ABSTRACT
The year 1956 saw the dawning of a new era for British television. The televising of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth in June 1953 was an important landmark for British television, with an estimated 20 million people watching the event on sets owned by neighbours and friends and on large screens erected in public venues for the occasion. Up to the early 1960s most television drama had been transmitted 'live', with occasional film or video inserts of scenes shot on location. Following the election of the Thatcher government television became increasingly subject to market forces in the 1980s. The concept of public service broadcasting, where the television companies had a duty to provide a mixed diet of education, information and entertainment for a diverse viewing public, came increasingly under threat in the new economic climate as the government introduced policies designed to deregulate broadcasting and introduce a more competitive ethos.
