The fist television in Spain

Television a way of seeing the past

By Mayra Armas

Nowadays everybody can enjoy television in their homes, select what to watch and when, but how was the first television broadcasting in Spain? 

Just imagine watch in black and white, or just have one channel.

To achieve this we must move exactly to June 10, 1948 12:45 then came the first television broadcast, which was responsible for Spanish Television (TVE). But the official beginning of television in Spain was on October 28, 1956 while TV emissions started years before in other countries, as in England in 1936, and United States on April 30, 1939, coinciding with the inauguration of the Universal Exhibition in New York.

If we go back a bit in time perhaps remember the differences between programming that was when we were small, and there is now, the number of new channels, the addition of DVB, etc. But if you ask older people about television we can see from a very different point of view and high contrast.

During those years, television was very different from what we know today, for that reason we wanted to gather first hand information asking people who have lived at that time so they can tell us their experience.
We asked some teachers of our university CES Don Bosco; Lola Vicente, José María Maíllo, Lorenzo San Pablo.

They told as their experience and their point of view. They said there was only one TV channel, for Spanish society it was a great innovation, and a great way of integration into the world and technology.

José María Marillo told us that during the early years, television was black and white with only one channel and the programming was very general. There was general information news, mostly country information and official acts of Franco. It was also common parts of the war, retransmissions of football games, and bullfights. The majority of the population did not have the financial resourses to have a television own home. So there are neighbourhood cinemas, places where neighbours would gather to watch television, such as some hospitals, houses of a neighbour who had the equipment, and bars.

Lola Vicente told us that all children from the neighbourhood gathered at the hospital on the oncology floor to see there television.

In 1959 begun the connections between Madrid and Zaragoza, Barcelona, ​​Bilbao, Valencia, Seville, Santiago, etc.., By hertzian link: television is becoming a reference currency throughout the Spanish territory.

This connection at the same time gave place to a unified language, since each region for many years was acquiring their own dialect and use, such as in Andalucia that had an accent so thick that some locals found it very difficult to understand. So this connection which language allowed the correct pronunciation, intonation and vocalization accessible to more people. This was an important cultural resource emphasized José María Marillo.

On November 15, 1966 appeared a second channel of TVE (TVE 2), originally known as UHF, to use for broadcast this band of radio frequencies. TVE 2 would be issued in cultural content, sports and public service.
In 1969, TVE emissions debuts in PAL, which is technically and allows you to broadcast in colour. However, the lack of infrastructure to produce programs in this environment, mainly the lack of cameras and recorders in colour, regular production delay in colour until 1973. The first output colour TVE importance (not the first retransmission) was on-1969. The Eurovision Song Contest that year is from the “Teatro Real de Madrid“ with team colour borrowed from abroad.

Between 1969 and 1973, some productions are done in colours with film cameras, but they are sporadic. In 1973 become the first cameras and recorders in colour, from this moment making joint programming with programs in colour and black and white. The final suppression of black and white come in 1978, resulting from that moment all programming in colour.

The colour TV was a boom, one of the most important moments for Spanish society at the time was the coronation of the King, thanks to television many Spaniards could see the live crown, feeling closer and being part of the history seeing the beginning of changes in the country. José Maria mentioned that one of his earliest memories of the color TV was the coronation of the king, and how his uncle a man who supports the crown was impatient to see the new king crowned.

Television has been witness to many things, many events, testimonies, and experiences ... but above all has been, is and will witness of the changes.

Changes that are necessary, continue to exist and will exist. Without forgetting the past and always looking forward to learn from life experiences and seeking to improve. And we are witnesses of these changes, and in a few years we'll look back just to see what a day we left and we will realize that all changes are good because they help us to improve and give us stories to tell.