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Reddit mentions of The Americans: A History
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Reddit mentions: 1
We found 1 Reddit mentions of The Americans: A History. Here are the top ones.
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I get it, I'm in a similar boat myself re: modern tech, but the phrase "he had to wait for color TV to exist" is really putting the cart before the horse. That was my point.
Super Anal Retentive History:
Sesame Street began broadcasting in 1969. "It's Not Easy Being Green" was first performed on a Sesame Street record album in 1970, then covered (on albums) by various popular artists throughout that decade and on into present day.
Color TV broadcasts became mandatory between 1969 and 1976 (dependent on state) in the US and Canada, with most of Western Europe making the transition in 1969.
The manufacture of cheap sets had been explosive during the '50s, keeping pace with the technology for color and the ability to receive nationwide, and then international, broadcast signals. Prices stayed pretty much the same throughout this boom -- a 21" b&w in 1956 cost the same as a 21" color set in 1960. The difference being that a factory worker in 1956 earned roughly $80 a week while the same person in the same job in 1960 earned ~$90 a week, making the effective cost of televisions a bit cheaper.
"By 1960, there were 52 million sets in American homes, one in almost nine out of ten households." source
"As late as 1965, CBS provided only 800 hours of color programming the entire year and ABC only 600 hours. In addition to the limited programming, early sets were somewhat cumbersome to adjust for proper color reception, receiver prices remained fairly high, and manufacturers were reluctant to promote color receivers until the lucrative black and white market had been saturated. Consequently, consumers were fairly slow to adopt color technology. As of 1965, only 10% of U.S. homes had a color set. It was not until the late 1960s, over a decade after the standard was set, that color TV sales rose significantly." source
So, with all that put together: 9 out of 10 children in low-income houses had in-home access to color television at the time "Sesame Street" began airing, AND the song you mention appeared after the advent of color TV but in audio format before ever being shown on TV.
other sources:
wages in 1950s and 1960s
television prices
Sesame Street
"(It's Not Easy Being) Green"