The Dead Media Project

Phonevision was a television station experiment of Zenith Electronics that was conducted in Chicago, Illinois. Zenith began working on the technological aspect of the experiment in 1931, but it wasn't until 1947 that a complete working system had been completed, thus creating the first pay television station in history. However, that was just the beginning. Zenith had the technology, but it needed to test the market. Phonevision was then trademarked and, in 1951, the FCC approved a limited test of approximately 300 households in the Chicago area. The main idea behind Phonevision was to make Hollywood pictures available to people through their televisions at the price of $1, which was actually relatively expensive at that point in time. In this experiment, Zenith made Hollywood films available every day for 90 days to these households in order to track the financial results. Through its small test group, Zenith found that these households watched roughly 1.73 motion pictures a week. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to spark any further large-scale investments in Phonevision, but Zenith wasn't ready to throw in the towel. Through technical problems and television industry objections, Zenith fought to establish Phonevision as a worthy alternative to commercially-sponsored television. In fact, Zenith didn't stop fighting until 1986, but Phonevision never quite caught on. However, that was not the end of pay television. It was actually just the beginning.

The concept of the pay television station never completely died. Phonevision had actually influenced a huge financial industry and arguably helped pave the way for today's Pay-Per-View. This newer technology allows subscribers of cable or satellite television to watch movies or special one-time events, particularly sports, for a fee. When it comes to the idea of paid programming, there is a definite marketplace; if there wasn't, this media would have drifted off into oblivion like other failed media ventures. Phonevision was unique in that, although it never succeeded monetarily, it left a significant mark in the growth of in-home media. During the early years when Zenith was trying to launch Phonevision, radio still ruled the entertainment platform and television was just coming into its own. It seems that the timing for Phonevision was just off by a few decades. 

In the 21st century, technology seems to even be moving past Pay-Per-View. With iTunes, viewers can download the latest episodes of their favorite television shows, or rediscover classic Hollywood Motion Pictures, on their own time and at low prices. This industry is constantly evolving and it is hard to imagine where it will be in the coming years, but I definitely do not see this concept dying. The current culture of the United States is one where people are constantly on the move and pressured for time; therefore, the idea of selecting the specific television show episode or the film they wish to view, and then downloading it quickly, is very appealing. Unless the culture of this country changes drastically, this form of media will continue to have a marketplace.