Chapter 8: Television, Cable, and Mobile Video
Chapter 8: Television, Cable, and Mobile Video
Test Questions
1. The first workable device for generating electrical signals suitable for the transmission of a
visual is the
a. Cathode ray tube.
b. Nipkow disc.
c. Farnsworth connector.
d. Baird’s disc.
2. _____________, a British inventor, was sending moving images across the Atlantic using a
mechanical disc in the 1920s.
a. Paul Nipkow
b. Vladimir Zworykin
c. John Logie Baird
d. Philo Farnsworth
3. _____________, a Russian immigrant living near Pittsburgh, developed the iconoscope tube,
the first practical television camera tube.
a. Paul Nipkow
b. Vladimir Zworykin
c. John Logie Baird
d. Philo Farnsworth
4. _____________, an Idaho schoolboy, moved to San Francisco, where he demonstrated his
television system in 1927.
a. Paul Nipkow
b. Vladimir Zworykin
c. John Logie Baird
d. Philo Farnsworth
5. The first public demonstration of television, in the form of regularly scheduled two-hour
broadcasts, was presented by _____________ at the 1939 World’s Fair.
a. ABC
b. NBC
c. CBS
d. Mutual
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whole or part.
12. “Red Channels: The Report of Communist Influence in Radio and Television”
a. once and for all put to rest the idea that broadcasting was infiltrated by Communists.
b. had little impact on a television industry enjoying great public acceptance.
c. listed the names of 151 broadcast personalities with alleged ties to the Communist Party.
d. was produced by the FCC as a guideline for the networks.
13. The primary collector and reporter of television ratings is a company known as
a. Arbitron.
b. Equifax.
c. Nielsen.
d. Telecount.
14. Delivery of video without the involvement of a multiple system operator (MSO) is known as
a. expanded basic cable.
b. over-the-air television.
c. over-the-top (OTT) television.
d. digital cable television.
15. Nielson conducts surveys of viewing patterns four times a year during what are called
a. quarterlies.
b. pocketpieces.
c. sweeps periods.
d. ratings assessments.
16. The percentage of television sets currently in use that are tuned in to a given program is that
show’s
a. rating.
b. share.
c. sweep.
d. clear time.
17. A still-used derogatory name for television, the “vast wasteland” was coined by
a. Red Scare figure Joseph McCarthy.
b. respected journalist Edward R. Murrow.
c. broadcast founder David Sarnoff.
d. FCC Chairman Newton Minow.
18. The business of television is dominated by a few centralized production, distribution, and
decision-making organizations, known as the
a. major studios.
b. networks.
Chapter 8: Television, Cable, and Mobile Video
c. production houses.
d. affiliate councils.
19. When an affiliate airs a network’s program, it is said to _____________ the show.
a. clear time for
b. carry
c. reciprocate
d. syndicate
20. The sale of programs to local stations on a market–by-market basis is
a. clearing time.
b. carrying.
c. reciprocation.
d. syndication.
21. New video technologies that allow viewers to “talk” to programmers and content distributors
while watching will produce _____________ television.
a. interactive
b. feedback
c. cable
d. satellite
22. At cable’s inception, the primary goal of most cable television operations was
a. to challenge the over-the-air broadcasters.
b. to deliver pay-per-view movies.
c. to circumvent FCC all-channel rules.
d. to improve the reception of distant signals.
23. The creation of programs expressly for sale into syndication to individual stations in individual
markets is called
a. all channel production.
b. nonduplication production.
c. primary syndication.
d. first-run syndication.
24. A syndicated program that runs five nights a week at the same time is said to be
a. cumed.
b. cleared.
c. stripped.
d. shadowed.
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whole or part.
25. Recording a television show on a home VCR or DVR for later viewing is called
a. time-shifting.
b. zipping.
c. stripping.
d. zapping.
26. Fast-forwarding through commercials on a recorded television show is called
a. time-shifting.
b. zipping.
c. grazing.
d. zapping.
27. Sesame Street is produced by the
a. Public Broadcasting System.
b. National Broadcasting Company.
c. Jim Henson Company.
d. Children’s Television Workshop.
28. If your market has 100,000 television homes and 30,000 are tuned into your program, your
rating is
a. 50.
b. 30.
c. 70.
d. 60.
29. Cable can trace its roots to 1948 in
a. New Jersey.
b. Pennsylvania.
c. Nebraska.
d. California.
30. Early cable systems were called
a. community antenna television (CATV).
b. master antenna television (MATV).
c. satellite master antenna television (SMATV).
d. auxiliary network television (ANTV).
31. _____________ is a system in which content is sent to an antenna set up atop a building and
then distributed by wires to subscribers in that building.
a. CATV
Chapter 8: Television, Cable, and Mobile Video
b. MATV
c. SMATV
d. MMDS
32. Broadcasters saw cable as a friend until
a. 1967, when microwave relays connected cable companies across the country.
b. 1975, when Time, Inc., began delivering HBO movies by satellite.
c. 1980, when Ted Turner launched the Cable News Network (CNN).
d. 1998, when Ted Turner converted TBS from a superstation to a cable network.
33. The “free” channels provided automatically to all subscribers are called
a. basic cable.
b. bonus cable.
c. pay cable.
d. premium cable.
34. The multichannel service, other than cable, that has the greatest number of users is
a. SMATV.
b. DBS.
c. VOD.
d. MMDS.
35. Groups of channels made available to subscribers at varying prices are known in the cable
business as
a. ranks.
b. tiers.
c. stages.
d. grades.
36. A a deal that guarantees the producer that the network will order at least a pilot or it has to pay a
hefty penalty is called
a. a lock.
b. a share.
c. first-run syndication.
d. a put.
37. Companies that own several cable franchises are called
a. integrated partnerships.
b. MSOs.
c. HSNs.
d. BOCs.
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whole or part.
38. The capacity of the wires or signals that bring video content into people’s homes is called
a. FIOS.
b. broadband.
c. bandwidth.
d. fiber optics.
39. Multiplexing, which “squeezes” signals to permit multiple signals to be carried over one
channel, is made possible by
a. digital compression.
b. analog processing.
c. DMX technology.
d. interdiction technology.
40. Cable subscribers can talk back to the system operator through
a. interdiction technology.
b. interactive cable.
c. addressable cable.
d. tier technology.
41. With access to over 20 million television households, the largest U.S. DBS provider is
a. DirectTV.
b. DISH Network.
c. Cox Communications.
d. Comcast.
42. A cable system that functions as a one-stop communications provider, supplying television,
audio, high-speed Internet access, long-distance and local phone service, multiple telephone
lines, and fax is said to offer
a. open access.
b. media linkage.
c. media-on-demand.
d. bundling.
43. The rise of Internet video is altering viewing habits of _____ audiences.
a. younger
b. older
c. more active
d. less active
44. In 1962, congress declared in the all-channel legislation that all television sets in the U.S.
must be equipped with
a. a Nipkow disk.
b. a coaxial cable.
c. both VHF and UHF receivers.
Chapter 8: Television, Cable, and Mobile Video
d. a digital video recorder.
45. A result of new technology and changes in audience viewing habits, _________________ is
part of content providers’ ongoing efforts to make digital on-demand programming available
to all mobile devices.
a. the TV Everywhere Initiative
b. DVR
c. YouTube
d. digital television
46. Nonlinear TV is watching television on our own schedules, not the programmer’s.
47. Paul Nipkow developed the first mechanical scanning system for television.
48. Whereas the movie industry may have easily succumbed to pressure from the Red hunters of
the McCarthy era, the television industry resisted gallantly.
49. Lucille Ball is primarily responsible for development of the off-network television syndication
business.
50. The primary technology used to collect today’s television ratings is the audimeter.
51. A television program’s share is more important than its rating in the consideration of its
success in its time slot.
52. Cable television was initially developed as a way to bring movies without commercials into
U.S. homes.
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whole or part.
53. Re-creating an event that is believed to have happened is common on television news—a
practice known as puffery.
54. Video-on-demand is one example of interactive cable television.
55. If telephone service can be delivered by the same cable that brings television into the home,
so can the Internet.
56. Recently, the number of online movie sales has grown larger than the number of DVD sales.
57. Among younger audiences, traditional television viewing has declined.
58. What is the difference between mechanical and electronic scanning?
59. What services do industry experts predict will form the basis of most viewers’ interactive
television usage?
60. How did the quiz show scandal change the way television networks sold advertising on the
programs they aired?
61. How did Lucille Ball change the business of television?
62. What is the difference between a program’s rating and its share?
63. List the steps typically required for a program to go from an idea to a spot on a network
Chapter 8: Television, Cable, and Mobile Video
schedule.
64. Explain what is meant by digital compression.
65. Explain what the cable industry calls bundling. What is the difference between this and a la
carte?
66. What is the difference between compensation and reverse compensation?
67. What journalistic standards should we expect from our news anchors? What is the balance
between informing and entertaining? Do you think satirical news anchors have the same
responsibilities to be ethical?
68. Mobile viewing promises to alter the relationship between television and viewer in many ways,
one of which is the time spent with mobile devices replacing time spent with the television
set. Are you part of the majority that would rather give up your television set over your
smartphone? Why or why not? What advantages or disadvantages do smartphones have
over television sets as a way to view content? Do you feel these changes have the power to
alter television content? Explain your reasoning.
69. Viewers rate television as their most influential, persuasive, authoritative, and exciting
medium. With mobile viewing becoming increasingly more prominent, do you think this will
change how audiences view the importance of television? Do you think it will leave more or
less room for audiences to see multiple points of view and be exposed to varying content?
Why or why not?