Television and radio

Television and radio are traditional media sectors. They began before computers and the internet, but they now use digital technology too, so traditional does not mean old-fashioned or free of computers.

Both sectors make programmes and broadcast them to a schedule. A schedule is a planned list of programmes with set times, so you know when to tune in. For example, a local station might schedule a breakfast show, a lunchtime request show and an evening music programme.

Television and radio also produce more than entertainment. They make adverts and news bulletins. A channel might show an advert break during a quiz programme, then a news bulletin with the latest headlines. A radio station might play an advert for a nearby swimming pool between songs. These adverts and bulletins are part of what the sectors produce, not separate industries.

How television and radio have evolved

Recording and broadcasting have changed. Television and radio used to record on tape and broadcast analogue signals carried by radio waves. Now they record digitally and broadcast digital signals. The programmes, schedules, adverts and news bulletins are still made, but the technology used to record and send them has changed.

Digital television and radio signals are received by an aerial or a satellite dish. An aerial picks up signals from a transmitter, while a satellite dish receives signals from a satellite. The receiving equipment turns the signal into the sound, and into pictures for television, that you experience.