Very interesting page about early TV in Britain (around when I was in boarding school there.) Here's an excerpt:
"In the 50s, the hours people watched television were tightly controlled - the 24 hour broadcasting of today was unheard of. The Postmaster General stipulated how many hours of television could be shown each week. In 1956, for example, the BBC was allowed to broadcast television on weekdays between 9am and 11pm, with not more than 2 hours before 1pm. There was also a period between 6pm and 7pm when no television was broadcast. This period was used by parents to trick young children into thinking that the evening's television had finished so they would go to bed without complaint - it was known as the 'toddlers' truce' -imagine that today! At the weekends, the rules were no more relaxed. A maximum of eight hours broadcasting was allowed on Saturdays and 7 3/4 hours on Sunday. On Sunday another anachronism reigned - television shown between 2pm and 4pm was intended for adults - children were meant to be at Sunday School! Gradually the rules on broadcasting hours were made less strict. The 'toddlers' truce', for example, was dropped in 1957."
Wish they had a "toddlers' truce" today. Or at least a one-hour break on all channels. Christ, I might actually have to listen to the radio.
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