic waves the Canadian inventor, Reginald A. Fessenden made a public wireless broadcast on Christmas Eve 1906.

The various wireless systems that were developed by inventors were called “Radio” by 1910. As the telephone and radio became easy to use and the fastest way to communicate with person-to-person, usage of the Telegraph faded away.

• History of Television:

The idea of transmitting moving images over a distance was first conceptualized in the late 19th century. The German scientist Paul Gottlieb Nipkow laid the foundation of television by introducing a mechanical, rotating, geometrically operating image scanning device. This was considered the first television through the 1920s and 1930s.

Philo Farnsworth, the American Inventor made his first successful electronic television transmission on September 7, 1927. 

The electronic television systems had replaced mechanically scanned systems by the early 1930s. David Sarnoff of Radio Corporation of America (RCA) played a crucial role in making electronic television sets to become commercially available.

Not much development work on Television was carried out during World War II. After the war, television became more widespread and accessible.

The 1950s saw the golden age of television, with the introduction of popular programs and the mass adoption of TV sets in households in the USA and other affluent countries (mainly the black and white TV sets). The remote control technology introduced in the same period made it easy for viewers to change channels. Additionally, cable television began to emerge, offering a wider range of channels and improved reception in areas with poor broadcast signals.

Although the first colour television broadcasts began in the 1950s, it did not widely adopt until the 1960s.

The cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions dominated the market for decades, but in the 1990s and 2000s, flat-screen technologies such as LCD/LED and plasma emerged. While a standard LCD monitor uses fluorescent backlights, an LED monitor uses light-emitting diodes for backlights. However, LED screens have superior picture quality.  A plasma display panel (PDP) uses small cells containing plasma: ionized xenon or neon gas that responds to electric fields. The plasma screens have a widescreen option and are mainly used for movie theatres.

Since many young and old people became so engrossed with it glued to their screens, neglecting their work and also because it was a non-interactive device people started calling the TV an ‘Idiot Box.’

• Satellite Communication and Television (1960s-1970s)

Sir Arthur C Clarke’s prediction that geostationary satellites could be used in facilitating global communication became true in the sixties and seventies with the launching of many communication satellites mainly by the USA.

The first satellite to relay voice signals was launched by the U.S. government’s Project SCORE (Signal Communication by Orbiting Relay Equipment) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on December 19, 1958. It broadcast a taped message conveying Peace on earth and goodwill toward men everywhere” from U.S. Pres. Dwight D.

Satellite communication has revolutionised the global communication methodology making the ‘Global Village’ concept popularized by Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian media theorist, in the 1960s, a reality. It is essential for providing global connectivity, enabling various communication services, supporting critical applications, and contributing to advancements in diverse fields. Its significance extends to areas such as telecommunication, broadcasting, internet services, emergency response, scientific research, distance education and beyond.

People can now watch any Television programme relayed globally (Real-time) and speak to each other through land or mobile phones.

According to published statistics, there were over 1.7 billion TV households and 6.84 billion smartphones worldwide in 2023 and this figure will continue to grow and surpass 1.8 billion TVs and 7.5 billion smartphones by 2026.

The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 reached a global broadcast audience of more than three (3) billion people, according to independent research conducted on behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Today at least 80% of the people in the world have the opportunity to watch the Olympics and other sporting events such as cricket, soccer, rugby, etc., live on TV. Thus TV has become one of the most interesting and entertaining innovations by mankind.

Furthermore, television as well as mobile phones have now gone smart with integrated internet connectivity and interactive features beyond traditional functionality. These features allow users to access a variety of online content, applications, and services directly through their television and/or smartphone, making them more versatile and connected devices.

• Significant Impact on the Society

Not only TV is an entertainment tool, it is an educational tool, today. In this aspect, almost all the TV stations in Sri Lanka did a yeoman service to the student population during the COVID lockdown period and continue to do so with their educational programmes. TV has now become an effective tool in the distance education delivery system. It can be integrated into the curriculum to provide information either on a single lesson, a specific unit or even a full course.

In Sri Lanka, one of the private TV stations conducted a musical reality show in July 2005 allowing youth to showcase their talent without any discrimination. Many young men and women became singers, song composers, musicians, actors, and announcers etc, breaking the traditional barriers of entry into this field, as a result. Other channels too commenced similar programmes giving opportunities to thousands of Sri Lankans.

Some geopolitical analysts think that Mikhail Gorbachev’s launched glasnost (openness”) and perestroika (restructuring”) movement before Satellites changed the way news is distributed and received around the world mainly over the TV. Thus he avoided an uprising leading to trouble and Chaos in its constituent republics when people in the Soviet Union became aware of the freedom and the standard of living enjoyed by people in the free world countries.

• Conclusion  

The uttering of Neil Armstrong has come true in many areas of the lifestyle of people. One example is the Television (TV). Once referred to as the ‘idiot box’ has now become an ‘intelligent box’, thanks to continuous innovation and technological developments by scientists and engineers.

Rohan Abeygunawardena ACMA, CGMA.

The writer can be contacted on abeyrohan@gmail.com