"Five-decade chronicle of television history [covering] ... all daytime programs that aired for three or more weeks on a commercial network between 1947 and 1996, plus 100 nationally syndicated shows from the same period ... . [Includes] cartoons, children's programs, game shows, news shows, soap operas, sports programs, [and] talk shows ... . Provides the dates each show aired, a synosis of its plot, its principal cast members, and other pertinent information"--Back cover.

This is a major reference work about the overlapping fields of television, cable and video. With both technical and popular appeal, this book covers the following areas: advertising, agencies, associations, companies, unions, broadcasting, cable-casting, engineering, events, general production and programming.

Some 3,000 entries (900 new) describe programs and personalities from the birth of the industry until today. In addition, coverage encompasses technological matters, legal issues and cases, mergers and acquisitions, terms and concepts, and events in the industry's history. The scope is international. Includes some small photos, but the temptation to litter the text with portraits and stills has been resisted.