How was radio able to survive the rise of TV in the latter half of the 20th century? (lemmy.dbzer0.com)

submitted 2 days ago by SpiceDealer@lemmy.dbzer0.com to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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Radio dominated the first half of the 20th century but the advent of affordable TV sets in the 1950s seemed to spell doom for the format. Yet, radio endured. Radio was able to create a distinct image for itself, separate from TV. I have own theories as to why (cars, transistor radios and the music industry) but nothing conclusive.

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[-] yukichigai@kbin.earth 15 points 2 days ago

It's basically all of those things, but also that a newer technology doesn't necessarily mean the older technology has no use. People still use bicycles even though cars and motorcycles exist. People still read books even though audiobooks and TV shows exist. The number of people doing those things may have gone down, but they have a specific use case and need that the "better" technology doesn't satisfy.

On the other side, there are technologies that get entirely replaced by the successor. because it's just flatly better even in the same scenarios. 8-Tracks being made completely irrelevant by Cassettes, for example.

[-] elephantium@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

People still read books even though audiobooks and TV shows exist

Indeed. Why would I replace my reading time with inferior substitutes?

Don't get me wrong, audiobooks are great for listening while you drive, but personally? I still prefer reading printed words off the page.

(TV shows are fine, too, but they're a different category of entertainment than reading books)

[-] the_crotch@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

8 tracks are better than cassettes, they're a loop so there's no rewinding and they have higher audio fidelity. It was cost that killed the 8 track.

this post was submitted on 02 Nov 2026

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