A Brief Television History

Television has transformed the way we access news, information and entertainment. In the UK, its development reflects a rich history of invention and innovation. A key foundation came in 1897 with Karl Ferdinand Braun’s cathode ray tube (CRT), which became the basis of TV screens.

In 1926, Scottish inventor John Logie Baird gave the first public demonstration of a working television system, a milestone that led to the first transatlantic transmission in 1928. Just a decade later, the BBC launched the world’s first regular high-definition television service in 1936, marking the move from mechanical to electronic systems. The development of electronic television owed much to the work of Vladimir Zworykin and Philo Farnsworth.

British and international manufacturers soon made their mark.

• Marconi-EMI produced the UK’s first set in 1934

• Pye followed in 1937

• Bush became popular from 1948

• Ferguson launched in 1951

• Philips, a Dutch company, had released a set as early as 1928

• Japanese brands such as Panasonic (1960) and Sony with its Trinitron (1968) later became household names

Together, these milestones shaped the evolution of television in the UK - from mechanical scanning to electronic displays, and from black-and-white images to colour - bringing the world into people’s homes in ways never seen before.