Interest in ETV was expressed early. Educators envisioned television’s potential as an instructional tool and sought recognition by Congress. The short-lived Hatfield-Wagner Amendment proposed to reserve 1/4 of the broadcast Spectrum for educational stations. But the Communications Act of 1934 became law without the specification although the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) promised to conduct further inquiry into ETV. 

The immediate postwar years created a deluge of requests for broadcast licenses. So overwhelmed, the FCC initiated a “television freeze” in 1948 (forbidding the issuance of new licenses) in order to reorganize the current system and to study the ultra-high-frequency (UHF) band. The period of the “TV freeze” was an ideal opportunity to resurrect the debate over allotment of spectrum space for educational channels.

The FCC’s commissioner, Freida Hennock, led the crusade. She understood that this would be the only opportunity to reserve spectrum space for ETV. When educators would be financially and technically prepared for television experiments, spectrum space might be unavailable. Hennock raised the consciousness of educators and citizens alike and convinced some of them to form the first ad hoc Joint Committee for Educational Television (JCET). Financial assistance from the Ford Foundation provided legal expertise and enabled JCET to successfully persuade the FCC to reserve channel space for noncommercial ETV stations. In 1953, the FCC allotted 242 channels for education. KUHT in Houston, Texas, was the first non-commercial television licensee.

Although this was a major victory, the development of ETV was a slow process. The majority of educators did not have the financial or technical capabilities to operate a television station. Commercial broadcasters recognized their dilemma as a lucrative opportunity. 

Commercial  broadcasters lobbied against the reservation of channels for education. Although they claimed they were not opposed to ETV as a programming alternative, they were opposed to the “waste” of unused spectrum space by licensees who are financially unable to fill broadcasting time. Persuaded in part by the argument for economic efficiency, the FCC permitted the sale of numerous ETV stations to commercial broadcasters. Many universities, unable to realize their goals as educational broadcasters, profited instead from the sale of their unused frequencies to commercial counterparts.

From its inception, then, ETV was continually plagued with financial problems. As a non-commercial enterprise, ETV needed to rely on outside sources for funding. Federal funding created the potential for programming biases, and private foundations, such as the Ford Foundation, would not be able to sustain the growing weight of ETV forever. In 1962, the Educational Television Facilities Act provided temporary relief. Thirty-two million federal dollars was granted for the creation of ETV stations only. Programming resources we're still essential, however.

The establishment of the Carnegie Commission in 1965 was critical to the survival of ETV. For two years, the commission researched and analyzed the future relationship between education and television. Some of their proposals included increasing the number of ETV stations, imposing an excise tax on all television sets sold, the interconnection of stations for more efficient program exchange, and the creation of a “Corporate for Public Television.” These mandates prompted Congress to enact the 1967 Public Broadcasting Act as an amendment to the Communications Act of 1934.

The evolution of ETV into “public television” forever changed the institution. The ETV curriculum of formal instruction was too narrow to entice sweeping federal recognition. As a result, ETV was endowed with the new name and a new image. The mandate of public television was diversity in programming and audience. Public television promised to educate the nation through formal instruction and enrichment programming emphasizing culture, arts, science, and public affairs. In addition, it would provide programming for “underserved” audiences (those ignored by commercial broadcasters), such as minorities and children. Ultimately, public television promised to be the democratization of the medium. Sadly,  however, these public service imperatives could never flourish as originally intended in a historically commercial system.

Educational television provides programming that emphasizes formal instruction for children and adults. Literacy, mathematics, science, geography, foreign language, and high school equivalency are a few examples of ETV's offerings. The most successful ETV initiatives in the United States are public television’s children's programs. Staples such as  Barney, Sesame Street, 3-2-1 Contact, Mr Rogers Neighborhood, and Reading Rainbow teach children academic fundamentals as well as social skills. 

Higher-education initiatives in television, “distance learning,” boasts an impressive but modest history. Distance learning programs, while significantly more intense abroad, have been integral to realizing the American ETV “vision.” Nontraditional instruction via telecourse is an alternative learning experience for adults who cannot or do not choose to attend a university.

Closed-circuit TV (CCTV) was used as early as the 1950s by universities to transmit classroom lectures to other locations on campus. The Pennsylvania State University CCTV Project is an early example. In 1952, Pennsylvania State CCTV system (sponsored by the Ford Foundation) was created to offer introductory college courses via television in order to eliminate overcrowded classrooms and faculty shortages. Although moderately successful in achieving these goals, overall the CCTV system proved unpopular with students because of the  absence of student-teacher contact and the lackluster “look” of the programs, especially in comparison with the familiar alternative of commercial television. This experiment made clear a continuing reality; the appeal of an instructional program is often dependent on its production quality.

The Chicago Television College was a more successful endeavor. Teacher training was another initiative undertaken by the Ford Foundation in the early days of ETV, and in 1956 the Chicago Television College was created as a cost-effective way to accomplish this task. Approximately 400 students earned their associate of arts degree from the college. The majority of graduates were inmates from particular correctional facilities and homebound physically challenged individuals.

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is a significant participant in distance learning. Its Adult Learning Service (ALS) distributes telecourses to universities nationwide that are broadcast by participating PBS stations. In conjunction with ALS is the Adult Learning Satellite Service (ALSS), which provides a more efficient delivery system of telecourses. Similarly, the Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS) transmits college courses to high school students via satellite and microwave relay. Workbooks and examinations often supplement the video “lessons.” The ITFS also transmits its signals to social service centers, Correctional facilities, and community colleges.

Formal instruction efforts by commercial broadcasters are historically scarce. A notable example, however, was the CBS/New York University collaboration titled Sunrise Semester. For nearly three decades, a New York University lecture would Air at 6:00 A.M. for the edification of early risers.

Adult Learners are not the only beneficiaries of ETV’s instructional programs. Preschool, elementary, and the secondary  school students are all target audiences of ETV services. The National Instructional Television Satellite Schedule (NISS) is a primary distributor of such programming. 3-2-1 Contact (science), Futures (math), and American Past (history) are just a few examples of NISS offerings. Enrichment programs such as these are used to enhance, not replaced, traditional classroom instruction.

  Sesame Street is the ETV staple of preschool children internationally. Heralded for its ability to successfully combine education and entertainment, Sesame Street is an anomaly. No other broadcast or cable program has seriously rivaled its formula for success. (It is even used in Japan to teach high school students English. 

Educational television is not unique to the home and classroom. More specialized uses have proliferated. For example, CCTV is frequently used by medical institutions as a more effective means to demonstrate surgical procedures to doctors and medical students, and workplace programming is often used by corporations for training purposes or to teach safety procedures. Distance learning, classroom instruction, and workplace programming represent part of the ETV mosaic, which is generally defined by  programming that emphasizes  formal and informal learning. 

But ETV also includes “enrichment” programming emphasizing culture, the arts, and public affairs as an alternative to commercial choices. Popular entertainment programs such as  Masterpiece Theater, public affairs and news programs such as  Frontline and The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour, and nature programs such as Nova all attempt to meet the requirements of ETV as defined by broadcast law in the United States.

The expansion of the telecommunications environment has also yielded additional outlets for ETV. The surge of  cable television has been the most significant challenge to ETV as it is defined and provided by public television. Public television has always Justified its very existence in the United States in terms of its role as the sole provider of educational programming. However, the emergence of cable services such as Bravo, A&E, The Learning Channel, Discovery, and Nickelodeon have challenged public television's position. These Outlets provide viewers with the same quality programming as public television. Often, cable networks compete with public stations for the right to the same programs, from the same program suppliers. 

Advocates of public television will often justify its existence with two words: Sesame Street. Non-commercial programming, availability in all households, and quality children's programming such as Sesame Street are the examples used by public broadcasters to Warrant their claims to federal and viewer support. Cable television's contribution cannot be completely ignored, however. 

Indeed, the vision of ETV is perhaps best exemplified by cable’s public, educational, and government (PEG) access channels. While not mandatory, most cable companies are willing to provide these channels as part of their franchise agreements. They point to the existence of PEG channels as examples of their philanthropy. PEG channels demonstrate a Grassroots approach to television. Public access encourages individual program efforts that often contribute to the enlightenment of the immediate community. Paper Tiger Television is one example of such video “activism.” 

Education provided on access channels offers much of the same formal instruction as public television. The Cable in the Classroom organization distributes programs created by various cable networks (e.g., A&E, the Cable News Network [CNN], and The Learning Channel [TLC]) for classroom use. The programs are commercial free. Like public television, educational access offers formal instruction and distance learning. One of its most recognized services is the Mind Extension University, which offers credit for college courses taken at home. 

Government access channels supply viewers with the discussion of local and national policy debates. City council and school board meetings are presented here. For a national/international perspective, most Cable Systems offer C-SPAN and C-SPAN II in their basic service. PEG channels foster localism and serve the public interest. They are valid interpretations of broader concept of ETV.

Globally, ETV plays a more significant role than in the United States. Most international broadcasting systems developed as non-commercial public service organizations. Public service broadcasters or state broadcasters are supported almost exclusively by license fees– annual payments made by owners of television receivers. Because the community directly supports the broadcaster, there is a greater commitment by the broadcaster to meet their multitudinous programming needs. As a result, these systems more effectively exemplify the mandates of the American public television system: quality and diversity.

Sweeping deregulation, increased privatization, and the introduction of cable television have posed new problems for the public service monoliths, however. The introduction and proliferation of commercially supported television casts doubt on the need for license fees. Public service broadcasters must find new ways to compete, to sustain the reputations as cultural assets. Educational television and its relationship to higher education is most developed and more successful as a learning device and what has been called the “open university” system. The lack of higher-education opportunities and many countries has contributed to the validation of distance learning. Open universities are provided by public (service) broadcasters on every continent. The British Open University is the most notable example, existing as an archetype for similar programs worldwide. Created in 1969, the Open University confers college degrees to students enrolled in telecourses. Programs are supplemented by outside exams and work/textbooks. Degrees from the Open University are as valued as traditional college diplomas.

The University of Mid-America (UMA) was a failed attempt by public broadcasters in the United States to emulate the British system. In existence from 1974 to 1982, UMA attempted to provide traditional higher education through non-traditional methods. Funding problems, coupled with a society unreceptive to the open university culture, hastened UMA’s demise.

Educational television is similar throughout the industrialized world. The combination of formal classroom instruction and enrichment programming defines the genre. Educational television in the  developing World also includes programming that directly affects the quality of life of its viewers. For example, in areas where television penetration is very low, audiences may gather at community centers to view programs on hygiene, literacy, childcare, and farming methods. In this respect, ETV provides the group with practical information to improve living standards. Such programming best exemplifies the global aims of ETV.

The Internet is impacting ETV. Subtle nuances continue to emerge as a result of new technologies and the combination of old ones. Satellite technology has already provided a more effective delivery system for programming. Interactivity has revitalized instructional television in particular. Teleconferencing, for example, links classrooms globally. These services not only provide access to traditional learning but also enhance the cultural literacy of students worldwide. 

PBS has recognized the primacy of the Internet in education with its popular children’s program Cyberchase. The show features a “good guy,” Motherboard, and the evil Hacker. Child viewers help Motherboard via mathematics and logic games

The relationship between education and television in the changing telecommunications environment continues to evolve. As television becomes more “individualized”, providing, for example, “menus” of lessons, applications, and experiments, ETV may become the programming of choice. The synergisms between the significant players (broadcasters and cablecasters, telephone, hardware and software companies, educators, and government) will ultimately determine new outlets for ETV across the globe, but audiences–students and users–will reap the ultimate benefits.