A Golden Era of Broadcasting Lost To Reusable Tape

I've been heartbroken by this for years. When videotape started being used in 1958 it quickly became a popular means of prerecording television programs that previously were usually broadcast live. Using videotape, it eliminated the process of developing film, if used. It allowed post-production editing which made stage programs end on time and eliminate missed cues by actors/personalities, cameras, microphones, & lights. It also allowed recording programs at decent times of the day instead of any time the program was scheduled for broadcast. What turned out to be a problem was that videotape was reusable. So a lot of videotaped programs, especially throughout the 1960s, were erased and the videotape reels were reused. It was rarely thought that most programs would be of any interest in the future. The sale & rental of old programs for use on home video equipment hadn't even been thought of. So, the wide belief was that the TAPE ITSELF was more valuable than what was recorded on it. Perhaps the worst offender was BBC in the United Kingdom. Its budget was mostly from a tax rather than the sale of advertising spots so this network saved money where it could. What is doubly bad about this is that so many wonderful programs were aired on BBC. It was during years like these that this television & radio network built upon its stellar worldwide reputation which remains to this day. By the 1970s television & radio networks realized the value of maintaining archives for several reasons, one of which was for copyright purposes, for protecting their intellectual property. The following article explains the process of worldwide searches for programs thought to be lost.

https://getpocket.com/explore/item/wipe-out-when-the-bbc-kept-erasing-its-own-history?utm_source=pocket-newtab